The Japanese tea ceremony, also called the Way of Tea, is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha, powdered green tea. In Japanese, it is called chanoyu (茶の湯) or sadō, chadō (茶道). The manner in which it is performed, or the art of its performance, is
called (o)temae. Zen Buddhism was a primary influence in the development of the Japanese tea ceremony.
Tea gatherings are classified as an informal tea gathering chakai (茶会, tea gathering) and a formal tea gathering chaji (茶事, tea event). A chakai is a relatively simple course of hospitality that includes confections,
thin tea, and perhaps a light meal. A chaji is a much more formal gathering, usually including a full-course kaiseki meal followed by confec-tions, thick tea, and thin tea.
The first documented evidence of tea in Japan dates to the 9th century, when it was taken by the Buddhist monk Eichū (永忠) on his return from China. 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 "cake tea" (団茶)—tea compressed into a nugget in the same manner as Pu-erh. This then would be ground in a mortar, and the resulting ground tea mixed together with various other herbs and/or flavourings.
The custom of drinking tea, first for medicinal, and then largely also for pleasurable reasons, was already wide-spread throughout China. In the early 9th century, Chinese author Lu Yu wrote The Classic of Tea, a treatise on tea focusing on its cultivation and preparation. Lu Yu's life had been heavily influenced by Buddhism,
particularly the Zen–Chán school. His ideas would have a strong influence in the deve-lopment of the Japanese tea ceremony.
Around the end of the 12th century, the style of tea preparation called "tencha" (点茶), 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 Eisai, another monk, on his return from China. He also took tea seeds back with him, which eventually produced tea that was of the most superb quality in all of Japan.
The Japanese tea ceremony developed as a "transformative practice", and began to evolve its own aesthetic, in particular that of "sabi" and "wabi" principles. "Wabi" repre-sents the inner, or spiritual, experiences of
human lives. Its original meaning indicated quiet or sober refinement, or subdued taste "characterized by humility, restraint, simpli-city, naturalism, pro"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 imper-fection was honoured as a healthy reminder to cherish our unpolished selves, here and now, just as we are - the first step to "satori" or enlightenment.
While a purpose-built tatami-floored 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 (this is known as nodate (野点)).
A purpose-built room designed for the wabi style of tea is called a chashitsu, and is ideally 4.5 tatami in floor area. It 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 ceremony. 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.
Tea equipment is called chadōgu (茶道具). A wide range of chadōgu are available and different styles and motifs are used for different events and in different seasons. All the tools for tea ceremony are handled with exquisite care. They are scrupulously cleaned before and after each use and before storing, and some are handled only with gloved hands.
The following are a few of the essential components:
Chakin (茶巾). The "chakin" is a small rectangular white linen or hemp cloth mainly used to wipe the tea bowl.
Tea bowl (茶碗). Tea bowls are available in a wide range of sizes and styles, and different styles are used for thick 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 by a 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.
Tea caddy (棗). The small lidded container in which the powdered tea is placed for use in the tea-making procedure.
Tea scoop (茶杓). 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 ji(preparation area), but these are not seen by guests. Different styles and colours are used in various tea traditions.
Tea whisk (茶筅). 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.
Many of the movements and components of tea ceremony evolved from the wearing of kimono; and, although it is not uncommon for students nowadays to wear western clothes for practice, most will practice in kimono at least some of the time, as this is essential to learn the prescribed motions properly.
For example, certain movements are designed with long kimono sleeves in mind; certain motions are intended to move sleeves out of the way or to prevent them from becoming dirtied in the process of making, serving or partaking of tea. Other motions are designed to allow for the straightening of the kimono and hakama. The silk fukusa cloths are designed to be folded and tucked into the
obi (sash); when no obi is worn, a regular belt must be substituted or the motions cannot be performed properly. Kaishi and smaller silk cloths known as kobukusa (小袱紗) are tucked into the breast of the kimono; fans are tucked into the obi. The sleeves of the kimono also function as pockets, and used kaishi are folded and placed into them.
On formal occasions the host—male or female—always wears a kimono. Proper attire for guests is kimono or western formal wear. Most practitioners own at least one kimono suitable for wearing when hosting or participating in tea ceremonies. For both men and women, the attire worn at a tea cere-mony is usually subdued and conservative,
so as not to be distracting.
Men may wear kimono only, or a combination of kimono and hakama (a long divided or undivided skirt worn over the kimono). Women wear various styles of kimono depending on the season and the event; women generally do not wear hakama for tea ceremony, and do not gain the right to wear a jittoku.
Lined kimono are worn by both men and women in the winter months, and unlined ones in the summer. Both men and women wear white tabi (divided-toe socks).
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. Ideally, the waiting room has a tatami floor and an alcove, 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 stone basin where they ritually purify themselves by washing their hands and rinsing their mouths with water at tsukubai, 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, 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 eaten from special paper called kaishi (懐紙), which each guest carries, often in a decorative wallet or tucked into the breast of the kimono. 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 tea room, 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 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 tea room to bring in a smoking set and more confections, usually higashi, to accompany the thin tea. The host will then proceed with the preparation of an individual bowl of thin tea to be served to each guest.
After all the guests have taken tea, the host cleans the utensils in preparation for putting them away. The guest of honour will request that the host allow the guests to examine some of the utensils, and each guest in turn examines each item, including the tea caddy and the tea scoop. The items are treated with extreme care and reverence as they may be priceless, irreplaceable, handmade antiques, and guests often use a special brocaded cloth to handle them.
