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Tea notes

Tea Scoop Names (Mei) for March

Seasonal mei ideas for March tea gatherings, including Keichitsu, Shunbun, Hinamatsuri, young grass, spring rain, and blossom motifs.

Tea Scoop Names (Mei) for March

Table of Contents

What is a chashaku mei?

What does "mei" mean?

The mei of a chashaku is the name given to the tea scoop.

Types of mei

In tea ceremony, mei generally fall into two broad groups:

  1. Seasonal poetic names
  • Names that express flowers, birds, wind, moon, and seasonal feeling
  • Names chosen to suit each month from January through December
  1. Zen phrases or non-seasonal names
  • Names drawn from Zen sayings, Chinese poetry, or classical sources
  • These are often used for koicha

How is a mei chosen?

A mei may come from several elements:

  • Shape and appearance: a name suggested by the form of the chashaku
  • Background: when, where, and by whom it was made
  • Wordplay and refined association: wit, seasonal words, or literary references
  • Zen and classical literature: Buddhist teaching, poetry, or old texts

Why does a mei matter?

The purpose of a mei is to:

  • Express the character of the utensil
  • Reflect the feeling of the owner
  • Create shared feeling with guests
  • Add depth and meaning to a tea gathering

A mei is not just a label. It expresses the feeling, season, and sometimes the philosophical meaning held within the chashaku. In general, seasonal words are not used after their proper time has passed.

Mei inspired by the twenty-four solar terms

Jomi (上巳 / Third Day Festival)

  • March 3
  • The seasonal festival connected with Hinamatsuri and Nagashi-bina
  • It suggests purification, wishes for health, and mei such as Gonin Bayashi, Nagashi-bina, and Shiratama-hime

Keichitsu (啓蟄 / Awakening of Insects)

  • Around March 5
  • The time when living things hidden through winter begin to stir under the soil
  • It connects naturally with tsukushi, wakana, wakakusa, and other signs of spring rising from the ground

Shunbun (春分 / Spring Equinox)

  • Around March 20
  • Day and night become nearly equal, and spring deepens in earnest
  • This season suits mei that suggest brightening mountains, spring rain, and the calendar of flowers

Seasonal themes for March

Hinamatsuri (雛祭 / Doll Festival)

  • The March 3 festival also known as Jomi no Sekku
  • It connects with mei such as Gonin Bayashi and Nagashi-bina, carrying both elegance and purification

Wakakusa (若草 / Young Grass)

  • Fresh grass just beginning to grow in spring
  • A mei with soft green color and the living feeling of early March

Mei for early March

Aoyagi (青柳 / Green Willow)

  • Young green willow branches moving softly in the spring wind
  • A graceful mei for the gentle atmosphere of early March

Gonin Bayashi (五人囃子 / Five Festival Musicians)

  • The five musicians displayed with hina dolls
  • A festive mei that adds the sound and elegance of Hinamatsuri to the tea gathering

Nagashi-bina (流し雛 / Floating Dolls)

  • A custom of floating paper or grass dolls on water to carry away impurity
  • Well suited to the March 3 festival, with a feeling of flowing water and purification

Shiratama-hime (白玉姫 / White Jewel Princess)

  • An elegant mei suggesting a pure white princess
  • It can also recall lingering snow or the purity of white plum blossoms

Ashibi (馬酔木 / Japanese Andromeda)

  • An early spring plant with small bell-shaped blossoms
  • A mei that suggests delicate flower clusters and spring reaching the hills

Tsukushi (つくし / Horsetail Shoots)

  • Horsetail shoots appearing from the ground in early spring
  • It clearly expresses the Keichitsu feeling of life emerging from the soil

Wakana (若菜 / Young Greens)

  • Young edible greens picked in spring
  • A fresh mei that suggests purity, health, and new seasonal life

Wakakusa (若草 / Young Grass)

  • Newly sprouted spring grass
  • A mei for the pale, tender green of the season

Mei for mid to late March

Yama Warau (山笑う / Mountains Smile)

  • A phrase for mountains that look bright and lively in spring
  • It expresses the landscape coming alive around the spring equinox

Hagoromo (羽衣 / Feather Robe)

  • The celestial robe of a heavenly maiden
  • A graceful mei for spring haze or light spring garments

Harusame (春雨 / Spring Rain)

  • Soft rain falling in spring
  • A mei that suggests rain nourishing grasses, trees, and flowers

Harukaze (春風 / Spring Wind)

  • A soft wind blowing in spring
  • A calm, bright mei that suggests willow branches and young grasses moving gently

Haru Arashi (春嵐 / Spring Storm)

  • A strong wind in early spring
  • A mei with the feeling of seasonal force that stirs flowers and moves spring forward

Saho-hime (佐保姫 / Princess Saho)

  • A goddess-like figure associated with spring
  • A dignified mei that personifies the season itself

Hana Usagi (花兎 / Flower Rabbit)

  • A charming image of a rabbit among blossoms
  • Suited to a bright tea gathering in the season of peach and cherry blossoms

Togen (桃源 / Peach Blossom Spring)

  • A peach-blossom utopia
  • A colorful mei as March moves from the Peach Festival toward full spring

Seiobo (西王母 / Queen Mother of the West)

  • A legendary Chinese immortal connected with peaches of longevity
  • A dignified and auspicious mei for peach season or a celebratory gathering

Hanagoyomi (花暦 / Flower Calendar)

  • Enjoying the order in which seasonal flowers bloom
  • A mei for March as plum, peach, and cherry blossoms mark the passage of time

Momochidori (百千鳥 / Many Birds)

  • Many birds singing in spring
  • A bright mei filled with the sound of spring fields and hills

Suma (須磨 / Suma)

  • A place name associated with classical poetry and The Tale of Genji
  • A refined mei with the lingering mood of a spring seashore and classical literature

Miyako Odori (都をどり / Dances of the Capital)

  • A spring dance performance associated with Kyoto
  • A mei that anticipates the festive mood of Kyoto from late March into April