Ways that Japanese Tea Ceremony Reflects Japanese Culture - Coursework Example

Name: University: Instructor: Date: Ways that Japanese Tea Ceremony Reflect Japanese Culture Introduction Teatime is considered by many as a tradition practiced by people of British Isles, but the ceremony is actually an ancient practice that happens in Japan.  Basically, the Japanese tea ceremony has significance and meaning, both historically and culturally. The Japanese tea ceremony known as chanoyu is deeply entrenched in the Japanese culture; therefore, all aspects of this ceremony are important.  The western comprehension of ‘a ceremony’ according to Wong (136) is a set of formalized activities, normally traditional and fixed, done on crucial religious or social occasions. However, the Japanese Tea Ceremony, is not fixed, but instead it is flexible because every event and different season needs unique as well as special preparations, choice of flowers arrangement, choice of utensils, a hanging scroll that highlights the type of tea-meeting in addition to the host’s objective. For this reason, the Japanese tea ceremony is recognized as ‘the Way of Tea’ because it focuses on a culture, where the host prepares the guests a green tea. Essentially, the Way of Tea is a subtly variable way to commune with nature and with friends. Deeply rooted in Chinese Zen philosophy, it is a means of removing a person from the routine activities of everyday life and to attain inner peace and tranquility. Arguably, tea was initially grown in China, and the tea transmission to China took place by means of basic trade relations. The powdered tea was introduced in Japan by the Monk Eisai, and was also taught how they can grind finely tea leaves to make powdered.  Furthermore, Monk Eisai is reported to be the first person to grow tea for both religious reasons and medicinal purposes, and tea ceremony is related to Zen Buddhism because of Monk Eisai position as Buddhist. According to Oxtoby and Hussain (280) Buddhism promotes humility, respect and harmony, all of which are part of the tea ceremony. The essay seeks to examine ways that Japanese tea ceremony reflects Japanese Culture. Body Essentially, the Japanese tea is concerned with friends gathering to revel in a bowl of tea.  Partakers normally talk about art objects as well as seasonal beauty exhibited in the Japanese tea house. Comments normally range from the tea garden freshness to the allure of a certain Japanese tea cup.  Certainly, during the ceremony everyone is expected to enjoy the green tea. Still, in Japan, the ceremony is not just considered as a tea party, but also an aesthetic experience that is almost spiritual.  Normally, tea ceremonies are held in Japanese homes or attractive tea houses, which are enclosed by beautiful gardens. Besides that, the path towards the tearoom is devotedly taken care of, and Japanese carpentry inside the teahouse should be of high quality.  Such visual details are crucial in generating a magical environment, which is crucial as the Japanese tea, itself. In the ceremony, there must be a host, and prior to the event the host must cautiously choose the artwork that will be exhibited as well as the Japanese tea cups to be utilized.  The objective of the host is to generate the ideal atmosphere for the participants.  In Japanese tea ceremony, wa-kei-sei-jaku is used to sum up the ideal atmosphere, which denotes harmony, reverence, purity, as well as tranquility (Ali, Anwar and Hassan 2390). In consequence, the guests are expected to do their best in order to ensure that the Ichigo Ichi-e, a tea philosophy is supported. Therefore, the tea ceremony is not just a gathering of friends; rather it is a cultural attitude and cultural aesthetic, which is exceedingly important in Japanese culture.  According to Jones (116), Zen Buddhism and samurai culture have evolved together in Japan at the time of the ‘warring states’ period. At this period, the Zen spiritualism influenced the Samurai warrior class, and vice-versa. In consequence, this resulted in a culture that valued frugality, honor as well as mastery of everything such as the ‘way of tea’. Imperatively, the tea ceremony needs certain utensils and stimulates a thoughtful attitude. All the ceremony utensils (the kettle, the water pot, the whisk, the bamboo spoon as well as the tea bowl) are considered important and are highly prized. The tea ceremony instruments are not used because of their usefulness, but due to their natural beauty and simplicity. The instruments are artistic pieces gathered for their historical as well as aesthetic value. According to reference, misshapen vessels or those that evoke nature are preferred by tea masters because they express wabi and sabi, Japanese aesthetic and philosophical principles. Basically, wabi and sabi is about valuing and appreciating weathered and oil things. In the Japanese tea ceremony, numerous specific steps are pursued, and have for years been perfected so as to reduce any unnecessary movements. The tea house is approached through a pristine outside garden, and the tea is transported from the material world to tea room, considered as spiritual territory. The guests rinse their mouth and hands in the garden in order to remove any spiritual impurities. Scores of tea houses’ door are small, whereby the guest is expected to crawl while entering. This depicts a humility act and points out that every person in the tea house is of the same status. After the entrance, the guests pause for a while so as to admire the tea house artwork, which selected specifically by the host with the goal of establishing the mood. Before building the fire for the tea kettle, the host first greets the guest. During the preparation of the tea, the guests appreciate and comment on the artwork and utensils. The host movements are precise and premeditated while preparing the tea. Sometimes the guests are offered a something sweet or a formal meal while waiting for the tea. Basically, eating something sweet shows the difference to the tea bitterness. After the tea has been prepared, the tea is served before drinking it in three and a half sips, and then the tea ceremony ends. The Japanese tea ceremony involves three cultural aspects; devotional, social, and medicinal. Normally, the ceremony attracts the tea’s devotional and social sides, and the ceremony focuses on the natural human activity. The host normally generates simplicity by means of formality and adhering to the prescribed steps, which have been passed down for many years. The Japanese tea ceremony has been advanced to become a way of creating inner peace and awareness that may bring about wisdom. The environment where the ceremony takes place is very simple and uncluttered, and the process is understood by the guests. The guests can settle and relax in a reflective state of mind, and the wabi and sabi ideas are permeated in all aspects of the ceremony. Such principles need the participants to go further than worldly connections so as to become compassionate to others. Through the environment that is peaceful and simple as well as the established actions repetition, tea ceremony participants can achieve a Zen-like state. As observed by Penrod (4), Zen and tea are strongly entwined; therefore, the entire tea ceremony cannot be considered completely appreciated devoid of comprehending the Zen Buddhism. In this regard, Zen is permeated in all facets of the Japanese tea ceremony. Although a number of Japanese traditions, like the haiku as well as Ikebana, have been adopted by other countries, the tea ceremony is yet to attain such status. This is because, the tea ceremony is tradition embedded deeply in the Japanese culture and needs understanding not just in the Zen philosophy, but as well in cultural traditions, garden architecture and ceramics. The hysterical world as well as myriad dilemmas has left people’s minds and bodies exhausted. It is for this reason why people desire to have a moment of peace and tranquility. According to Oxtoby and Hussain (271), people are born in tranquility, but they hardly remain there. Therefore, the ‘way of tea’ practice offers a platform where peace and tranquility can be found. The Japanese tea ceremony as mentioned earlier has four principles known as wa-kei-sei-jaku, which were codified nearly four centuries ago; therefore, incorporating such principles into day-to-day life assists a person to find an irrefutable habitation of tranquility. In the ceremony, wabi is a concept that practically denotes loneliness, and the concept is about appreciating life as well as simplicity beauty. Normally, this concept is integrated during the tea ceremony by ensuring that he tea room is set in a rustic and simple way and very close to nature. Additionally, kokoroire is another concept associated with the ceremony, and is about devotion whereby the participants pour their heart completely into the ceremony. Depending on the different types and philosophy of tea ceremony, Japanese have started schools with the intention of shaping the ceremony further. The schools key objective is teaching the contemporaries ‘the way of tea’. Based on the balance as well as simplicity, such ideals are supported by all aspects of the tea ceremony. Importantly, the tea room should not have anything that is redundant, garish or loud, so that the participants are not distracted from the moment. Therefore, simple design and colors in floral arrangements, art and clothing are considered ideal for the ceremony. This is because the Japanese tea ceremony itself is about simplicity, peace and tranquility. All movements in the tea ceremony, whether by the guests or hosts, are perfected to ensure they are minimal and simple. The tea utilized in the Japanese tea ceremony is grounded green tea leaves. Conclusion In conclusion, the essay has examined ways that Japanese tea ceremony reflects Japanese Culture. As mentioned in the essay, the whole process of the Japanese tea ceremony is not mainly about drinking tea, but about connecting with the ceremony participants and gaining peace and tranquility through generosity. Imperatively, the ceremony aesthetics is considered to be the crucial parts that must be considered because preparation of a bowl of tea for the ceremony participants is essentially a way of showing respect as well as true friendship towards the guests. As mentioned in the essay, the Japanese tea ceremony is mostly considered as a set of cultural and formal stages of tea preparation, but actually the ceremony signifies more features and stage, which are embedded in the Japanese culture. The Japanese tea ceremony is considered special because of the philosophy as well as symbolism behind the preparation and serving of the tea. The ceremony flexibility is achieved by different ways through which the host performs the ceremony, and this mainly depends on the event, season, and the guests taking part and so on. Works Cited Ali, Adibah, et al. "Significance of Japanese Tea Ceremony Values with Ceramic Art Interpretation." Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 106 (2013): 2390–2396. Jones, Ken. The New Social Face of Buddhism: A Call to Action. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003. Oxtoby, Willard Gurdon and Amir Hussain. World Religions: Western Traditions. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2009. Penrod, Alyssa. Zen and the Art of Tea. Working Paper. LaGrange, GA: LaGrange College, 2010. Wong, Kiew Kit. The Complete Book of Zen. Tokyo, Japan: Tuttle Publishing, 2002. Read More

Body Essentially, the Japanese tea is concerned with friends gathering to revel in a bowl of tea.  Partakers normally talk about art objects as well as seasonal beauty exhibited in the Japanese tea house. Comments normally range from the tea garden freshness to the allure of a certain Japanese tea cup.  Certainly, during the ceremony everyone is expected to enjoy the green tea. Still, in Japan, the ceremony is not just considered as a tea party, but also an aesthetic experience that is almost spiritual.

  Normally, tea ceremonies are held in Japanese homes or attractive tea houses, which are enclosed by beautiful gardens. Besides that, the path towards the tearoom is devotedly taken care of, and Japanese carpentry inside the teahouse should be of high quality.  Such visual details are crucial in generating a magical environment, which is crucial as the Japanese tea, itself. In the ceremony, there must be a host, and prior to the event the host must cautiously choose the artwork that will be exhibited as well as the Japanese tea cups to be utilized.

  The objective of the host is to generate the ideal atmosphere for the participants.  In Japanese tea ceremony, wa-kei-sei-jaku is used to sum up the ideal atmosphere, which denotes harmony, reverence, purity, as well as tranquility (Ali, Anwar and Hassan 2390). In consequence, the guests are expected to do their best in order to ensure that the Ichigo Ichi-e, a tea philosophy is supported. Therefore, the tea ceremony is not just a gathering of friends; rather it is a cultural attitude and cultural aesthetic, which is exceedingly important in Japanese culture.

  According to Jones (116), Zen Buddhism and samurai culture have evolved together in Japan at the time of the ‘warring states’ period. At this period, the Zen spiritualism influenced the Samurai warrior class, and vice-versa. In consequence, this resulted in a culture that valued frugality, honor as well as mastery of everything such as the ‘way of tea’. Imperatively, the tea ceremony needs certain utensils and stimulates a thoughtful attitude. All the ceremony utensils (the kettle, the water pot, the whisk, the bamboo spoon as well as the tea bowl) are considered important and are highly prized.

The tea ceremony instruments are not used because of their usefulness, but due to their natural beauty and simplicity. The instruments are artistic pieces gathered for their historical as well as aesthetic value. According to reference, misshapen vessels or those that evoke nature are preferred by tea masters because they express wabi and sabi, Japanese aesthetic and philosophical principles. Basically, wabi and sabi is about valuing and appreciating weathered and oil things. In the Japanese tea ceremony, numerous specific steps are pursued, and have for years been perfected so as to reduce any unnecessary movements.

The tea house is approached through a pristine outside garden, and the tea is transported from the material world to tea room, considered as spiritual territory. The guests rinse their mouth and hands in the garden in order to remove any spiritual impurities. Scores of tea houses’ door are small, whereby the guest is expected to crawl while entering. This depicts a humility act and points out that every person in the tea house is of the same status. After the entrance, the guests pause for a while so as to admire the tea house artwork, which selected specifically by the host with the goal of establishing the mood.

Before building the fire for the tea kettle, the host first greets the guest. During the preparation of the tea, the guests appreciate and comment on the artwork and utensils. The host movements are precise and premeditated while preparing the tea. Sometimes the guests are offered a something sweet or a formal meal while waiting for the tea. Basically, eating something sweet shows the difference to the tea bitterness. After the tea has been prepared, the tea is served before drinking it in three and a half sips, and then the tea ceremony ends.

Read More