kobukusa; silk tea ceremony cloth
A small, high-quality silk cloth used in Japanese tea ceremony to handle tea utensils or as a decorative base. Typically about 16 cm square.
In tea ceremony, you fold the kobukusa and keep it inside the front of your kimono.
When drinking thick tea, the tea bowl is placed on a kobukusa.
A larger silk cloth used for wiping or wrapping in tea ceremony, whereas 古帛紗 is smaller and often used as a decorative mat.
A type of 古帛紗 used specifically by the host to display tea utensils.
Standard kanji spelling for the tea ceremony cloth.
Alternate kanji spelling; 小 (small) may be used for smaller cloths, but 古帛紗 is more common.
From 古 (old) or 小 (small) + 帛紗 (silk cloth). The exact origin is uncertain; it is a specialized term within tea ceremony.