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See all the wonderful things sasha storer has made

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tatami mat - traditional straw mat
hieratic scale- representing the sizes of objects according to their importance rather than their actual size
hierarchy- a ranking system; the social sturcture of a community or society
hinin- outcasts in Medieval Japan
ronin- samurai warriors with no Daimyo; they were classed as hinin, or outcasts
Shogun- in theory the military head of Japan, but in reality the political rule of the country

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The Tea Ceremony Steps

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Demonstration of the procedure for Japanese tea ceremony. This video introduces the simplest way that you can try at home. You don't have to worry detail gestures too much. Just follow the basic steps and enjoy! If you want to do it properly, check other videos to explain each steps specifically.

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A Map of Japan

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A Japanese Women Preforming the Tea Ceremony

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Set up of a Japanese Tea Ceremony

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

Kruse, D. (2000). The Medievals (second ed). Singapore: Oxford U,P.

Scott Shackleton (2013). Shogunate Japan (social hierarchy). Retrieved: 08/10/2016 from https://prezi.com/xxtoh3uyr1on/shogunate-japan-social-hierarchy/

Sosnoski, D. (1996). Introduction to Japanese Culture. Singapore: Tuttle Publishing

William (2016). Feudalism in Japan, Medieval Japan, Medieval Japanese social structure. Retrieved: 02/10/2016 from http://www.skwirk.com/p-c_s-14_u-177_t-515_c-1916/feudalism-in-japan/nsw/feudalism-in-japan/medieval-and-early-modern-societies-japan/medieval-japanese-societal-structure

Video- https://youtu.be/7uxTp5VuTMI

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Over time the tea ceremony has greatly adapted from a focussing ritual performed by monks to a modern-day practice. The first practiced of the tea ceremony started out by the monks were all about focusing on the task ahead of them, this aspect has now changed and become an aspect of calmness and leaving behind the worries of the outside world. (Sosnoski, 1996 p.18)

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The Religious Influences on the Tea Ceremony

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The Religious Influences on the Tea Ceremony

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The three religions of Japan had great influence on the tea ceremony. Buddhism is the closest religion associated with the tea ceremony. The tea ceremony respects much of the aspects of the Buddhist beliefs as it was a form of meditation and taught discipline with oneself. Shinto was about peace and tranquillity and the art of the tea ceremony reflected that through its acts of meditational purposes. Both the religions and the ceremony were calm and stable. “Tea has long been associated with Buddhism” (Clyne, et al., 2012 p.148).  One of the first steps of the tea ceremony is when the guest washes their hands and mouth in a garden before entering the tea house. (Clyne, ect al., 2012 p.148). Cleansing was an important step in the ritual as it washed away anything impure from the outside world.

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The Three Main Religions of Shogunate Japan

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The Three Main Religions of Shogunate Japan

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There were three-main religions that were practiced in medieval Japan. The first religion was Shintoism. The Shinto belief was indigenous to Japan and had close connections with the abundance of nature. The rituals that were held or connected with Shintoism often reflected or showed the respect they held for the nature around them; some rituals even included purification. The people of the Shinto belief would often worship public and private shrines. “Shinto emphasised the importance of peace and tranquillity” (Kruse, 2000 p.159). Around the 6th century CE Buddhism was introduced to Japan. Buddhism originated in India in the 6th century BCE and was found by the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama. This religion explained that the although suffering was natural, it was made worse with the desire of wanting things. Buddhism taught the acts of discipline, modesty and meditation and believed that all human acts were artistic. Zen gardening, bonsai gardening, tea ceremony and sushi were all meditative and influenced by the Buddhist beliefs. Confucianism was founded around the 5th or 6th century BCE by a Chinese thinker and writer by the name Confucius. Confucianism made its way to Japan at the time of the 3rd century CE. It was believed that people should have balance harmony in all things. Confucianism was a lot about loyalty to family. They had great respect for their ancestors and often would show this by worshipping them. They even showed their importance of family through political views and looked at the head role of government as a father. The Confucians did not believe that violence and harm by a Samurai’s sword was not the result of the Samurai, but the sword. The people of the Confucius belief “knew their place in society” (Kruse, 2000 p.159).

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The art of the tea ceremony when brought to Japan was widely practiced as it fitted in with one of Japans most wide spread religions. A man named Sen no Rikyu developed the tea ceremony into an art and a calming ritual after he adopted it from the monks. The ceremony had an emphasised of calmness and was believe to pure one’s mind. The tea ceremony was to make one feel at peace with themselves and taught them to embrace their imperfections. When attending a tea ceremony, you would enter an ideal state of mind-modesty. (Kruse, 2000 p.160).

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The tea ceremony was originally founded by the monks. The tea plants were native to the north-east India, north Burma and south-western China. The tea plants were taken with the Buddhist monks around much of Asia. Under their tradition the monks could not eat or drink any animal products or alcohol so tea was a good alternative as it did not contain any of the forbidden substances. The ceremonial ritual reached Japan in 815 CE. It started off as being used for religious purposes only but by the late 12th century it became a luxury associated with the samurai. By the 15th century it had officially been classed as a ceremony by the Zen Buddhist priests. (Cylne, ect al., 2012 p.149).

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The tea ceremony was a very peaceful and relaxing ritual. The ceremony was not focused on just drinking the tea but the art of the performance. When entering a tea ceremony, the guest was made to feel as if they were leaving all their concern behind. In the 16th century it was classified as an art by Sen no Rikyu. (Sosnoski, 1996 p.18). There were many steps in the technique of the tea ceremony. The guest would firstly wash their hands and mouth in a garden before entering a small door to the tea house. They would then kneel on the Japanese tatami mats to await the tea to be served a meal, which was then followed by a thick tea presented in a single bowl by the tea master or host. Quietly the tea is passed around amongst the group. (Clyne, ect al., 2012 p.148).

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The social hierarchy of Shogun Japan

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The Japanese Flag

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Social Classes Rolls and Responsibilities

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Social Classes Rolls and Responsibilities

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The classes each set of roles were different but all necessary to the hierarchical system. The emperor and shogun were both within the same class but both gained their positions in different ways. The shogun earned his place by becoming the military leader of Japan while the emperor inherited his place. Within the warrior class there were subdivisions. The warrior class had three subdivisions within it. One class was the daimyo. The Daimyo were land owners and controlled several samurai who were also part of the warrior subdivision. The Daimyo also traded land in exchange for goods and services which they required. The other division of the warrior class were part of the noble family. The peasant farmers were considered high in society because they provided food, however they were dependent of the daimyo as they were in high demand for land and grain. The artisan or craftsmen were lower in the hierarchy than farmers as what they made was not necessary but they were useful. The artisans included potters, jewellers and armorers. The merchants, however wealthy, were the lowest in the hierarchy as they did not make anything or provide any services. At the bottom of the hierarchy system were hinin and ronin who were considered outcastes or even non-people. They were either criminals, samurai who no longer had a master or had jobs which were seen to be “unclean” such as undertaking and butchery. All the classes had jobs that were necessary to the social structure.

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A Shogun of Medieval Japan

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For the people who lived in Japan during the Shogunate times, status was based on the Confucian belief that classes should be very strictly organised into their roles of what they contributed to society. The hierarchy system consisted of four tiers: the warrior class, peasant farmers, artisans/craftsmen and merchants. The warrior class contributed their skills of protection against invasions and war, the farmers grew crops to provide food, the craftsmen built objects. The merchant class only sold things and that is why they were at the bottom of the hierarchy. There were also people who did not fit into the social structure and these were the emperor and shogun who both had an equal amount of leadership and sat above the system; and the Hinin and Ronin who were considered as outcastes who were completely out of the system. “Japanese society’s four tier hierarchy was centred on the Confucian belief that the importance of a person was based on the significance of their contribution to society” (Clyne, et al., 2012 p.202). The hierarchy was formed in a way that it was useful to society. Everyone played their part in suppling good or services to one another so that the structure worked. Not only did the farmers produce food, warriors provide fighter, craftsmen provided goods, but trading would also happen between and within classes. “The daimyo provided the Shogun with warriors in exchange for land.” (William, 2016). The social hierarchy for the people of medieval Japan was clearly structured depending how important their part of contribution was valued to society.

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The medieval cultural practice of tea ceremony was significantly influenced by the Shogunate and the religious beliefs of the Shinto though the strong connection with nature and calmness.