江戸時代の茶書とされる『南方録』には、「掛物ほど第一の道具はなし」という言葉があります。ここには禅宗の僧侶の墨跡を尊んだ、わび茶の価値観が反映されています。しかし千利休が詠んだとされる「利休百首」には、「釜一つあれば茶の湯はなるものを」という言葉もあります。茶を点てる湯を沸かす釜も、茶会の中心となる道具です。また実際にお茶を飲む茶碗が第一という人もいるので、考え方によって差が出る部分と言えそうです。

“Nanpôroku”, a text book for tea written around 1700, says ‘The most important tea utensil for Chanoyu is Kakemono’, the hanging scroll. This message reflects the respect in which wabi-cha, the style of tea based on simple and rustic aesthetics, held the calligraphy of Zen priests.

On the other hand, in the book called “Rikyû Hyakushu”, Rikyû’s hundred poems, there is a poem saying ‘Chanoyu can be performed with only a kettle.’ The kettle that boils the water for the tea certainly plays a central role. Other people think that the tea bowl is the most important, because a tea bowl is indispensable for drinking tea.

Thus, the answer to this question reveals different approaches to tea.