P7+Chado

**// Chado: The Practice of Tea P7 By Zach Clements and Sarah Swank //**
Introduction The practice of tea was very important in the Samurai Society. The history of tea, the tea ceremony, the tea house, the tea merchants, and the tea rituals were essential parts of the ceremony. At first the history of Tea was used for religious purposes only, for example the tea ceremony that was performed by the samurai, but later it was used for many other purposes. The tea ceremony was only performed by people of higher ranks such as the samurai but when they went they all spoke equally. The tea house was where the tea ceremony was performed and it was built to allow everyone to feel equal. Tea merchants were the ones whom supplied the tea for the ceremony. Tea rituals were what were performed at the tea ceremony and sometimes they could be as little as wiping the bowl of tea, but it still meant a lot more than it seems. The practice of tea was very important in the Tokugawa Period and was basically meant for everyone to feel relaxed.

Tea History The history of Tea in Japan was mainly for religious purposes. Eisai was the first to grow tea in Japan purely for religious purposes. Others before Eisai cultivated tea for medicinal purposes only. The tea that Eisai grew was of great improvement in quality from the earlier types of teas grown in Japan. This led him to the discovery of powdered tea. Previously, people boiled leaves but Eisai taught people to grind the leaves into a powder, add hot water and stir the mixture before drinking, enhancing the flavor of tea. Over time the demand for tea soon increased for its taste and soon spread to the Samurai society. Some people were interested in tea-drinking for entertainment, so they often held large gatherings with their friends to enjoy tea and play //tocha//, a game that originated in the Sung dynasty of China. In this game, were the guests were tested on their ability to distinguish between the two types of tea grown in the country, the genuine tea and the fake tea, tea grown in another place. This game was played by people of all classes, including Samurai. The system of serving tea was extremely elaborate. There were originally ten cups of four different kinds of tea for each guest; but soon, the number of cups increased to twenty, fifty and seventy, until reaching one hundred cups per person. This required many cups, and that is why only one cup is used in today's tea ceremony. At the same time, a style of tea gathering was evolving (called cha-e, an older form of Cha-no-yu). This is what many people perform now.

Tea Ceremony The Tea Ceremony was very important and it was very exclusive. It was only performed by people of higher class such as the samurai, the shogun’s, and the daimyos and such. The ceremony was called Cha-no-yu. A tea ceremony was performed with up to five guests. The ceremony could be divided into three parts, the preliminary part, the middle part, and the final part. When Samurai go they remove all things that mark there rank so they all spoke equally. In the first part, the windows are curtained off by bamboo screens to darken the room, the scroll is removed, and a new one is put in its place. In the middle part of the ceremony a very simple meal is served, followed by sweet cakes, after which the guests could go and relax in the inner garden. The final part of the tea ceremony is called //nochiseki//. The scroll in the alcove is replaced by a floral arrangement, and the water jar, tea caddy and the tea utensils will be placed in the area where the ceremony will take place. The atmosphere of the room is changed to a bright room. The host picks up the ladle, a signal for his/her assistant to roll up the bamboo screen, brightening the room once again. The host performs the ceremony in silence, while the guests concentrate on his movement. This is the climax of the ceremony. The main guest will then speak to the host while the other guests remain silent. Once the tea has been drunk, silence continues. The fire is smothered by adding more charcoal to the fire pit and the sound of the boiling kettle dies down. Then, thin tea is served, which signifies that the tea ceremony is coming to an end. When the Samurai went to a tea ceremony they remove all things that mark there rank so they all spoke equally. When drinking tea at the ceremony specific utensils were used. A Chabaka was used. A Chabaka is a box of standard size used to carry the utensils and to present the temae. This was the ceremonial way of preparing and serving tea according to custom. Another utensil was the Chakin which was used for wiping the tea bowl at a tea gathering. It was usually about 15 cm by 27cm in size. Another utensil used was the Chatsubo. It was a jar that tea was stored in for one month during the year long aging process. Over all, this ceremony was very important and was meant for everyone to speak equally.

Tea House The tea house was built very complicated and was made so that everyone would feel equal during the ceremony. The tea house was where the tea ceremony was done. The houses’ were built to allow everyone to feel equal. In the houses the ceilings were high, but it was found that the height in a small tea room made guests feel awake. Then, the ceilings were reduced to seven feet, then to six. To avoid a cramped feeling, the ceiling had alternating heights. The ceiling above the host's seat was made a little lower than the section above the guests' place in order to show humility. The materials used for tea room ceilings were shingles, wickerwork, bamboo and reeds. The paper walls evolved into mud walls when the builders began to use logs as supporting posts. The use of mud walls made it possible to create rooms with rounded corners and for tea rooms to be built in a circular shape around a central post. The windows of the tea room were closely related to the construction of the walls. A lintel was laid out from one post to another, and the space between them was made into a window. This structure let little light into the small tea hut and the lintel looked out of place, so a window cut into the lower area of the wall could be built in various sizes and allowed more light in. Such low windows provided ventilation and a better view of the garden or natural scenery, since people sat on the floor. Another characteristic of the tea hut window was the bamboo grilles which not only let in more light, but helped to create a mood of serenity. The host entrance would be through a miniature entrance, originally lower than it is today, through which the host has to crouch to enter a device that was meant to have a sense of humility in the host. The Guests' would enter through a different entrance and to enter the tea room the guests would have to stoop to enter the tea room. The entrance is made of wood. The guests' crouched entrance signified humility, but also, as the room became smaller it was necessary to stop at the entrance to look at the hanging scroll inside. It also showed respect to the guests already seated in the house. The tea house made everyone inside feel equal and it was a very complicated design.

Tea Merchants The Tea Merchants were very important and were needed greatly when tea ceremonies went on. The tea merchant had to learn what to say and do at the tea ceremony. There were many phrases that were needed to be said at the tea ceremony. The son of a tea merchant had to learn the tea ceremony. The tea merchant also supplied the host with the tea needed because without the tea merchants it would be a great trouble to get it themselves. The tea merchants had stores filled with many different types of teas, from rare to common to expensive to cheap. Tea merchants were greatly needed when tea ceremonies were being done.

Tea Rituals One of the tea rituals when you enter a tea ceremony is, before you enter the tea room the guests are required to scoop water with a bamboo dipper and wash their hands and mouth. So when you sip the cup you will not get germs or get germs while holding the cup of tea. There is a signal when you enter the tea pavilion. The sound is made by wood clappers. When everyone is sat down the water for the tea was heated in two handled urn made of iron. Extra charcoal for the stove was kept nearby in a wicker basket. How they make their green tea is powdered and it is taken from a special lacquered container and placed in a small bowl so the people can drink it easier. While everything else is occurring the tea master scooped the hot water with a wooden dipper and poured it over the tea. The mixture was then passed to the first guest. Each guest took exactly three sips, cleaned the rim of the bowl, and passed it on to the next guest. When the bowl was empty it would be passed around again and examined as a work of art. The next ritual is that there is no trivial gossip was to be indulged in and no flattery was permitted. No ceremony was to last beyond four hours.

Conclusion All of these things were essential to Samurai to allow them to be at peace. When they went they were to discard of everything that showed there rank for them to feel equal and even. The house was built to show no rank, the rituals were done and only one guest spoke so it was quiet, the tea merchants supplied amazing tea for the ceremony for the Samurai and the other guests to drink, and so it was very peaceful. The samurai went to these ceremonies often and when it was held at the palace there was a special gate to go through for the higher ranks. This ceremony was very important to the Samurai and was done frequently.

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