Concepts of Tea Ceremony
Concepts of Tea Ceremony
The Japanese tea ceremony is a Japanese cultural activity involved the ceremonial way of making and drinking powdered green tea, known as “抹茶” (matcha). Japanese tea ceremony is known as “茶の湯” (chanoyu), or “茶道” (chado, sado) in Japanese language, which can be translated as “Way of Tea” in English. Chado is influenced by the Zen Buddhism, and rooted back to China for the introduction of tea to Japan.
千利休 (Sen Rikyu) is considered to have the most profound influences over tea ceremony, as he established many key aspects of the ceremony during the Muromachi, and Azuchi-momoyama period of Japan. There are three main houses (家元) of Japanese Way of Tea that are directly descended from Sen Rikyu; Urasenke (裏千家), Omotesenke (表千家), and Mushakojisenke (武者小路潜家). There are four types of different procedures that are performed in the making of the tea; Chabako temae (茶箱手前), Hakobi-temae (運び手前), Bonryaku temae (盆略手前), and Ryurei (立礼). Bonryaku temae is said to be the easiest, and the first temae learnt, as it does not require much special equipment, or a lot of time to complete.
Many may think of tea ceremony as a party-like event to taste tea, and eat sweets, however, it is just a tea-drinking event. It is a spiritual, aesthetic ceremony, which consists of many concepts that both the host and the guests have to keep in mind during the ceremony. Three of the many concepts are “wa kei sei jaku” (和、敬、清、寂), “ichogo ichie” (一期、一会), and “omoiyari” (思いやり).
“Wa, kei, sei, jaku” is the four main principles that is use in tea ceremony. It is known as “harmony, respect, purity, tranquility” in English. The kanji of these four principles can often be found on the Japanese scroll calligraphy (掛軸) hung on the wall in the alcove (床の間) of the tea room (茶室). “Wa” (和), which is known as “harmony” is the positive interaction between the host and the guest. “Kei” (敬), regarding to “respect”, is the sense that the host thinks of the guest, and the guest think of
The Japanese tea ceremony is a Japanese cultural activity involved the ceremonial way of making and drinking powdered green tea, known as “抹茶” (matcha). Japanese tea ceremony is known as “茶の湯” (chanoyu), or “茶道” (chado, sado) in Japanese language, which can be translated as “Way of Tea” in English. Chado is influenced by the Zen Buddhism, and rooted back to China for the introduction of tea to Japan.
千利休 (Sen Rikyu) is considered to have the most profound influences over tea ceremony, as he established many key aspects of the ceremony during the Muromachi, and Azuchi-momoyama period of Japan. There are three main houses (家元) of Japanese Way of Tea that are directly descended from Sen Rikyu; Urasenke (裏千家), Omotesenke (表千家), and Mushakojisenke (武者小路潜家). There are four types of different procedures that are performed in the making of the tea; Chabako temae (茶箱手前), Hakobi-temae (運び手前), Bonryaku temae (盆略手前), and Ryurei (立礼). Bonryaku temae is said to be the easiest, and the first temae learnt, as it does not require much special equipment, or a lot of time to complete.
Many may think of tea ceremony as a party-like event to taste tea, and eat sweets, however, it is just a tea-drinking event. It is a spiritual, aesthetic ceremony, which consists of many concepts that both the host and the guests have to keep in mind during the ceremony. Three of the many concepts are “wa kei sei jaku” (和、敬、清、寂), “ichogo ichie” (一期、一会), and “omoiyari” (思いやり).
“Wa, kei, sei, jaku” is the four main principles that is use in tea ceremony. It is known as “harmony, respect, purity, tranquility” in English. The kanji of these four principles can often be found on the Japanese scroll calligraphy (掛軸) hung on the wall in the alcove (床の間) of the tea room (茶室). “Wa” (和), which is known as “harmony” is the positive interaction between the host and the guest. “Kei” (敬), regarding to “respect”, is the sense that the host thinks of the guest, and the guest think of