Tabidansu Portable utensil box

Our second Keiko in April came with a very pleasant surprise. Upon entering the tea room to pay a visit to the Tokonoma and the hanging scroll, there was a brand new Tabidansu in the Temae corner. Even while observing the hanging scroll and seasonal flowers, I couldn’t help peeking at the Tabidansu. Moving on to view the Kama, I realized it was a Tsurigama (hanging Kama) and the two fairly rare utensils got me really excited. My Sensei could see the excitement in my eyes and explained how she obtained the Tabidansu and that we could use it to perform various variations of the tea ceremony.

The Tabidansu is a portable or travelling box used to store the basic tea utensils when planning a tea gathering outside or in location other than your own home or regular tea room. The Tabidansu has room for a Mizusashi, Hishaku, Futa-oki, Chawan, Natsume, Chasen, various linen cloths, a Chashaku, and a Kensui.

 The first shelf from below can be removed to place the Natsume and Chasen when performing outside in nature where the surface is not flat.

At the beginning of a tea ceremony with a Tabidansu, the front is closed and will be removed after the ceremony has started and is placed on the left side.