The Japanese tea ceremony is not something that you undertake lightly or casually. It is an involved and elaborate process, it is nuanced and intricate, involves knowledge of several different factors; in fact it is an art form that may be perfected over many years. This ceremony has not only social connotations but also stresses on the aesthetics of the occasion and can have religious overtones.

Origin

By all accounts the Japanese tea ceremony has its origin some 700 years ago when tea drinking was first introduced to Japan by Zen Buddhist monks. Gradually the tea ceremony developed as a “transformative practice,” and began to evolve its own aesthetic, in particular that of Wabi (meaning quiet or sober refinement, or subdued taste).

The Host

In Japan there are ‘tea clubs’ which may even be associated with schools, colleges and universities and ‘tea schools’ that impart the essential training for conducting the tea ceremony. The students pay to learn this art form and to use the teachers’ tea ceremony equipment and tea and sweets used therein. The tea practitioner has to be knowledgeable about several things such as flower arrangements, calligraphy, ceramics, incense, types of tea etc.

Usually the host is required to be dressed traditionally in a kimono and would usually begin the ritualistic proceedings. There is the cleaning of the tea tools and then there is the mixing of the water and tea powder with a bamboo whisk. There are certain prescribed movements associated with the serving of the tea wearing a kimono. The host arranges the tea tools in a ritualistic manner that reflects tea values of harmony or ‘wa’. There is also an accent on the flower arrangements for the tea ceremony and the use of calligraphy as an understated decorative element. The calligraphy scroll may also explain some values of the tea ceremony such as simplicity.

The Guests

Usually the tea ceremony is conducted with the guests in a kneeling position on the Japanese mat known as ‘tatami’. Generally the guests are required to be in the ‘seiza’ position unless it is the kind of ceremony that involves table and chairs. Shoes or dirty feet are not permitted on the tatami, which should also be perfectly clean so as to be able to set down the tea equipment on it.

The guest should also be aware of the prescribed gestures and phrases expected in order to participate in the ceremony. The host passes the tea bowl to the main guest first who bows and accepts it. The main guest admires the bowl by raising and rotating it. He then drinks some of the tea, wipes the rim of the bowl, and passes it to the next guest who does the same thing. The guests also compliment, ask questions and admire the tea tools/ tea bowls.

These are just some of the aspect of the Japanese tea ceremony which is probably the most evolved and intricate of all rituals associated with the culture of tea drinking.