Japanese Tea Ceremony ( 茶の湯 ) [ Chanoyu ]

1. Japanese Tea Ceremony (茶の湯)[Chanoyu] -ジェーン

2. Fancy/Helpful Vocab: • 茶の湯 (Chanoyu) • used to refer to the Japanese tea ceremony typically by people who are actually studying it. • 茶道 (Chado/Sado) • Refers to learning the ways of the ceremony from an experienced teacher • 茶事 (Chaji) • Full length Tea Gathering including a meal (and sake, and an intermission before actual tea is served) • Guests are selected (formal) • 茶会 (Chakai) • Tea Gathering (guests are only served wagashi (sweets) before tea. • Guests are not selected; anyone can attend (informal)

3. Yet More Vocab: • 挨拶 (Aisatsu): Greeting • 茶室 (Chashitsu): Tea room • 懐石 (Kaiseki): Tea Ceremony meal • 菓子 (Wagashi): Sweets served before drinking green tea • 濃茶(Koicha): Thick tea • 薄茶 (Usucha): Thin tea • 抹茶 (Matcha): Powdered green tea

4. Beginnings of Tea in Japan • Tea brought over from China by the Buddhist monk Eichu • Boiled tea leaves (dancha: 団茶) • First Tea Ceremony occurred in the 8th Century • Nara Period (710-794) tea plants grown in Japan • Medicinal • Priests and Noblemen • Rarity in Japan from 794-1192

5. Myoan Eisai • Myoan Eisai • High-ranking Zen Buddhist Monk (brought Zen Buddhism to Japan). • Travelled to China in 1187 • Upon returning, he used tea for religious purposes (as he’d seen during his time in China). • KissaYojoki (1211) • First treatise written on tea. • Suggests tea is a cure for all ills • Increased popularity of tea in Japan (it is no longer a rarity)

6. Sen no Rikyu • Born in 1522 • Followed principle of “ichi-go ichi-e” (each meeting should be treasured, for it can never be reproduced exactly the same) • Served as tea master to Oda Nobunaga, the leading daimyo in Japan. • When Nobunaga was assassinated, he served as tea master to ToyotomiHideyoshi, Nobunaga’s successor & military dictator of Japan. • 4 Fundamental Qualities Exemplified in Tea Ceremony: • Harmony (wa: 和) • Respect (kei: 敬) • Purity (sei: 清) • Tranquility (jaku: 寂)

7. cont. • Many behaviors in today’s Tea Ceremony are attributed to Sen no Rikyu: • A tea house built to accommodate 5 people • Most (formal) tea ceremonies have 5 guests; Shokyaku, Jikyaku, Kyaku, and the Tsume. • A separate room for tea utensils to be washed • Separate entrances for the host and guests • A low doorway, meant to humble guests for the ceremony

8. Object of the Ceremony • Not about the actual drinking of tea. • Aesthetics • Ritual • Drinking tea made from the heart

9. Within the Tea House • Tatami floors/mats • Sunken space in the ground for tea pot to rest (the hearth) • Scroll (kakemono) • Kakemono are written in calligraphy, often by famous calligraphers. The words on the scroll will often have something to do with The 4 Ways of Tea (harmony, respect, purity, tranquility), or a well-known saying. • Flower arrangement (chabana) • Chabana is a simplified form of ikebana, an older style of the art of flower arranging

10. Tools of the Trade • Chaikin(茶巾) • Arectangular, white, linen or hemp cloth used to ritually cleanse the tea bowl. Different styles are used for thick and thin tea. • Fukusa(袱紗) • A square silk cloth used for the ritual cleansing of the tea scoop and the tea caddy, and to handle hot kettle or pot lids. • Hishaku(柄杓) • This is a long bamboo ladle with a nodule in the approximate center of the handle. It is used to transfer water to and from the iron pot and the fresh water container in certain ceremonies. Different styles are used for different ceremonies and in different seasons. A larger version is used for the ritual purification undergone by guests before entering the tea room. • Tana • Ageneral word that refers to all types of wooden or bamboo furniture used in tea preparation; various tea elements are placed on/stored in them.

11. cont. • Chawan(茶碗) • Tea bowls; size and shape may vary on the season, style changes for thick vs. thin tea. Bowls are frequently named by their owners or creators, or by a tea master. The best bowls are those thrown by hand. • Cha-ire (茶入) and Natsume(棗) • Tea caddies. Cha-ire are used for thick tea and Natsume are used for thin tea. • Chashaku(茶杓) • Tea scoops, used to scoop tea from the tea caddie into the tea bowl. They are typically carved from a single piece of bamboo or ivory. • Chasen(茶筅) • Tea whisks, carved from a single piece of bamboo; there are thick and thin whisks for thick and thin tea.

12. Steps to the Ceremony • Before the ceremony: • Guests stay in a waiting room (machiai) until the host is ready for them. • The guests will walk across dewy ground (roji), symbolically ridding themselves of the dust of the world in preparation for the ceremony.  • Guests will wash their hands and mouths from water in a stone basin (tsukubai) as a last purifying step. • The host receives the guests through a small door or gate. • The host greets each guest with a silent bow.  • For a Chakai, guests are served Wagashi (sweets) and then the tea.For a Chaji, a full three course meal is served. • A Chaji, complete with sake and intermission before the tea is served, can take up to four hours. • Usucha is served at the end of a Chaji (ceremony unto itself).

13. Making of Tea • The Japanese tea ceremony steps begin with cleaning and preparation of the tea serving utensils.  • The host cleans the tea bowl, tea scoop, and tea whisk with concentrated and graceful movements.  • Next, the host prepares the tea by adding three scoops of matcha green tea powder per guest to the tea bowl.  • Hot water is ladled into the bowl and whisked into a thin paste.  • More water is added as needed to create a soup-like tea. 

14. Drinking of Tea and End of Ceremony • The host presents the prepared tea bowl to one of the guests and they exchange bows.  • This first guest admires the bowl then rotates it before taking a drink.  • This is done so that the more beautiful side of the cup is facing the others in the room (at first the guests, and then the host). • The guest wipes the rim of the tea bowl then offers it to the next guess who repeats these movements.  • After all the guests have taken a drink of tea, the bowl is rinsed clean by the host.  The host will also rinse and clean the tea whisk and scoop again.  • The guests now have an opportunity to inspect the utensils used during the ceremony.  They carefully and respectfully examine the utensils, perhaps even using a cloth when delicately handling them. •   The host gathers the utensils and the guests exit with a bow completing the ceremony.

15. That’s Pretty Much It • Well, in the abbreviated, simplified form. |Back to Home|

16. Sources: • “Glossary of Utensils.” Japanese Tea Ceremony. Japanese Tea Ceremony Utensils. 04 Nov. 2011. • Liow, Ricky. “Tea Ceremony.” Ricky Liow Tea Ceremony. 02 Nov. 2011. • “Religion and Culture.” Holy Mountain Trading Company. Culture. 04 Nov. 2011. • “Sen no Riku.” Zen Stories of the Samurai. 03 Nov. 2011. • “The Japanese Tea Ceremony.” Teavana. 03 Nov. 2011.