One of the cultural aspects of Japan that I was very interested in exploring during my year in Kyoto was “Chado” or the Japanese tea ceremony or the Way of Tea.
I became interested in tea after my travels to China and then my visits to “Guan Yin Tea House” in Austin where I took a workshop in the way of Chinese tea pouring. I had been exposed to Chinese loose leaf tea and green loose leaf tea from Japan, but had honestly never truly experienced Macha tea until living in Kyoto. I had been on the lookout for an authentic tea teacher since my arrival but had not had much luck.
As most things have happened this way, I had mentioned my interest in learning to a Japanese woman who referred me to a Master Teacher here in Kyoto who fortunately spoke fluent in English. What was interesting to discover was that all of the students who go to him are Japanese, so I figured he must know something about the art of Tea. His extensive background as a martial arts master also further drew me to visit his class.
I studied a weekly basis to learn more about the Way of Tea firsthand here in Japan.
You can read an interesting article on my teacher “sensei” here:
I studied the traditional art of the Japanese “way of tea” for three hours each week. It proved to be a much more detailed and in depth tradition than I had any appreciation for and some practice it over a lifetime. Like the martial arts, there is a discipline to it.
There are many similarities which can be drawn between the “way of tea” and the way of the Japanese Martial Arts. The efficiency of movements. The mindfulness of focus. The attention to detail.
“The system of decoration in our Japanese tea rooms is opposed to that which obtains in the West, where the interior of house is often converted into a museum. To a Japanese, accustomed to simplicity of ornamentation and frequent change of decorative method, a Western interior permanently filled with a vast array of pictures, statuary, and bric-á-brac gives the impression of a mere vulgar display of riches. It calls for a mighty wealth of appreciation to enjoy the constant sight of even a masterpiece, and limitless indeed must be the capacity for artistic feeling in those who can exist day after day in the midst of such confusion of color and form as is to be often seen in the homes of Europe and America.”
-The Book of Tea, Okakura Kakuzo
