Tea Ceremony History in Japan
The Japanese name for the Tea Ceremony is Cado - or "Way of the Tea". Tea first came to Japan in the 6th-8th century, from China of course. At this time tea came in brick form. As the Japanese of this time adored anything Chinese, tea gatherings became very popular. Kyogoku Doyo (1306-72) promoted this lifestyle, build a large tea house and collected quality utensils. The way of life became known as "basara" or diamond for its perfection. There were even judges, called "amis" who would attend a gathering and rule on its correct, formal layout and procedure.
During the Kamakura Period (1200s and 1300s), Eisai is famous for bringing in a new form of tea - powdered, green tea known as matcha. He began to plant trees in Japan. He also spread the word about Zen Buddhism, which soon became very tightly connected with the tea ceremony. Shuko (1422-1502) helped to make the ceremony more Japanese in style - more simple and elegant. He promoted tournaments. Coming next in the style progression was Takeno Jo-o (1502-38) who went for an unpretentious, simple style. Instead of fancy tea cups, he went with simple, handmade local wares. He focussed on the Zen Buddhism principles of mu (nothingness).
Jo-o's pupil is one of the most famous names in tea ceremony history - Sen No Rikyu (1521-91). Sen worked with two famous shoguns - Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi - to cement the simple style of tea ceremony as a necessary part of cultured life. He loved Japanese style pottery, such as raku poetry.
One of Oda Nobunaga's allies, Matsunaga Hisahide, gave him a tea caddy called "Tsukumagomi". Oda liked it so much that he sought after rare tea items and would give them as tokens of appreciation. He even required that formal tea ceremonies be personally approved by him.
Oda was having a grand tea ceremony in Kyoto the night that he died.
Unfortunately for Sen, Hideyoshi ordered him to commit suicide.
The next well known tea master was Futura Oribe (1544-1615) who was also a fan of simple, Japanese style items and pottery. This style carried on throughout the Tokugawa era.
The ideal room for a tea ceremony was one that was simple, allowing the people to focus on the tea. There should be a tatami floor, and shoji walls. A small sprig of flowers might sit in an alcove, to add a hint of beauty.
The spirit of the tea was called "wabi". This stood for cultural restraint, rusticity and assumed poverty.
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