(Left): O’Keeffe, Todd Webb, Georgia O’Keeffe Pouring Tea at the Ghost Ranch, 1962, vintage gelatin silver print, 10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.32 cm); (Right): Book page, photo by Yoshiyuki Morioka; Courtesy Seizan Gallery
Special Project
MORIOKA SHOTEN: THE BOOK OF TEA
May 20 – 31, 2025
Talk & Music Performance: Saturday, May 24 at 2pm
525 West 26th St, NYC
Seizan Gallery is pleased to present MORIOKA SHOTEN: THE BOOK OF TEA, a special two-week pop-up, featuring the internationally celebrated Tokyo bookstore Morioka Shoten. This marks the bookstore’s first-ever appearance in New York and takes place in their project room.
Founded in 2015 by Toshiyuki Morioka, Morioka Shoten is a one-of-a-kind bookstore that presents just one title per week, accompanied by related artworks, design objects, and cultural programming. For this special New York edition, Morioka has selected The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzō (also known as Okakura Tenshin, 1863–1913), a seminal work first published in English in 1906. Blending philosophy, aesthetics, and cultural commentary, the book explores the Japanese tea ceremony (chanoyu) as a lens through which to understand Japanese spirituality, design, and worldview. Over the decades, it has deeply influenced Western artists, writers, and intellectuals—including Georgia O’Keeffe.
Morioka recently traveled to O’Keeffe’s Home and Studio in Abiquiú, New Mexico, where he discovered two copies of The Book of Tea in her personal library, one with handwritten underlines. Photographs taken during his visit, along with a portrait of O’Keeffe by Todd Webb, will be on view alongside a first edition and recent versions of the book.
Installation view, Project Room, Seizan Gallery
Alongside the bookstore, a curated pop-up store explores the culture, history, and aesthetics of the Japanese tea ceremony. Highlights include ceramics by Taro Tabuchi and Keita Matsuyama, “urushi” lacquerware by Eri Asano and Atsuko Nakajima, and a selection of rare vintage objects.
Join them on Saturday, May 24 at 2pm for a special program featuring Morioka’s reflections on his research journey and a live clavichord performance by Akira Uchida, described by Morioka as “an urban alternative to the sounds of the tea house.” Tea will be served by Ippodo Tea from Kyoto.
To learn more and RSVP, click here.