Tea scoop and case

The creator of this tea scoop, Ichio Iori, was a master of the tea ceremony and also a retainer of the shogun in the 17th century. He learned the way of the tea ceremony from Hosokawa Sansai, and started the Ichio branch of the Sansai school. Iori is said to have been good at making tea scoops. This tea scoop is of average length. The storage tube of the scoop is a formal style called “shin”. This is achieved by shaving all over the surface of the bamboo to create a smooth jointless tube. This shin style gives dignity to this piece. It has the inscriptions, “一尾” (Ichio) and “一庵” (Ichian), written on the tube in ink.