Japanese Tea Ceremony

JAPANESE TEA CEREMONY

The Japanese tea ceremony (known as sadō/chadō , ‘The Way of Tea’ or chanoyu ) is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called temae ). While inthe West it is known as “tea ceremony”, it is seldom ceremonial in practice. Most often tea isserved to family, friends, and associates; religious and ceremonial connotations are overstatedin western spaces. The English term “Teaism” was coined by Okakura Kakuzō to describe theunique worldview associated with Japanese tea ceremony, as opposed to focusing just on theceremonial aspect, a perspective that many practicioners frown upon.

Zen Buddhism was a primary influence in the development of the culture of Japanese tea.Much less commonly, Japanese tea practice uses leaf tea, primarily sencha, a practice known as senchadō ( ‘the way of sencha’).

Tea gatherings are classified as either an informal tea gathering ( ‘tea gathering’))or formal tea gathering ( ‘tea event’)). A chakai is a relatively

simple course ofhospitality that includes confections, thin tea, and perhaps a light meal.

A chaji is a much moreformal gathering, usually including a full-course kaiseki meal followed by confections, thick tea,and thin tea. A chaji may last up to four hours

Zen Buddhism was a primary influence in the development of the culture of Japanese tea.Much less commonly, Japanese tea practice uses leaf tea, primarily sencha, a practice known as senchadō ( ‘the way of sencha’).

Tea gatherings are classified as either an informal tea gathering (chakai , ‘tea gathering’)or formal tea gathering (chaji ‘tea event’)). A chakai is a relatively simple course ofhospitality that includes confections, thin tea, and perhaps a light meal.

A chaji is a much moreformal gathering, usually including a full-course kaiseki meal followed by confections, thick tea,and thin tea. A chaji may last up to four hours.

Introduction

History

Venues

Seasons & Thick and thin tea

equipment

Procedures

Tearoom

Schools

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The first documented evidence of tea in Japan dates to the 9th century. It is found in an entry in the Nihon Kōki having to do with the Buddhist monk Eichū, who had brought some tea back to Japan on his return from China. The entry states that Eichū personally prepared and served sencha (tea beverage made by steeping tea leaves in hot water) to Emperor Saga, whowas on an excursion in Karasaki (in present Shiga Prefecture) in 815. By imperial order in 816,tea plantations began to be cultivated in the Kinki region of Japan. However, the interest intea in Japan faded after this.Master Sen no Rikyū, who codifiedthe way of tea (painting byHasegawa Tōhaku).

In China, tea had already been known, according to legend, for more than a thousand years. The form of tea popular in China in Eichū’s time was dancha ( “cake tea” or “brick tea”)– tea compressed into a nugget in the same manner as pu-er tea. This then would be ground ina mortar, and the resulting ground tea mixed together with various other herbs and flavourings . The custom of drinking tea, first for medicinal, and then largely for pleasurablereasons, was already widespread throughout China. In the early 9th century, Chinese author LuYu wrote The Classic of Tea, a treatise on tea focusing on its cultivation and preparation. LuYu’s life had been heavily influenced by Buddhism, particularly the Zen–Chán Buddhist school.His ideas would have a strong influence in the development of the Japanese tea.

Around the end of the 12th century, the style of tea preparation called tencha, in which powdered matcha was placed into a bowl, hot water added, and the tea and hot water whipped together, was introduced to Japan by Buddhist monk Eisai on his return from China. He also took tea seeds back with him, which eventually produced tea that was considered to be the most superb quality in all of Japan.[10] This powdered green tea was first used in religious rituals in Buddhist monasteries. By the 13th century, when the Kamakura shogunate ruled the nation and tea and the luxuries associated with it became a kind of status symbol among the warrior class, there arose tōcha (“tea tasting”) parties wherein contestants could win extravagant prizes for guessing the best quality tea – that was grown in Kyoto, deriving from the seeds that Eisai brought from China. The next major period in Japanese history was the Muromachi period, pointing to the rise of Kitayama Culture (ja, Kitayama bunka), centered around the cultural world ofAshikaga Yoshimitsu and his villa in the northern hills of Kyoto (Kinkaku-ji), and later during thisperiod, the rise of Higashiyama culture, centered around the elegant cultural world of AshikagaYoshimasa and his retirement villa in the eastern hills of Kyoto (Ginkaku-ji). This period,approximately 1336 to 1573, saw the budding of what is generally regarded as Japanesetraditional culture as it is known today.

The use of Japanese tea developed as a “transformative practice” and began to evolve its own aesthetic, in particular that of wabi-sabi principles. Wabi represents the inner, or spiritual, experiences of human lives. Its original meaning indicated quiet or sober refinement, or subdued taste “characterized by humility, restraint, simplicity, naturalism, profundity, imperfection, and asymmetry” and “emphasizes simple, unadorned objects and architectural space, and celebrates the mellow beauty that time and care impart to materials.”Sabi, on the other hand, represents the outer, or material side of life. Originally, it meant “worn”, “weathered”, or “decayed”. Particularly among the nobility, understanding emptiness was considered the most effective

means to spiritual awakening, while embracing imperfection was honoured as a reminder to cherish one’s unpolished and unfinished nature – considered to be the first step to satori, or enlightenment.[12] Central are the concepts of omotenashi, which revolves around hospitality.

Murata Jukō is known in chanoyu history as an early developer of tea as a spiritual practice. He studied Zen under the monk Ikkyū, who revitalized Zen in the 15th century, and this is considered to have influenced his concept of chanoyu. By the 16th century, tea drinking had spread to all levels of society in Japan. Sen no Rikyū and his work Southern Record, perhaps the best-known – and still revered – historical figure in tea, followed his master Takeno Jōō’s concept of ichi-go ichi-e, a philosophy that each meeting should be treasured, for it can never be reproduced. His teachings perfected many newly developed forms in architecture and gardens, art, and the full development of the “way of tea”. The principles he set forward –harmony (wa), respect (kei), purity ( sei), and tranquility (jaku) – are still central to tea.

Sen no Rikyū was the leading tea master of the regent Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who greatly supported him in codifying and spreading the way of tea, also as a means of solidifying his own political power. Hideyoshi’s tastes were influenced by his tea master, but nevertheless he also had his own ideas to cement his power such as constructing the Golden Tea Room and hosting the Grand Kitano Tea Ceremony in 1587. The symbiotic relationship between politics and tea was at its height. However, it was increasingly at odds with the rustic and simple aesthetics continuously advertised by his tea master, which the regent increasingly saw as a threat to cementing his own power and position, and their once close relationship began to suffer.

Sen no Rikyū was the leading tea master of the regent Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who greatly supported him in codifying and spreading the way of tea, also as a means of solidifying his own political power. Hideyoshi’s tastes were influenced by his tea master, but nevertheless he also had his own ideas to cement his power such as constructing the Golden Tea Room and hosting the Grand Kitano Tea Ceremony in 1587. The symbiotic relationship between politics and tea was at its height. However, it was increasingly at odds with the rustic and simple aesthetics continuously advertised by his tea master, which the regent increasingly saw as a threat to cementing his own power and position, and their once close relationship began to suffer.

In 1590, one of the leading disciples of Rikyu, Yamanoue Sōji, was brutally executed on orders of the regent. One year later the regent ordered his tea master to commit ritual suicide. The way of tea was never so closely intertwined with politics before or after. After the death of Rikyū, essentially three schools descended from him to continue the tradition. The way of tea continued to spread throughout the country and later developed not only from the court and samurai class, but also towards the townspeople. Many schools of Japanese tea ceremony have evolved through the long history of chadō and are active today.

Master Sen no Rikyū, who codifiedthe way of tea (painting byHasegawa Tōhaku)

“

Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves–slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.”

-Thich Nhat Hanh

“An open tea house serving matcha(ippuku issen, right) anda peddler selling extracts(senjimono-uri ,left),illustration from Shichijuichibanshokunin utaawase, Muromachi period; Ippukuissen’s monk clothing depicts therelationship between matchaculture, tea offerings, and Buddhism”

VENUES

Japanese tea ceremonies are typically conducted in specially constructed spaces or rooms designed for the purpose of tea ceremony.

While a purpose-built tatamifloored room is considered the ideal venue, any place where the necessary implements for the making and serving of the tea can be set out and where the host can make the tea in the presence of the seated guest(s) can be used as a venue for tea. For instance, a tea gathering can be held picnic-style in the outdoors, known as nodate .

A purpose-built room designed for the wabi style of tea is called a chashitsu, and is ideally 4.5-tatami wide and long in floor area. A purposebuilt chashitsu typically has a low ceiling, a hearth built into the floor, an alcove for hanging scrolls and placing other decorative objects ,and separate entrances for host and guests. It also has an attached preparation area known as a mizuya.

A 4.5-mat room is considered standard, but smaller and larger rooms are also used. Building materials and decorations are deliberately simple and rustic in wabi style tea rooms. Chashitsu can also refer to free-standing buildings for tea. Known in English as tea houses, such structures may contain several tea rooms of different sizes and styles, dressing and waiting rooms, and other amenities, and be surrounded by a tea garden called a roji.

Kodai-Ji-Tea-House

SEASONS & THICK AND THIN TEA

Seasonality and the changing of the seasons are considered important for enjoyment of tea and tea ceremony. Traditionally, the year is divided by tea practitioners into two main seasons: the sunken hearth (ro) season, constituting the colder months (traditionally November to April), and the brazier. (furo) season, constituting the warmer months (traditionally May to October). For each season, there are variations in the temae performed and utensils and other equipment used. Ideally, the configuration of the tatami in a 4.5 mat room changes with the season as well.

EQUIPMENT

The equipment for tea ceremony is called chadōgu . A wide range of chadōgu are available and different styles and motifs are used for different events and in different seasons, with most being constructed from carefully crafted bamboo. All the tools for tea are handled with exquisite care, being scrupulously cleaned before and after each use and before storing, with some handled only with gloved hands. Some items, such as the tea storage jar (known as chigusa), are so revered, that historically, they were given proper names like people, and were admired and documented by multiple diarists. The honorary title Senke Jusshoku is given to the ten artisans that provide the utensils for the events held by the three primary iemoto Schools of Japanese tea known as the san-senke. Some of the more essential components of tea ceremony are:

Chakin

The chakin is a small rectangular white linen or hemp cloth mainly used to wipe the tea bowl.

Chasen (tea whisk)

This is the implement used to mix the powdered tea with the hot water. Tea whisks are carved from a single piece of bamboo. There are various types. Tea whisks quickly become worn and damaged with use, and the host should use a new one when holding a chakai or chaji.

Chashaku ( tea scoop)

There are two main ways of preparing matcha for tea consumption: thick (koicha) and thin. (usucha), with the best quality tea leaves used in preparing thick tea. Historically, the tea leaves used as packing material for the koicha leaves in the tea urn (chatsubo) would be served as thin tea. Japanese historical documents about tea that differentiate between usucha and koicha first appear in the Tenmon era (1532–1555). The first documented appearance of the term koicha is in 1575.deally, the configuration of the tatami in a 4.5 mat room changes with the season as well.

As the terms imply, koicha is a thick blend of matcha and hot water that requires about three times as much tea to the equivalent amount of water than usucha. To prepare usucha, matchaand hot water are whipped using the tea whisk (chasen), while koicha is kneaded with thewhisk to smoothly blend the large amount of powdered tea with the water.

Thin tea is served to each guest in an individual bowl, while one bowl of thick tea is sharedamong several guests. This style of sharing a bowl of koicha first appeared in historical documents in 1586, and is a method considered to have been invented by Sen no Riky.

The most important part of a chaji is the preparation and drinking of koicha, which is followed by usucha. A chakai may involve only the preparation and serving of thin tea (and accompanying confections), representing the more relaxed, finishing portion of a chaji.

Tea scoops generally are carved from a single piece of bamboo, although they may also be made of ivory or wood. They are used to scoop tea from the tea caddy into the tea bowl. Bamboo tea scoops in the most casual style have a nodule in the approximate center. Larger scoops are used to transfer tea into the tea caddy in the mizuya (preparation area), but these are not seen by guests. Different styles and colours are used in various tea traditions.

Chawan ( tea bowl)

Tea bowls are available in a wide range of sizes and styles, and different styles are used forthick and thin tea. Shallow bowls, which allow the tea to cool rapidly, are used in summer;deep bowls are used in winter. Bowls are frequently named by their creators or owners, or bya tea master. Bowls over four hundred years old are in use today, but only on unusually. special occasions. The best bowls are thrown by hand, and some bowls are extremely valuable. Irregularities and imperfections are prized: they are often featured prominently as the “front” of the bowl.

Natsume/Chaire (tea caddy)

The small lidded container in which the powdered tea is placed for use in the tea-making procedure (temae). The natsume is usually employed for usucha and the chaire for koicha.

-R. Corless

PROCEDURES

“Meanwhile, let us have a sip of tea. The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos, the fountains are bubbling with delight, the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle. Let us dream of evanescence, and linger in the

Procedures vary from school to school, and with the time of year, time of day, venue, and other considerations. The noon tea gathering of one host and a maximum of five guests is considered the most formal chaji. The following is a general description of a noon chaji held in the cool weather season at a purpose-built tea house.

The guests arrive a little before the appointed time and enter an interior waiting room, where they store unneeded items such as coats, and put on fresh tabi socks. Ideally, the waiting room has a tatami floor and an alcove (tokonoma), in which is displayed a hanging scroll which may allude to the season, the theme of the chaji, or some other appropriate theme.

The guests are served a cup of the hot water, kombu tea, roasted barley tea, or sakurayu. When all the guests have arrived and finished their preparations, they proceed to the outdoor waiting bench in the roji, where they remain until summoned by the host.

Following a silent bow between host and guests, the guests proceed in order to a tsukubai(stone basin) where they ritually purify themselves by washing their hands and rinsing their mouths with water, and then continue along the roji to the tea house. They remove their footwear and enter the tea room through a small “crawling-in” door (nijiri-guchi), and proceed to view the items placed in the tokonoma and any tea equipment placed ready in the room, and are then seated seiza-style on the tatami in order of prestige.

When the last guest has taken their place, they close the door with an audible sound to alert the host, who enters the tea room and welcomes each guest, and then answers questions posed by the first guest about the scroll and other items.

The chaji begins in the cool months with the laying of the charcoal fire which is used to

heat the water. Following this, guests are served a meal in several courses accompanied by sake and followed by a small sweet (wagashi) eaten from special paper called kaishi which each guest carries, often in a decorative wallet or tucked into the breast of the kimono.[19]After the meal, there is a break called a nakadachi during which the guests return to the waiting shelter until summoned again by the host, who uses the break to sweep the tearoom, take down the scroll and replace it with a flower arrangement, open the tea room’s shutters, and make preparations for serving the tea. Having been summoned back to the tea room by the sound of a bell or gong rung in prescribed ways, the guests again purify themselves and examine the items placed in the tea room. The host then enters, ritually cleanses each utensil – including the tea bowl, whisk, and tea scoop –in the presence of the guests in a precise order and using prescribed motions, and places them in an exact arrangement according to the particular temae procedure being performed. When the preparation of the utensils is complete, the host prepares thick tea. Bows are exchanged between the host and the guest receiving the tea. The guest then bows to the second guest, and raises the bowl in a gesture of respect to the host. The guest rotates the bowl to avoid drinking from its front, takes a sip, and compliments the host on the tea. After taking a few sips, the guest wipes clean the rim of the bowl and passes it to the second guest. The procedure is repeated until all guests have

taken tea from the same bowl; each guest then has an opportunity to admire the bowl before it is returned to the host, who then cleanses the equipment and leaves the tea room. The host then rekindles the fire and adds more charcoal. This signifies a change from the more formal portion of the gathering to the more casual portion, and the host will return to the tearoom to bring in a smoking set (tabakobon) and more confections, usually higashi, to accompany the thin tea, and possibly cushions for the guests’ comfort.

The host will then proceed with the preparation of an individual bowl of thin tea to be served to each guest. While in earlier portions of the gathering conversation is limited to a few formal comments exchanged between the first guest and the host, in the usucha portion, after a similar ritual exchange, the guests may engage in casual conversation.

beautiful foolishness of things”

-Okakuro Kazuko

Guests may be allowed after theserving of the tea (otemae) to take acloser look at the objects in theroom (Nishiki-e by MizunoToshikata).

“Tea is more than an idealization of the form of drinking; it is a religion of the art of life.”

-Okakuro Kazuko

The Japanese traditional floor mats, tatami, are used in various ways in tea offerings. Their placement, for example, determines how a person walks through the tea room chashitsu, and the different seating positions. The use of tatami flooring has influenced the development of tea. For instance, when walking on tatami it is customary to shuffle, to avoid causing disturbance. Shuffling forces one to slowdown, to maintain erect posture, and to walk quietly, and helps one to maintain balance as the combination of tabi and tatami makes for a slippery surface; it is also a function of wearing kimono, which restricts stride length. One must avoid walking on the joins between mats, one practical reason being that that would tend to damage the tatami. Therefore, tea students are taught to step over such joins when walking in the tea room.

The placement of tatami in tea rooms differs slightly from the normal placement in regular Japanese-style rooms, and may also vary by season (where it is possible to rearrange the mats). In a 4.5 mat room, the mats are placed in a circular pattern around a centre mat. Purpose-built tea rooms have a sunken hearth in the floor which is used in winter. A special tatami is used which has a cut-out section providing access to the hearth. In summer, the hearth is covered either with a small square of extra tatami, or, more commonly, the hearth tatami is replaced with a full mat, totally hiding the hearth. It is customary to avoid stepping on this centre mat whenever possible, as well as to avoid placing the hands palm-down on it, as it functions as a kind of table: tea utensils are placed on it for viewing, and prepared bowls of tea are placed on it for serving to the guests. To avoid stepping on it people may walk around it on the other mats, or shuffle on the hands and knees.

Except when walking, when moving about on the

tatami one places one’s closed fists on the mats and uses them to pull oneself forward or push backwards while maintaining a seiza position. There are dozens of real and imaginary lines that crisscross any tearoom. These are used to determine the exact placement of utensils and myriad other details; when performed by skilled practitioners, the placement of utensils will vary minutely from gathering to gathering. The lines in tatami mats (tatami-me) are used as one guide for placement, and the joins serve as a demarcation indicating where people should sit. Tatami provide a more comfortable surface for sitting seiza-style. At certain times of year(primarily during the new year’s festivities) the portions of the tatami where guests sit may be covered with a red felt cloth.

“In Japan, I took part in a tea ceremony. You go into a small room, tea is served, and that’s it really, except that everything is done with so much ritual and ceremony that a banal daily event is transformed into a moment of communion with the universe.”Okakuro Kazuko

A typical winter tearoom layout in a 4.5mat tearoom, showing position of tatami,tokonoma, mizuya dōkō, hearth, guestsand host

An interior view of a large tea roomwith tatami and tokonoma, in which the tokonoma is a hanging scroll,flower arrangement (not chabana style), and incense burner

SCHOOLS

In Japan, those who wish to study tea ceremony typically join a “circle”, a generic term for a group that meets regularly to participate in a given activity. There are also tea clubs at many junior and high schools, colleges and universities. Classes may be held at community centres, dedicated tea schools, or at private homes. Tea schools often teach a wide variety of pupils who may study at different times; for example, the school may have a group for women, a group for older students, and a group for younger students. Students normally pay a monthly fee which covers tuition and the use of the school’s(or teacher’s) bowls and other equipment, the tea itself, and the sweets that students serve and eat at every class. Students must be equipped with their own fukusa, fan, kaishi paper, and kobukusa, as well as their own wallet in which to place these items.

Though some groups and practitioners of tea ceremony may wear Western clothing, for most occasions of tea ceremony – particularly if the teacher is highly ranked within the tradition –wearing kimono is mostly considered essential, in particular for women. In some cases, advanced students may be given permission to wear the school’s mark in place of the usual family crests on formal kimono. This permission usually accompanies the granting of a chamei,or “tea name”, to the student.

New students typically begin by observing more advanced students as they practice. New students may be taught mostly by more advanced students; the most advanced students are taught exclusively by the teacher. The first things new students learn are how to correctly open and close sliding doors, how to walk on tatami, how to enter and exit the tea room, how to bow and to whom and when to do so, how to wash, store and care for the various equipment, how to fold the fukusa, how to ritually clean tea equipment, and how to wash and fold chakin. As they master these essential steps, students are also taught how to behave as a guest at tea ceremonies: the correct words to say, how to handle bowls, how to drink tea and eat sweets, how to use paper and sweet-picks, and myriad other details.

As they master the basics, students will be instructed on how to prepare the powdered tea for use, how to fill the tea caddy, and finally, how to measure the tea and water and whisk it to the proper consistency. Once these basic steps have been mastered, students begin to practice the simplest temae, typically beginning with O-bon temae. Only when the first offering has been mastered will students move on. Study is through observation and hands on practice; students do not often take notes,

and many teachers discourage the practice of notetaking.

As they master each offering, some schools and teachers present students with certificates at a formal ceremony. According to the school, this certificate may warrant that the student has mastered a given temae, or may give the student permission to begin studying a given temae. Acquiring such certificates is often very costly; the student typically must not only pay for the preparation of the certificate itself and for participating in the gathering during which it is bestowed, but is also expected to thank the teacher by presenting him or her with a gift of money. The cost of acquiring certificates increases as the student’s level increases.

Typically, each class ends with the whole group being given brief instruction by the main teacher, usually concerning the contents of the tokonoma (the scroll alcove, which typically features a hanging scroll (usually with calligraphy), a flower arrangement, and occasionally other objects as well) and the sweets that have been served that day. Related topics include incense and kimono, or comments on seasonal variations in equipment or offerings.

“The tea ceremony is like any other art where years of study are necessary to do it with grace and a depth of understanding and skill. The masters say that it takes ten years of dedicated study to do it right.”

-A.L. Sadler

Tea ceremony performed bySenGenshitsu, 15th Grand Master of theUrasenke school