Clare Pollard, curator of Japanese art, gave us a brief talk
about the history of tea and the origins of the ceremony. “Even though we call
it ceremony, it doesn’t have anything to do with religion”, Clare said.
She described what happens during the ceremony and passed
around a few of the objects that are used so we could feel and admire them.
Then we headed to the museum’s own tea room where a group of Japanese
volunteers performed the preparation of the tea. We all got a bowl and were
instructed on how to drink from it.
This is what I learned about the Japanese tea ceremony.
History
Tea was brought to Japan from China, where it was first used
as medicine.
Chinese Schools of
Tea:
- Boiled tea (Tang dynasty), consisted of
boiling cakes made of tea leaves.
- Whipped tea (Sung dynasty) is what the
Japanese still drink in the tea ceremony. The tea is pulverised and whipped in
hot water with a split bamboo whisk.
- Steeped tea (Ming dynasty) is the tea as most
of us know it. The tea leaves are immersed in hot water.
Once in Japan, Zen monks started to drink it as part of one
of their rituals, where they drank out of a single bowl which was passed around.
It was then adopted by samurai warriors and spread throughout different groups of
the population.
During the 15th century the ritual became the chanoyu
(tea ceremony), which originated from the Teaism, the Philosophy of tea based
on respect for the beautiful.
Then came Rikyū,
considered the greatest of all tea masters, who created the first independent
tea room in the 16th century and introduced the wabi chanoyu (quiet simplicity
of the tea ceremony). He standardised the rules which included: proportions and
layout of the tea room, utensils, dress code, and formalities to be followed by
the tea master (host) and the guests (no more than five).
Rikyū’s famous four principles of tea are: harmony,
reverence, purity and calmness.
Tea room
The tea rooms are built of natural materials like wood and
bamboo and can be either, a room within the house (kakoi), or an independent
room (sukiya).
The tea room’s two main doors are, the katte-guchi, leading to
the kitchen where the host comes out of, and a tiny door called nijiri-agari to
let the guests in.
The mizuya (kitchen) is where the host stores the utensils
and prepares them for the ceremony.
When guests arrive, they remove their shoes and place them by
a set of stones outside the nijiri-agari. Some tea houses also have a sword
rack where samurai warriors used to set their swords. Then, as a symbol of
humility, regardless of rank or position, all guests crawl in.
Once in, the guests are greeted by the sound of boiling
water from an iron kettle and the decorations arranged on a special place
called tokonoma. This is where the host displays a picture or poem of their
choice and a seasonal flower.
Cleanliness is imperative in the tea room, as are simplicity
and asymmetry. These apply not only to the layout of the room but also to the
utensils. For example, the location of the objects and the shapes of the tea
bowls.
Outside the tea room, there is always a garden and a garden
path called roji. The roji connects the tea room with the machiai where guests
wait to be called. They start coming in one by one following the garden path.
Before
reaching the tea room, all guests approach a water basin called chōzubachi where they bend to wash their hands. This is yet another
sign of humility. There are also stone lanterns which have different names
depending on their shapes.
The main purpose of the roji is to help the guests achieve a
sense of isolation as they make their way to the tea room. When they get to the
entrance, they are ready to leave the stress of everyday life behind and
completely immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the ceremony. Clare
mentioned that it’s like having two personalities.
Tea utensils
Many utensils are used during the tea ceremony. The ones I
saw at the museum demonstration were the kettle, the lid rest (futaoki), the
fresh and waste water jars, the container for the powdered green tea (natsume),
the bamboo tea spoon (chashaku) and ladle (hishaku), the whisk (chasen) made of
split bamboo, and a range of tea bowls (chawan).
It was an amazing experience: I watched, touched and tasted! I can’t
recommend it enough.
Thank you to the Ashmolean, Clare and the volunteers for a wonderful afternoon!
References:
Ashmolean museum Japanese art galleries
Clare Pollard, curator of Japanese art
The Book of Tea by Kakuzo Okakura
Cha-No-Yu The Japanese Tea Ceremony by A.L. Sadler
