An Introduction to Japanese Tea Ritual

by Jennifer L. Anderson

Enchanting and enigmatic, chanoyu (Japanese tea ritual) has puzzled western observers since the sixteenth century. Here is a book written by a tea practitioner that explains why over twenty million modern Japanese ― and a small but dedicated group of non-Japanese ― follow “The Way of Tea.” Meticulously researched, An Introduction to Japanese Tea Ritual is clearly written and illustrated, and includes an extensive glossary.

Genres: Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Manuel Del Río Rodríguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

'An Introduction to Japanese Tea Ritual' is a very well-written, systematic and enjoyable introduction to one of the classical Japanese arts: Chado, usually translated in the West as 'the Tea Ceremony', a name the author os this book dislikes (following Sen Shoshitsu XVth, oiemoto of Urasenke).

The book analyses different aspects of the art, and of her schooling in it, following the Urasenke family tradition, which is the most accessible to non-Japanese. Information is included about the history and origins of ritual tea-consumption, its development in Japan, the different elements employed in tea ritual and an explanation of their role and 'grammar' (how each element transmit information, like the choices of items employed for each tea gathering, the toriawase). The author has studied Anthropology, so she also gives her reflections on the Tea-Ritual as a form of religious experience, in connection with Zen Buddhism, with transformative and more conventional elements coexisting inside it. The book also explains the structure of Tea-Learning and its organizations (especially Urasenke) and gives a model of a sojo-chaji (formal tea gathering at midday). There's some other tidbits and morsels of information scattered around.

Overall, I'd say this is the best introduction you can probably find about Chado. I've read 3 myself, with this one (Sadler's and Okakura's are the other two), and it gives the starting information clearly and systematically, and with reasonable depth. The only defect I'd mention is I wish the book was much, much bigger and detailed.

[Phill Melton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the most comprehensive overview of cha-no-yu available in English, written by a practitioner of the Urasenke school. Approaching the topic from the perspective of an anthropologist of religion, Anderson explains the philosophical and aesthetic underpinnings behind the cult of Tea and their relationships to the individual acts during a tea gathering.