Japanese Tea Ceremony

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer identifies the historical background and the origin of the Japanese tea ceremony and discusses how the complex nature of the tea ceremony bears the imprint of Japan's spiritual, ethics and aesthetic traditions. The writer argues that although the Japanese tea ceremony has its origin in China, it has now become a peculiarly cultural phenomenon to Japan, which has a great impact on many different aspects of Japanese culture. The writer maintains that the Japanese tea ceremony will continue to play an important role in Japanese culture and serve a great influence on intellectual and personal development of Japanese culture including pottery, calligraphy and flower arrangement. The writer concludes that it was the Japanese who expanded the ritual, philosophical, and aesthetic connotations in the tea ceremony, and turned it into a way of life.

From the Paper:

"Rikyu introduced the concept of ichigoichie that imprints Japan's spiritual and ethical tradition. The concept of ichigoichie explains that each occasion in our life would be only one chance that never can be repeated. This concept emphasises the value of each occasion to meet others and suggests that we should not neglect conducting appropriate behaviours and arrangements for it. Therefore, the utensils, flowers, vase and wall hangings in the tea ceremony are chosen carefully to suit the event, the time of year, and the desired atmosphere for each occasion.
"The selection of objects in a Japanese tea ceremony involves aesthetic traditions of the concept including wabi and sabi that are generally regarded as derived from the appreciation of Zen."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Hammitzsch, H. (1979). Zen in the art of the tea ceremony (P. Lemesurier, Trans.). Harmondsworth: Penguin Group. (Original work published 1977).
• Kamakura, I. (1989). Sen no Rikyu: Inquiries into his life and tea. In P. Varley (Ed. & Trans.), Tea in Japan: Essays on the history of chanoyu (pp. 33-70). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
• Murai, Y. (1989). The development of chanoyu: Before Rikyu. In P. Varley (Ed. & Trans.), Tea in Japan: Essays on the history of chanoyu (pp. 3-32). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
• Okakura, K. (1964). The book of tea. Tokyo: Kenkyusha.
• Soshitu, S. (1979). Chado: The Japanese way of tea (M. Yamaguch, Trans.). New York: Weatherhill.

More papers on Japanese Tea Ceremony:

• Essay # 27851 : "Japanese Tea Gardens"
• Descriptive Essay # 97287 : "Japanese Art"
• Book Review # 96190 : "'Book of Tea'"

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