Double-cut (Nijū-giri) Flower Container (Hanaire), named Cool Summer Morning (Shinryō)

Kōgetsu Sōgan

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Cut from a single piece of bamboo, this double-windowed flower holder (hanaire) was created for the tea ceremony by Kōgetsu Sōgan, who mentions making it in his accompanying letter, now mounted as a hanging scroll. The son of Tsuda Sōgyū (died 1591), one of the San Sōshō (Three Greatest Tea Masters), Sōgan became a Zen monk of the Rinzai sect as well as the 156th head abbot of the Daitokuji Temple in Kyoto. In 1612 he built the famous Kohōan, a subtemple of Daitokuji, with the noted feudal lord, architect, garden designer, and tea master Kobori Enshū (1579–1647).

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art