Tea ceremony

Murata Jukō (1423–1502) is credited with linking tea to Zen ideals and preferring rough Japanese and Korean bowls to perfect Chinese pieces. Takeno Jōō (1502–1555), a merchant of Sakai, deepened the wabi aesthetic, and his pupil Sen no Rikyū (1522–1591), also from Sakai, completed it. Rikyū designed tiny tea rooms with a low crawl-in entrance (nijiriguchi) that made every guest bow, commissioned simple black and red raku bowls, and used everyday objects as utensils.

Hideyoshi used tea for politics: he held the Great Kitano Tea Gathering in 1587, open to all, and had a portable gold tea room built. In 1591 he ordered Rikyū to commit ritual suicide, for reasons that remain debated. Rikyū's grandson Sōtan passed the tradition to his sons, who founded the three Senke houses in Kyoto.

Tea is taught through hereditary schools (ryūha), each led by a grand master (iemoto) who holds the tradition and grants teaching licences. Differences between schools lie in details of movement, utensil handling and how the tea is whisked. Besides the three Senke schools, warrior-style schools descend from tea masters who served feudal lords.

The classic tea room (chashitsu) is small, often four and a half tatami mats, with an alcove (tokonoma) for a hanging scroll and a simple flower arrangement (chabana). Guests approach it through a tea garden (roji) with stepping stones and a stone basin for purifying hands and mouth. Many utensils are chosen for each gathering to suit the season and theme, and guests admire them as part of the ceremony.

Two kinds of tea are prepared. Koicha, thick tea, uses a large amount of matcha kneaded with little water into a glossy, viscous liquid and is shared from one bowl by several guests. Usucha, thin tea, is whisked to a light froth and served in individual bowls. Each is preceded by a sweet.

A full formal gathering (chaji) lasts about four hours: charcoal is laid in the hearth before the guests, a kaiseki meal is served, followed by thick tea and thin tea. Shorter tea gatherings (chakai), where only sweets and thin tea are served, are more common, and many temples, gardens and cultural centres offer them to visitors.

Rikyū's teaching is often summarised in four words: wa (harmony), kei (respect), sei (purity) and jaku (tranquillity). The phrase ichigo ichie, 'one time, one meeting', expresses the idea that each gathering is unique and should be treated with full sincerity; it was popularised in the nineteenth century by the tea master and statesman Ii Naosuke.

The tea ceremony shaped Japanese taste far beyond the tea room: its aesthetics influenced architecture (the sukiya style), garden design, ceramics, lacquer, cuisine and the appreciation of imperfection and age.