History of Hyoso

Formation of three categories of mounting

Under the patronage of Ashikaga Yoshimasa the tea ceremony developed as Daimyo-cha and became
part of Higashiyama culture. On the other hand, the tea ceremony introduced to the general public was
developed as wabi-cha. This is a simple and austere frugal tea ceremony created by Takeno Joo and
Sen no Rikyu, the historical figures with the most profound influence on chano-yu.

Japanese scroll painting were first hung at the tea ceremony in the mid Muromachi period, 15th century. It was said
Murata Juko, an early developer of chano-yu, instructed No’ami to hang a calligraphic work presented by Ikkyu in an
alcove of a tea room. No’ami, mounted it with seaweed colour cloth called kobi-cha colour for Jyo-ge (upper and lower
sections of mounting), light bluish green for chu-mawashi (fabric that comprises the middle section of a hanging scroll
surrounding the painting) as well as futai (decorative fabric stripes), and used pale-yellow threads for tsuyu
(ornamental threads for futai). Ichimonji (horizontal strips attached directly above and below a painting) were not
attached to the mounting at that time. It was attached to an urushi lacquered scroll end. This simple yet elegant style
became typical of Japanese mounting. It created the mounting style that reflects asthetics of Japanese tea masters.