Japanese Tea Ceremony
Tea was first introduced to Japan along
with Buddhism from China in the 6th
century, but the Emperor Shomu introduced
tea drinking to the country. During
the Heian period (794-1185), tea was made
from steamed and dried tea leaves
ground into a powder called macha. In the
15th century, Juro Murata introduced
many of the concepts of spirituality
into tea ceremony, including the special
room only used for the chanoyu. Tea
ceremonies were required to follow a certain
order. Zen Buddhist concepts in
the tea ceremony were introduced by Sen no Rikyu,
a Japanese tea master.
During the second half of the 16th century, Sen no Rikyu
created the ceremony
that is now practiced and taught in Japan called Chado. He
also designed a
separate building for the ceremony based on a typical Japanese
farmer's hut.
He further formalized the tea ceremony's rules and identified the
spirit of
chanoyu with four basic Buddhist principles of harmony, respect,
purity, and
tranquility. They represent the ideals of the tea ceremony. Sen no
Rikyu
believed that we could reach tranquillity in the mind after we
achieved
harmony, respect, and purity. Chado includes almost all aspects of
Japanese
culture. For example, flower arrangement, ceramic, calligraphy, etc.
According
to Hisamatsu Shinichi, Chado is an incarnation of Buddhism. That is
not entirely
true. Not only Buddhism but also others including Taoism and
Confucianism have
influenced Chado The ceremony takes place in a room
designed and designated for
tea. It is called the cha*censored*su. Usually
this room is inside the tea
house, away from the house, in the garden. The
guests are brought into the
waiting room. Here, the assistant to the host
offers them the hot water which
will be used to make tea. While here, the
guests choose one of their group to
act as the main guest. The assistant then
leads them to a garden. They then sit
on the waiting bench, and wait for the
host. The host leads the assistant, the
main guest and the others (in that
order) through the chumon, which symbolizes
door between the coarse physical
world and the spiritual world of tea. The
guests and assistant purify
themselves and enter the teahouse. The sliding door
is only three feet high,
so everyone must bow their heads and crouch. The last
person in closes the
door. Hanging in the room is a scroll painting. Each guest
admires the
scroll, then examines the kettle and hearth. They are seated
according to
their positions in the ceremony. The host seats himself and
greetings are
exchanged, first between the host and the main guest, then the
host and the
other guests. Each guest is given a meal called chakaiseki. The
meal has
three courses. After the meal, each guest cleans their utensils with
soft
paper. A sweet is served at the end of the meal. The host then removes
the
scroll and replaces it with flowers. The room is swept and the utensils
are
arranged. The host enters with the tea bowl which holds the tea whisk,
the tea
cloth, and the tea scoop. The host goes to the preparation room and
returns with
the waste water bowl, the bamboo water ladle, and a green bamboo
rest for the
kettle lid. Then he closes the door to the preparation room.
Using a fine silk
cloth the host cleans the tea container and scoop. Hot
water is put into the tea
bowl, the whisk is rinsed, the tea bowl is emptied
and wiped with the cloth. The
host places three scoops of tea per guest into
the tea bowl. Enough hot water is
put into the teabowl to create a thin paste
with the whisk. More water is then
added. The host passes the tea bowl to the
main guest who bows. The bowl is
raised and turned to be admired. The guest
then drinks some of the tea, wipes
the rim of the bowl, and passes the bowl
to the next guest who does the same as
the main guest. When the guests have
all tasted the tea, the bowl is given to
the host, who rinses it. The whisk,
the tea scoop, and the tea container are
cleaned. At the conclusion, the
guests express their appreciation for the tea,
and leave while the host
watches from the door of the teahouse. bibliography
http://welcome.to/chanoyu
Chanoyu: Copyright 1995-1998 by Ken Kato and Natsuko
Kato.
http://www.art.unt.edu/ntieva/artcurr/japan Japanese Aesthetics, Wabi
Sabi,
and the Tea Ceremony: by Nancy Walkup Texas Institute for Educators on
the
Visual Arts http://www.holymtn.com/tea/Japanesetea.htm The Japanese
Tea
Ceremony: Copyright 1998-1999 Holy Mountain Trading
Company.
Bibliography
http://welcome.to/chanoyu Chanoyu: Copyright
1995-1998 by Ken Kato and
Natsuko Kato.
http://www.art.unt.edu/ntieva/artcurr/japan Japanese Aesthetics,
Wabi
Sabi, and the Tea Ceremony: by Nancy Walkup Texas Institute for Educators
on
the Visual Arts http://www.holymtn.com/tea/Japanesetea.htm The Japanese
Tea
Ceremony: Copyright 1998-1999 Holy Mountain Trading Company.