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 The
tea ceremony is a very special event in Japanese culture. The
host spends days going over every detail to make sure that the
ceremony will be perfect. There are various styles of tea
ceremonies and it is recognized that every human encounter is
a singular occasion that will never recur again in exactly the
same way, and so every aspect of the tea ceremony is savored.
The ceremony takes place in a room called the chashitsu.
This room is designed and designated only for this ceremony.
The room is usually within a teahouse, and is located away
from the residence in the garden.
The
Guests' Arrival
When guests
arrive (usually four), they are led into a waiting room (machiai)
by the host's assistant (the hanto). The hanto offers the
guests sayu (hot water that is used in making tea). While in
the machiai, the guests choose one person to act as the main
guest. The guests are then lead by the hanto into a garden
that is sprinkled with water. This area is called roji or dew
ground. No flowers grow here. It is in this garden that the
guests are to remove the dust of the world. They sit on the
koshikake machiai (waiting bench) and wait for the host (teishu).
Preparing
for Guests
Before
receiving guests, the teishu fills a stone basin (tsukubai)
with fresh water and then purifies his hands and mouth. He
proceeds through the middle gate (chumon) to receive his
guests. The guests are welcomed only with a bow. No words are
spoken. The teishu leads the assistant host, the main guest
and then the guests, in that order, through the chumon. The
chumon signifies the door between the harsh physical world and
the spiritual world that is symbolized by tea. At the stone
basin, the guests and host's assistant purify themselves and
enter the teahouse through a sliding door that is just three
feet high. To enter everyone has to bow, and this signifies
that all are equal regardless of status or social position.
The last person to enter puts the latch on the door.
Inside the Teahouse
There are no
decorations in the teahouse except for an alcove called a
tokonoma, in which a scroll painting (kakemono) is hung. This
hanging is carefully chosen by the host and reveals the theme
of the tea ceremony. In turn, each guest admires the scroll,
the kettle (kama) and the hearth. Guests are seated according
to their respective positions in the ceremony. Once the host
seats himself, greetings are exchanged between the host and
the main guest, and then the other guests.
The
Tea Ceremony
In the tea
ceremony, water represents yin. The fire in the hearth
represents yang. A stoneware jar called the mizusashi holds
fresh water and symbolizes purity and only the host touches
it. The green tea called matcha is kept in a small ceramic
container called a chaire
that is covered in a fine silk pouch (shifuku)
and is set in front of the mizusashi.
If tea is
served during the day a gong sounds, or if it is evening a
bell tolls five to seven times to summon the guests back to
the teahouse. Everyone purifies their hands and mouths once
again, and then re-enters the teahouse to admire the flowers,
kettle and hearth before seating themselves.
The host
enters carrying the tea bowl (chawan) that holds the tea whisk
(chasen), the tea cloth (chakin) and the tea scoop (chashaku).
The tea bowl represents the moon (yin) and is placed next to
the water jar, which represents the sun (yang). The host goes
to the preparation room, and returns with the waste water bowl
(kensui), the bamboo water ladle (hishaku) and a green bamboo
rest called a futaoki for the kettle lid.
The host
purifies the tea container and tea scoop with a fine silk
cloth (fukusa). He
fills the tea bowl with hot water and rinses the whisk. He
then empties the tea bowl and wipes it with a tea towel called
a chakin. At this point the host lifts the tea scoop and tea
container and places three scoops of tea per guest into the
tea bowl. He ladles enough hot water from the kettle into the
tea bowl and uses the whisk to make a thin paste. Additional
water is added to the paste until it is the consistency of
cream soup, returning any unused water to the kettle. The host
passes the tea bowl to the main guest first who bows and
accepts it. The main guest admires the bowl by raising and
rotating it. He then drinks some of the tea, wipes the rim of
the bowl, and passes it to the next guest who does the same
thing.
When all the
guests have tasted the tea, the bowl is returned to the host
who rinses it, and cleans the tea scoop and tea container. The
host offers the cleaned tea scoop and tea container to the
guests for examination. Afterwards the group engages in
conversation about the objects used in the tea ceremony and
the presentation that took place.
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