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Japanese Tea Ceremony www.fujiart.com ARCH 232 / Spring 2011 / Dumas / Wortham - Galvin Spiritual Cleansing Photos of Portland Japanese Garden by Dianne Dumas Photos of Japanese Garden By Dianne Dumas The tea ceremony begins in the garden. As the guest make there trek through the garden they come upon the tsukubai fountain. Stopping to view it is the start of spiritual cleansing. The tea room greets them with a very low door. Guest Entrance The door is So low that the guest are forced to crawl. Upon entry, they leave all worldly thoughts behind. http://www.artsmia.org?art-of- asia/architecture/japanese-teahouse-in-room.cfm http://www.csun.edu/japaese/papers/03_tea.html (cid:8220)Everything about the tea room , from the entry to the space its self symbolizes a complete separation of man from worldly standards. The opening to the garden establishes a relationship between man himself and the universe (Engel)(cid:8221) Then the guest make their way to the alcove to observe the art on display, usually a scroll and a single flower. (cid:8220)The art display is meant to adapt the emotional quality of the tea room either by season or disposition of the host. (Engel).(cid:8221) Photos of Portland Japanese Garden by Dianne Dumas Kashin Tei -Flower Heart House The Japanese Garden Portland, Oregon Utensils As the guest takes their seats, the hosts, starts to boil the water. As the water boils; a feeling of calm overcomes the room. The host starts to clean the bowls and prepare to serve. There are a number of Utensils that are used. These consist of: Tea kettle that sits in a sunken hearth that is called a ro or furo. A linen cloth, tea bowls, jar for the tea (matcha), a scoop for the jar, a ladle, a whisk and extra bowls for extra water and waste water. Receiving and drinking of the tea is done in a very formal way. The guest accept sweets that are provided by the host but does not eat them until given the tea. The tea is prepared with matcha tea a powdered green tea. matcha is placed in the tea bowl, water is added and it is whisked until it becomes froth. It is presented to the guest who then takes a bite of the sweets then raises the bowl up examines the bowl, turns it counter clockwise and drinks. When they are finished they slurp, turn the bowl clockwise and return the bowl to the host. http://www.enwikipedia.org Chakin/linen cloth Hishaka/ladle Extra water Kama/tea kettle Chawan/tea bowl Waste water Natsume/tea jar & Chasen/tea Wisk Chashaku/tea scoop Wabi-Sabi www.en.wikipedia.org www.lonleyplanetimages.com Aesthetics of the tea ceremony: Harmony, Respect ,Purity, Tranquility It is not known exactly who brought tea from China to Japan. The Emperor Shomu is known to have given tea to Buddhist Monks who started to use it for medical uses. Latter it was picked up by the wealthy class. In the 14c Ashikago Yoshimasa a Japanese nobleman and Shogun military leader, is responsible for spreading the tea ceremony where it evolved into a Zen Buddhist form of art. During his retirement he built the Silver Pavilion and on the grounds of the pavilion he built the first tea room. Yoshimasa is responsible for spreading the tea ceremony to all classes of people. It became an easy way to bring the poor class to an understanding of Zen Buddhism. (Schomp 70-75)One hundred years later, in the 15c. The Tea Master Sen Rikyo established a set of aesthetic principles. They are Harmony, Respect, Purity and Tranquility. The principles of aesthetics moved the tea ceremony away from the medical usage.(cid:8221) The meaning of aesthetics is to value the harmony of all things, It is called Wabi-Sabi. Wabi-Sabi finds beauty in that which is imperfect. They see nature as asymmetrical or informally balanced.(cid:8221) An example is in tea cups, the Japanese choose bowls which show imperfection and they will choose to view one flower over many. Sen Rikyo also designed the 4 tatami mat tea room. His principles of Wabi-Sabi and the tea room 1/2 he designed are still used today. (MS Word) Silver Pavilion Tea House Ashikago Yoshimasa Sen Rikyo 14c. 15c. He introduced the tea He brought forth the principles of aesthetics and ceremony to the merchant designed the 4 ½ tatami mat tea room class and built the first tea house on the grounds of the Silver Pavilion www.zenstoriesofthesamari.com/charters/sen%20no%20rikyu.html En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshimasa Tea House Traditional Contemporary http://furnitureandesign.com/wp- [email protected] content/uploads/2010/11/teahouse_james_davidson_2.jpg It is through the interpretation and attitude of Zen Buddhism that the tea ceremony developed into the tea room and the serving became more than just an expression. It became living art. This was able to come about do to long periods over the centuries where Japan was isolated. At times they isolated themselves and controlled their boarders. This was possible due to the James [email protected] configuration of the island. Therefore it was able to develop into what was (cid:8220)specifically Japanese.(cid:8221) (MS Word) Residential In The City The tea room provides a space of seclusion. This seclusion is important because it creates the atmosphere that is necessary so that one can develop the relationship between man and the universe. It(cid:8217)s important to understand that the tea ceremony was not a language. It was a way to interpret the principles of ascetics. (cid:8220)Residential architecture was both the source and manifestation of the spirit and form of the tea cult and the outstanding properties of the Japanese residence ( Engel 279)(cid:8221) Architecture provides the space for which the spirit of tea can be expressed To understand the tea room and the tea ceremony is to understand the Japanese way of life. (Engel) Right angel tea tree house by architect Terunobu Fujimori