The+Tea+Ceremony

The Japanese Tea Ceremony is also known as "The Way of Tea." Japan's language of its ways and such, it is called chanoyu or chado. Zen buddhism was kind of the root of the tea ceremony. During the Nara period, when the ceremony was created, tea was expensive and very hard to come by thanks to deteriorating relations between Japan and China. Because tea was so expensive, only the wealthy upper-class could drink it. Without tea being so limited and expensive, it is certain that the Japanese Tea Ceremony would not have been created. As time went on, the ceremony experienced quite a few changes with how the tea is prepared, a Chinese man named Myoan Eisai came to Japan in 1187 with the idea of grinding tea leaves into a powder before actually making tea out of it, which is how it is done today. He was met with some hostility but in time his way was adopted. He was the one who suggested tea had medicinal properties and could cure almost anything which is why the popularity of tea exploded during this time. The samurai were almost obsessive about it and as time has gone on other similar but smaller changes have occurred.

It is a Japanese cultural activity that is usually performed during small get togethers. It is performed with graceful, precise movements to keep the attention of the four to five guests. The guest of honor is the Shokyaku, he or she is the only one who is allowed to speak with the host; they must speak in a clear, humble voice and must not interrupt or cause any sort of trouble to the host. They also must thank the host whenever they answer. The guests descend ranking from Shokyaku to Jikyaku to Tsume (there can be more than one Tsume). They sit in this order as well. One must sit on their knees the whole time and cannot fidget. The guests are served in order of rank and must apologize to the others for being served before them as they are being served, as well as thank the person of the rank above for serving them. The Shokyaku would thank the host, the Jikyaku would thank the Shokyaku and so on. Also, no matter what, you must say the tea is delicious and thank the host often, even if the tea is not good to you, for it is said to be very bitter.

There is different equipment used during the Tea Ceremony. This inludes the powdered green tea, Matcha, which is quite bitter. To counter the bitterness of the tea, Japanes sweets are eaten with the tea, guests are not supposed to touch the sweets with your hands, instead you must bring a Youji, which is a stainless steel sweet fork, and use that because if the sweets will make the guests hands sticky and is considered disrespectful.

It has been said that witnessing a Japanese Tea Ceremony just once will make you realise what spirtual discipline it requires. It is a beautiful and intricate process that has been around for thousands of years. Many people pay serious amounts of money to be a part of a tea ceremony.