This cylindrical tea powder container, made of a wooden core, features a matching lid and body, both coated with black lacquer. The shoulder is gently rounded, with the upper part slightly fuller and tapering toward the base, which has a shallowly recessed foot. This piece exemplifies one of the favored tea powder container forms associated with the renowned Japanese tea master Sen no Rikyū (1522–1591). It is classified as a small-sized natsume, with the lid accounting for one-third of the overall height and the body comprising the remaining two-thirds. Inside the lid, Sen no Rikyū’s signature mole cricket-shaped seal is inscribed in vermilion lacquer, which may have been reapplied in modern times. The lacquer color, craftsmanship, and form all align with the stylistic characteristics of Sen no Rikyū’s era.
In Japan, this type of tea powder container is called natsume, named for its resemblance to the fruit of the jujube tree. The use of lacquered tea powder containers in Japan dates back to the 14th century, when they were originally cylindrical and modeled after Buddhist sutra containers. The natsume form is traditionally attributed to Haneda Gorō (birth and death dates unknown), a lacquer craftsman contemporary of Murata Jukō (1423–1502). Compared with the earlier straight-sided design, the natsume shape is more rounded and smoother. It was first used by Takeno Jō’ō (1502–1555) and later popularized by Sen no Rikyū. In the early 18th century, Sen no Rikyū’s preferred tea powder container designs were systematized by the seventh-generation head of the Omotesenke school, Joshinsai (1705–1751). This classification, known as the “Twelve Utensils of Rikyū,” includes natsume form-lacquer boxes further categorized into large, medium, and small sizes. This particular artifact belongs to the small-sized variety.