Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

CEREMONIAL COMPONENT

Date Range From

1960

Date Range To

1970

Materials

SILK, THREAD

No. Pieces

1

Height

0.3

Length

17.8

Width

9.8

Description

ENVELOPE STYLE PURSE MANUFACTURED FROM SILK, EMBROIDERED WITH GOLD & SILVER THREAD, WHITE SILK TASSELS ON FOLD-OVER FLAP. EMBROIDERED DESIGN ALSO INCORPORATES GREEN, PURPLE, & BLACK THREADS IN AN ABSTRACT "WAVE" DESIGN.

Subjects

PERSONAL GEAR

CEREMONIAL ARTIFACT

Historical Association

RELIGION

History

PURSE IS USED TO HOLD RED POLISHING CLOTH USED IN THE CEREMONIAL TEASET. *UPDATE* IN 2018, COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT ELISE PUNDYK CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF THE BOXED TEXTILE COLLECTION. ON 12 FEBRUARY 2018, PUNDYK INTERVIEWED THE DONOR’S DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, TOYO KAWAMURA, ABOUT THE TEA CEREMONY AND FAMILY HISTORY. WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE PURSE, “SO, IT’S NOT ACTUALLY USED IN THE CEREMONY, BUT IT IS A PURSE THAT COULD CONTAIN THE PIECE OF CLOTH THAT WE USE IN THE TEA CEREMONY, TO SORT OF GO THROUGH THE CEREMONIAL CLEANSING OF UTENSILS USED IN THE TEA CEREMONY. IT’S CALLED THE FUKUSA, F-U-K-U-S-A. AND, THAT, AND THE KAISHI, K-A-I-S-H-I, IS A PACK OF PAPER THAT YOU CARRY WITH YOU INTO THE TEA CEREMONY PLACE, AND THEN, WHEN YOU SERVE SWEETS, AND SO ON, YOU PUT IT IN FRONT OF YOU - THIS PIECE OF PAPER THAT FITS INSIDE THIS PURSE (THAT’S ABOUT THE SIZE OF THAT PURSE) - AND TAKE THE SWEETS THAT YOU SERVED BEFORE YOU HAVE YOUR TEA, ONTO THIS THING, ONTO THIS PAPER, AND THIS PURSE CONTAINS THIS PAPER, AND THE FUKUSA IN THERE.” “[THE TEA CEREMONY IS] AS OFTEN AS THE OCCASION CALLS FOR IT. LIKE, YOU MIGHT HAVE ONE FOR NEW YEAR’S; OR YOU MIGHT HAVE ONE TO APPRECIATE THE SNOW, OR THE MOON. IT’S LIKE ORGANIZING A PARTY HERE. [YOU HOST IT] IN THE TEA ROOM, USUALLY. IF YOU DON’T HAVE A TEA ROOM, ANYWHERE WHERE YOU COULD CONTAIN A NUMBER OF PEOPLE, AND HAVE A SCROLL. USUALLY IN A TRADITIONAL JAPANESE HOME, THEY WOULD HAVE A PLACE CALLED ‘TOKONOMA ALCOVE’ WHERE WE DISPLAY SCROLLS, AND THEN DO A FLOWER ARRANGEMENT IN THERE. IN A ROOM LIKE THAT, TEA CEREMONY IS PERFORMED. … THERE IS ONLY ONE TEA ROOM I KNOW. IT’S IN THE JAPANESE GARDENS.” WHEN ASKED IF SHE RECOQNIZED THIS PURSE SPECIFICALLY, “NO. THOSE ARE CARRIED BY EVERYBODY WHO PRACTICES IN TEA CEREMONY. I THINK IT BELONGED TO MY MOTHER-IN-LAW, EITHER THAT, OR IT MAY HAVE BEEN A GIFT TO HER WHEN SHE WAS THERE. IT’S BECAUSE OF THE COLOR. IT’S FOR WOMEN – THE RED. MEN WOULD HAVE NAVY BLUE, OR PURPLE, SOMETHING THAT’S A DIFFERENT COLOR THAN THAT.” WHEN ASKED IF SHE REMEMBERED EVER PARTICIPATING IN THE TEA CEREMONY, “NOT WITH MY PARENTS-IN-LAW, BUT I DID ONE AT THE JAPANESE GARDENS THERE, OR SOMEWHERE IN AN OLD FOLK’S HOME, I REMEMBER DOING IT FOR THEM. I USED TO TEACH IT IN RAYMOND, WHEN I USED TO LIVE THERE.” ON HOW HER FATHER-IN-LAW THE DONOR CAME TO RAYMOND, “HE CAME THERE IN THE EARLY ‘30’S, FIRST, FROM JAPAN, TO RAYMOND BUDDHIST CHURCH, AND THEN, BEFORE THE WAR, HE DECIDED HE WANTED TO GO BACK TO JAPAN, AND TOOK THE FAMILY. HE GOT AS FAR AS THE WEST COAST, AND, A PRIEST PASSED AWAY IN THE DISTRICT. SO, HE WAS ASKED TO LOOK AFTER THE TEMPLE, UNTIL THEY GOT THE PRIEST COMING THERE FROM JAPAN. AND, THE WAR BROKE OUT, SO, THEN, THEY WERE INTERNED AGAIN, BACK TO ALBERTA. AND, THEN, HE WAS HERE AT THE BUDDHIST CHURCHES, AND THEN HE WAS TRANSFERRED TO HAWAII, AND HE WAS THERE FOR 10 YEARS, AND HE CAME BACK TO ALBERTA, I THINK, AFTER RETIREMENT. AND, THEN HE LIVED IN RAYMOND, THEN.” PLEASE SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR COMPLETE INTERVIEW.

Catalogue Number

P19800054000

Acquisition Date

1980-05

Collection

Museum

Less detail