Contents
History and origin
Drinking ground tea whisked with hot water began in China under the Tang dynasty (618-907), though it reached its most refined form under the Song (960-1279), in Chinese Buddhist temples. Monks made powdered tea to help hold their concentration during meditation, whisking it in bowls of hot water.
The Buddhist monk Eisai (栄西, 1141-1215) brought tea seeds and the knowledge of powdered tea from China to Japan in 1191. His Kissa Yōjōki («Drinking tea for health»), of 1214, is the first treatise on tea written in Japan. He described tea as the most marvellous drink of heaven and earth, and its medicinal properties made it essential in Zen monasteries.
During the Muromachi period (1336-1573) the tea ceremony moved from aristocratic pastime to spiritual and aesthetic practice. The shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436-1490), retired to his Silver Pavilion villa in Kyoto, raised the ritual to a major art. His tea master, Murata Jukō (1423-1502), introduced the first elements of wabi, austere simplicity, into the ceremony.
The four principles
Sen no Rikyū codified the philosophy of chanoyu into four principles that still guide every school:
- 和 (Wa). Harmony: between host and guests, between the tools and the space, between people and nature.
- 敬 (Kei). Respect: for others, for the materials, for the moment. A respect shown in concrete gestures, not in words.
- 清 (Sei). Purity: the cleanliness of the heart and of the tools. The ritual of cleaning the chawan and the chasen before making tea is an act of mental purification, not only physical.
- 寂 (Jaku). Tranquillity: the stillness that arises when the other three principles are practised. Not an absence of movement, but full presence in the moment.
Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591)
Rikyū is the most important figure in the history of the tea ceremony. Born in Sakai (today Osaka) to a merchant family, he learned the art of tea young. In 1579, at 58, he became tea master to Oda Nobunaga. After Nobunaga’s death in 1582 he entered the service of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, then the most powerful man in Japan.
Rikyū took wabi-sabi in the ceremony to its extreme. He cut tea rooms (chashitsu) down to minimal spaces of two or three tatami. He used raku ceramics of irregular shape and muted colour instead of the Chinese porcelain the aristocracy prized. He preferred wild flowers to elaborate arrangements, cut bamboo to lacquered tools.
In 1591, for reasons historians still debate, Hideyoshi ordered Rikyū to take his own life by seppuku. He was 69. His grave is at Jukō-in temple, within the Daitokuji complex in Kyoto. The three main schools of the tea ceremony (Urasenke, Omotesenke and Mushanokōjisenke) descend from his grandsons.
Types of ceremony
There are two main formats:
- Chaji: the full ceremony. It includes a kaiseki meal (7 to 10 courses), a break, koicha (thick tea) and usucha (light tea). It lasts 3 to 4 hours, for small groups of 2 to 5 guests.
- Chakai: the shortened version. Only usucha and wagashi sweets. It lasts 45 minutes to an hour. This is the format most travellers experience in the temples of Kyoto.
The fundamental difference between koicha and usucha is ratio and consistency. Koicha uses 4 to 6 g of matcha in 40 ml of water, worked gently into a thick paste with no foam. Usucha uses 1.5 to 2 g in 70 ml of water, whisked hard for a dense foam.
The essential tools
| Tool | Japanese | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Tea bowl | 茶碗 Chawan | The vessel the tea is made and drunk in. The central piece of the ceremony. Its shape, weight and feel are part of the experience. |
| Bamboo whisk | 茶筅 Chasen | A bamboo tool split into 80 to 120 fine prongs, to dissolve the matcha and raise foam. |
| Bamboo scoop | 茶杓 Chashaku | A curved bamboo scoop for measuring and moving matcha into the bowl. One chashaku is about 1 g. |
| Tea container | 棗 Natsume | A black or red lacquered container where the matcha is kept during the ceremony. |
| Water kettle | 釜 Kama | The cast iron the water heats in. The sound of the water coming to the boil is a deliberate part of the ceremony. |
| Whisk stand | 茶筅直し Kusenaoshi | A ceramic stand for drying the chasen and holding its shape between uses. |
The three main schools
The three schools (sansenke) descend directly from Sen no Rikyū’s grandsons:
- Urasenke (裏千家): the largest and most international. Based in Kyoto, it has branches in more than 60 countries. The current iemoto (grand master) is Zabōsai, sixteenth in the line. It uses usucha as its main preparation.
- Omotesenke (表千家): more conservative in style. The name means «the front house», as against Urasenke, «the back house». It emphasises koicha. Less international than Urasenke, and just as respected.
- Mushanokōjisenke (武者小路千家): the smallest of the three. Known for its focus on functionality and economy of movement. Founded by Sen Sōshu, Rikyū’s grandson.