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1. Life in Shogunate Japan
2. Overview Cultural Practise - nature/ origins/ change
3. Influence of religious beliefs
4. Cultural practise today

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A solemn traditional Japanese tea ceremony conducted with deliberateness.

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Chasen - Bamboo whisk
Chashaku - Bamboo teaspoon
Natsume - Tea caddy
Kama - Tea Kettle
Furo - Brazier
Ikebana - Flower arrangements
Matcha Japanese Green Tea

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Today the tea ceremony is very different as to what it was when it first started. Today you get a meal and 2 servings of tea. You use to get given one bowl of tea. Tea ceremony’s today last approximately 4 hours which it use to last for only 20 minutes. Today the host can be male or female and it use to be only male. The hostess serves tea to the guests as well as learning to appreciate arts, crafts, poetry and calligraphy; learning to arrange flowers, cooks and care for a garden whilst giving him/her grace, selflessness and love and grace to others they also did this when it first started but they gave them more of a connection with nature. As showed the tea ceremony is very different to what it used to be like but they still do some of the same things and they are still trying to keep the same beliefs there. (Source E)

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Buddhist Monks had beliefs that they went by and the beliefs influenced the tea ceremony. Some of the beliefs were they cannot eat meat, fish or any animal products. They are not allowed to drink alcohol. They must fast during the evening. When fasting they are allowed to only drink tea and nothing else. Buddhist monks were responsible for collecting tea plants and seeds, bringing them back to their local region, growing the plants and cultivating the tea leaves. The monk that did this also had the belief to not eat meat, fish and drink alcohol this is why they still follow this today. Zen Buddhism teaches the importance of meditation and discipline. The belief that all acts of human behaviour are important and should be treated as acts of art. Confucianism morality is being good and honourable, respect ones elders, correct social relationships, worship of ancestors and family loyalty. Shinto has strong connection with nature, believe in afterlife and they worship spirits. All the three main religions have beliefs that are all associated with the tea ceremony. This is why the beliefs and rituals that they do at the tea ceremony all come from Buddhism, Confucianism and Shinto. (Source A)

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Overview Cultural Practise- nature/ origins/ change

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Overview Cultural Practise- nature/ origins/ change

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The tea ceremony has been created for many different reasons, to be able to encourage reflection on humanity and simplicity, imperfection and emptiness, to get a strong connection with nature and appreciate all of nature’s beauties. At the tea ceremony they get the time to sit down and look around at all the man-made gardens and appreciate whilst the host tells you about the gardens. By the time you leave you should have made a strong connection with the host and the garden. Understanding emptiness and human imperfection is considered the way to achieve spiritual enlightenment in Buddhism. The tea ceremony had its origins in the thirteenth century when Zen Buddhist monks, in an effort to be alert for religious duties, to pass the tea cup along themselves. But, it was the sixteenth century devotee Sen no Rikyu (1522-91) who raised the ritual to fine art. The utensils used at a tea ceremony are a chasen, chashaku, natsume, kama, furo, ikebana and matcha. The reason for the tea ceremony is to create a relaxed talking within the host and the guests. The Tea ceremony is partly based on making and serving the tea but mostly based on the intimate connections with architecture, landscape gardening, paintings, flower arrangements, ceramics, calligraphy, Zen Buddhism and all the other essential features with a relationship to the ceremony. It fit in well with the shogun society because both men and woman were doing this by the beginning of the Meiji Era. Overall the reason it was created was for the guests and the host to have a good time and relax and build friendships with a cup of tea. (Source A & B & D)

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The medieval practise of the tea ceremony was significantly influenced by the shogunate and religious beliefs of the Shinto through the strong connection with nature.

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Life in Shogunate Japan was jobs based on the social hierarchy. “The monks were responsible for collecting tea plants and seeds, bringing them back to their local region, growing the plants and cultivating the tea leaves.”  (- Clyne, J., Searby, R., Leeds, M., Frapell, S., Cummins, N., Cashman, L. & Meehan, M. (2012). History 8: The ancient and modern world. South Yarra, Victoria: Macmillan). The monks do this because tea seeds were first brought to Japan by a Buddhist Monk in 815C. They also had to do work and jobs such as they had to learn the arts of landscape gardening. This is because they had to have man-made gardens because it imitated the gardens. This shows that on the social hierarchy they gave the monks the jobs that the farmers and peasants would do in a village to be doing at the tea ceremony. At the tea ceremony the hostess had to be male. The hostess job was to give and make the tea and also make and give the guest’s relaxation and a relationship with nature and give him relaxation, grace and selflessness. This shows that on the social hierarchy the jobs for the monks at the tea ceremony is to do jobs that the peasant’s and farmers would usually do in a village and the job for the hostess was more easy and they had to give guest relaxation as well as himself, also  make and serve the tea. (Source A & B & C)

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Source A- Clyne, J., Searby, R., Leeds, M., Frapell, S., Cummins, N., Cashman, L. & Meehan, M. (2012).       History 8: The ancient and modern world. South Yarra, Victoria: Macmillan

Source B- Kruse, D. (2000). The Medievals (Second Ed). Singapore: Oxford U.P.

Source C- Sosnoski, D. (1996). Introduction to Japanese culture. Singapore: Tuttle Pub.

Source D-  Japan Fact Sheet. (2011). Web Japan. 8/10/16. http//web japan.org/factsheet/en/pdf/28teaceremony.pdf

Source E- The Japanese Tea Ceremony. (2007). The Japanese tea ceremony. 8/10/16. http://japanese-tea-ceremony.net/

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Japanese Green Tea