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The Japanese Mind through TeaReturn to Essay ListThe Japanese Mind through Tea Tetsurō Ogata December 15, 2006 1. I would like to explore the mind of the Japanese through the tea ceremony. I am Japanese, but I do not know how to explain what it is to be a Japanese. When I eat rice ( = ko-me=米, go-han=ご飯) and drink green tea, I feel very comfortable, especially when I am staying in a foreign country. I suppose most Japanese people feel the same way. I cannot adequately express what I feel, but this feeling is like an abstract word; it is not easy for me to convey. That is why I am interested in tea ceremony and am trying to understand the mind of the Japanese through “the way of tea,” which in Japanese is called Chadō=茶道 or Chanoyu=茶の湯.
2. The first thing that comes to my mind when thinking about Japanese tea is Sen Rikyū (1522-1591). He established the wabi (simple and quiet) style of tea, and is considered to be the greatest tea master of all time. Rikyū used tea as a direct approach to Zen. He chose simple, organic material, not only for utensils, but also for the overall environment of the tearoom. According to Rikyū, the four fundamental principles of tea are: wa =和 or “harmony”, kei=敬 or “respect”, sei=清 or “purity”, and jaku=寂 or “tranquility.” These principles are incorporated in the practice as the heart of the way of tea and finally the way of life (Sen 1979). Anthropologist Jennifer Anderson considers these principles as the central bridges between the people, the cultural system, the tea function, and the individual. She thinks they are connected with Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto, and Buddhism (Anderson, 1991, p.213).
3. I had thought that tea is connected with the old Japan, and that the subject of tea itself would be difficult to understand. Through my research on tea and tea ceremony through reading books and papers, I was able to obtain only superficial information. It is difficult for me to understand tea after all. Chadō or chanoyu does not mean just drinking tea. Tea is a symbol. It represents Buddhism, psychology and mentality of the Japanese, and so on. Besides, tea represents the different aspects of primary character of the Japanese. During tea ceremony people prefer silence or deep meditation. Sometimes they feel tranquility or loneliness. They always think about the surroundings, the nature, or the distance between themselves and other people. Chadō or chanoyu is not only drinking tea, but it encompasses every aspect surrounding tea, such as the structure of tea room, space, flowers, four seasons, silence, or a hanging scroll with a painting or a work of calligraphy describing, for example, a method of pouring hot water. I think that chanoyu expresses the essentials of the Japanese mind and thought. It is not easy to see the deep meaning in tea, although there is deep meaning in chadō. I would like to keep thinking about Japanese mind through the tea.
Helpful links about tea or tea ceremony: About tea ceremony http://www.teamuse.com/article_001001.html http://brian.hoffert.faculty.noctrl.edu/TEACHING/TeaCeremony.html
About Sen Rikyū http://www.urasenke.or.jp/texte/legacy/lineage1.html
About Kakuzō Okakura http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/tea.htm References: Littleton, C. Scott. Shinto: Origins, Rituals, Festivals, Spirits, Sacred Places. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Ono, Dr. Sokyo. Shinto the Kami Way. Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1962. Sullivan, Lawrence E. Nature and Rite in Shinto. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2002. Williams, George. Religions of the World: Shinto. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2005. |
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