The Basics of Japanese Tea Ceremony

By Charleen Lay

As an outsider looking in, Japanese tea ceremony appears both fascinating and utterly bewildering. There are so many steps to making and drinking a simple bowl of tea that it can be overwhelming. In this article, let’s take a look at some of the basics of tea ceremony and try to demystify this Japanese art form.

Japanese tea ceremony as we know it now was popularised by Sen no Rikyu in the 1500s. He altered the culture of Chinese tea to Japanese tastes and aesthetics. Currently there are three main schools, or styles of tea ceremony known as the san-senke, which are descended from Sen no Rikyu. These are Urasenke, Omotesenke and Mushanokojisenke. Personally, I practice Omotesenke, which is the second largest tea ceremony style. You’ll find that most English language articles tend to focus on Urasenke as it is the most popular of the schools with the most readily available resources. There are also countless numbers of other more niche schools all over the world. Each school favours different utensils, sweets and decorations. The way tea is made and even the number of steps taken on the tatami may differ greatly from school to school. That said, although the form may be different the spirit of tea appreciation remains the same regardless of school!

Unless you’ve been to a Japanese tea ceremony before, you might not know that there’s actually two types of matcha. I’m not talking about the tea leaves, but rather the consistency of the tea and the way that the ceremony is performed. Usui-cha, or thin tea is what typically comes to mind when matcha is mentioned. Slightly foamy, light and brightly coloured, this is the tea that will usually be served to you when you order a matcha at any regular Japanese tearoom. On the other hand, koi-cha or thick tea, as the name suggests is a lot more viscous, creamy and deep in colour. One bowl of thick tea is typically shared between all the guests of the tea ceremony, as they pass the bowl to the next guest after having drunk their portion. In a formal tea ceremony event usually both thick tea and thin tea will be served along with a different sweet for each tea.

Before being able to perform your own tea ceremony it is customary to simply be a guest. This gives beginners time to become familiar with the tearoom itself and the proper steps to drinking tea, as well as a chance to carefully observe the actions of the person conducting the ceremony. If you’re invited to a tea ceremony, there are a few basics to remember.

The first seated guest (shokyaku) is usually considered the guest of honour. They will be served tea first and are usually the most knowledgeable about tea ceremony. The shokyaku also has a role to play, as they can close the tea ceremony and are entitled to ask about the tea tools, calligraphy, flowers and sweets. If you’re ever at a loss at what to do, observe the shokyaku and do your best to imitate them when you’re served your tea!

For the most formal of events it’s customary to wear a kimono or a suit to tea ceremony. Otherwise, for a regular event or tea ceremony practice it is important to wear clothes that you can comfortably sit in seiza in and aren’t revealing when you bow down. For indoor ceremonies, try to bring a clean pair of white socks with you, to change into before you enter the tearoom.

As for the actual ceremony itself, each school has different norms, but usually guests are expected to finish eating the sweets first before tea is served. Be careful not to down all your tea at once! It’s best to appreciate it in a few sips. With so many styles of tea ceremony, changing depending on the style, tearoom, seasons and more it simply is impossible to list down every single tea ceremony rule.

Although at first the rules of tea ceremony may seem unnecessarily complicated, each step has been designed to heighten your enjoyment of the tea and ceremony itself. For a few brief moments you’ll be able to forget the world outside and just focus on the tea in front of you as if in fact it contains the whole world.