RAKU CHA RYU

Or why is it so hard to write anything non-polemical about Tea ? « Any miso soup left ? » —Kobori Enshu (probably.) (Quote also more arguably attributed to Hideyoshi Toyotomi) The subject of the tea ceremony and its history is so sensitive among practitioners today that to write a consensual introduction to the tea ceremony is a very difficult task. It is partly due to the fact that contradictory information is common.  Certainly, most people agree very vaguely on the chronology and the basics of Tea. But everything regarding the spirit with which it must be practiced and the interpretations to give to the countless legends and tales that go with it is the subject of great debate. Anyway, that is why I will only stick to the few things that I have understood from my various readings and conversations in the hope that it will be interesting to my readers. I have no pretension to present here the one and unique truth about what tea is or...

The seven rules of Tea :  “First you must make a delicious bowl of tea; lay the charcoal so the water boils;  arrange the flowers as they are in the field;  i n the summer suggest coolness,  in the winter, warmth;  do everything ahead of time; prepare for rain;  and give those with whom you find yourself every consideration.” — Sen no Rikyu  (who liked to improvise such sayings) In any tea ceremony, there are at least three steps : purification of the ustensiles, preparation of the actual tea and the cleaning of the ustensiles. To my knowledge, these are the incompressible steps that any tea practice include, even for a minimal tea event. Broadly speaking, what is a « tea ceremony » ? It is an event organized by a host in a place that is adequate or not for tea and to which the guests attend generally with some preparation. A great deal of codes govern over the behavior of the host and his way of serving tea (and,...

If one had to define what is the tea ceremony, how s/he should proceed ? " Tea is nought but this: first you heat the water, then you make the tea. Then you drink it properly. That is all you need to know." — Sen no Rikyu  (also the author of hundreds of other maxims on Tea that render this one much more esoteric) Enter a world of simplicity... The Japanese name of the tea ceremony is Sado ( 茶道 ). Sado should be translated as the Way of Tea. And " Way " must be understood here in its Asian meaning as a path that shapes one’s life, the occasion to meditate at all time on how to behave. But the tea ceremony is also sometimes called chanoyu ( 茶の湯 ) which means " hot water of tea ". Their are many explanations to this name and I will just mention one of them : it is supposed to remind hosts and guests that tea is simply the act of serving tea.  One could already feel the paradox that runs through...

" At this time, the places where Cha-no-yu was most flourishing were Sakai in the East and Hakata in the West. The spirit of Sakai was esoteric and calm, that of Hakata dignified and magnificient. Rikyû and Sôkyû were typical of the East, Sôshitsu and Sôtan of the West. Of Hideyoshi it might be said that he was inclined to make the East his teacher and the West his friend. " — A.L. Sadler, The Japanese Tea Ceremony Based on what I could read, one can identify two " spiritual roots " to modern Tea.  I use the term « root » here but these two practices are certainly not the only practices that inspired modern Tea. I see them rather as « poles » of the practice of tea. These two poles are : the wordly pole (or court pole) and the meditative pole. Are the two cities mentioned by A.L. Sadler (who is only quoting a text here but the reference is lacking) matching these two poles ? I cannot say for sure. Tea Ceremony by Chikanobu Toyohara (1838-1912) ...