P6+Chado+Tea


 * Chado, The Way of Tea**

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Chado has played an important role in the Japanese society for many years. The utensils of a tea ceremony help awaken all of your senses. It helped many samurai who have fought on the battlefield to relax and enjoy the ceremony. You are supposed to achieve harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility during a tea ceremony. There are many rules for attending a tea ceremony. . It was brought to Japan in the 7th century from China.======

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The art of the tea ceremony was brought to Japan in the 7th century by China. When it was first introduced, only Zen priests and court nobles were allowed to use and drink the tea. In the 12th century, a man named Eisai wrote a book about the power of tea to heal the spirit and body. His interest in tea was shared with his famous student Do-gen (1200-1253). When he returned to China in 1227 he brought various tea utensils and gave instructions on how to perform a tea ceremony. Do-gen also included the rules for a tea ceremony. Tea popularity spread to the court nobles of Kyoto and in the samurai warrior classes. They were loud rambunctious parties that consisted of contests where people trying to recognize different teas, and prizes were awarded to the winners. In those parties were gambling, other types of drinking, poetry reading, and showing off different tea utensils from China. A famous 14th century nobleman, Sasaki Doyo was well-known because of his excessive parties. Some samurai sent servants to China to purchase the best tea utensils.======

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When practicing the tea ceremony, the utensils help sharpen all of the senses. Those are seeing, touching, hearing, smelling, and tasting. You will be able to see lovely decorations your host has put out for you, hear the sound of running and steaming water, the sound of bamboo hitting against bamboo, the scent of the tea, to touch many different utensils, to eat the sweets and drink the tea. You should appreciate every touch, fragrance, sound, and taste. During the ceremony, you will be able to absorb your surroundings and make them come alive. The senses are awakened to see, hear smell, feel, and taste better. There is a very precise way to have a tea ceremony.======

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Chado is one of the most important traditions in Japan. Chado allowed Samurai to forget the battlefield and enter an area of peace and quiet. Zen monks usually drank tea to help them stay awake during long hours of meditation. Chado is done in the chashitsu or the tea room. Hosts spend a lot of time preparing for a tea ceremony. The room is always very neat and clean, so there are no distractions. There are also rice straw mats called tatami positioned on the floor. On one side of the chashitsu is a special area called the tokonoma, where the host sets a flower arrangement and/or a scroll, so that every guest is expected to admire and compliment it. Anything artificial is considered offensive and distracting to the guests. The items in the tokonoma are never symmetrical, because if the scroll was right down the middle of the room, it could divide the balance of the room. Also, the design and each item in the area have to be unique. There really isn't a "dress code", but hosts ask that the guests wear simple and comfortable clothing. The maximum amount of guests for a tea ceremony is 5. Each guest is expected to bring a napkin, paper handkerchiefs, a fan, toothpicks (to pick up pieces of cake), and a towel to wrap cake and take home. When the guests arrive, they go on a garden path. Midday is considered the proper time for a full chanoyu, but depending on the ceremony it can be any time of the day. Stone lanterns light the way to a tree with outstretched branches (this adds to the calming effect of the garden). This path has to be kept very neat and tidy. There is a tsukubau or a water basin where guests can wash and rinse their hands and mouths, symbolically ridding themselves of any outside world before entering. The tea ritual begins with making a fire to the hearth called the ro then a meal follows. Afterwards, the guests retire to the garden while the host gets the room ready to serve the koicha (thick tea) and then ushuca (thin tea). One very important custom of the tea ceremony is the inspection of the utensils. Hosts especially prize tea bowls, caddies, and utensils that trace their origin back to past tea masters from their family, they are usually the family's most prized possessions. Many tea masters and followers of chanoyu have even written books about the tea ceremony. At a tea ceremony you are also supposed to follow the four principals.======

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There are four different principals of a tea ceremony. One of the goals of a tea ceremony is to achieve enlightenment and feel relaxed. The four principals are Wa (Harmony), Kei (Respect), Sei (purity), and Jyaku (tranquility). This is pretty much what is supposed to happen at the ceremony; harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility. Those who practice Chado believe that life is very busy. People who practice Chado also rid their minds of everyday worries and unnecessary things, just like how samurai used to use Chado to rid their minds of the battlefield. While drinking tea, the samurai could meditate and build within themselves to get the confidence and self-discipline they needed to be samurai. It is believed that through a bowl of tea, one can have peace of mind, and contribute to the establishment of world peace. There are also many rules to follow in order to host or attend a tea ceremony.======

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The tea ceremony is much more than drinking tea. There are many rules for guests to follow. You must be hasty and arrive on time. This is so the host can begin on time. When you enter you do so with your right foot, and leave with the left foot. When you enter the house you admire the flowers, scrolls, food, and all of the decorations. You must remove your shoes when entering the home of the host; they will provide slippers for you to wear. Eat the sweets and drink all of the tea (it is not a large portion). Turn the tea bowl a tad to avoid drinking from the front side. Normally smoking in a tea room is forbidden. Admire each utensil and compliment host. This action is the most important during a ceremony. After two or three days, write a thank you note to the host. This is known as korel, which means ‘thanking afterwards’. The tea ceremony has been around for hundreds of years. The tea ceremony is an important part of the Japanese traditions so you can achieve the goal of enlightenment.======

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Baker, Rosalie F. //__Samurai__//__.__ Cobblestone Publishing Inc. Peterbourough, NH, 1993. Print
 * Citations:**

Deal, William E. __Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan.__ New York. Facts on File, Inc. 2006.

Kalman, Bobbie//. __Japan the culture__//__.__ Crabtree Publishing Company. Toronto, NY. Print