Tea (12 page)

After the guests admire the various utensils, they prepare to leave the world of tea, both physically and symbolically.

ESSENTIALS OF THE TEA CEREMONY

The Tea

Today, just as it was in the days of Rikyu, powdered green tea, known as matcha, is used. This can be either
koicha
, thick tea, or
usucha
, thin tea. Traditionally, koicha was made from the buds of aged tea plants, usually between thirty and eighty years old. A thick, pasty tea was made, using a large quantity of tea powder, usually about six teaspoons per three-fourths cup of water. Because the tea is so thick, when water is added to the bowl, it is stirred slowly to make a paste. This has a sweetish, mellow taste.

Usucha uses only half to one-third the amount of tea needed for koicha, usually two to three teaspoons per three-fourths cup of water. Hot water is added to the bowl, and the whisk is moved back and forth quickly until foam appears. This makes the famous “whipped green tea,” known as “frothy jade” since the time of the Song dynasty.

Utensils

The utensils for the ceremony, called
dogu
(literally, “tools”), are chosen carefully. Some are simply for show, others are actually used in the serving of the tea, but each is selected for its inherent value—based either on its beauty or its usefulness.

Though there is some variation in the number and type of utensils used for different ceremonies, the following utensils are generally considered important ones:

Chashaku.
The spoon or ladle used for scooping the tea into the bowl. These were originally made from ivory or metal, but many tea masters did not like to use metals, and bamboo eventually became the material of choice. Many tea masters carved their own spoons, decorating them with various designs.

Chakin.
A rectangular cloth, usually made of white linen or hemp, used for cleaning the tea bowl.

Fukusa.
A square cloth, usually made of plain colored silk (usually purple for men and orange or red for women), used to clean the scoop and tea caddy. The host keeps the fukusa tucked into the obi of a kimono while he or she is not using it.

Chasen.
The whisk used for stirring or “whipping” the powdered tea after water is added. This is usually made out of a single piece of bamboo, split into tiny pieces and tied
with thread. Each thin strip is curled around to make a loop. Two different kinds of whisks are used, depending on the type of tea served. The
kuzuho
is thin and sparse at the head and is used for whipping thin tea. The
araho
is thick and dense and is used for thick tea.

When the whisk has lost its shape and is no longer useful, it is not thrown away but kept until spring, usually until May, when it is ceremoniously burned in a ritual called
chasen koyo
. This is in keeping with the respect shown for all elements of the tea ceremony.

Natsume.
A laquered tea caddy used to hold usucha, thin tea. It is named for its shape, which is similar to that of the
natsume
, or jujube fruit. Generally, it has a rounded bottom, is wide and thick, and has a flat top. The
cha-ire
is used to hold tea for making koicha, thick tea. It is traditionally ceramic, and is long and narrow with a more elaborate top or lid, often made with ivory and gold.

Chawan.
This is the tea bowl, perhaps the most important element used in the tea ceremony. These vary tremendously in size, shape, sophistication, and beauty. Different bowls are used for thin and thick teas, for formal and casual ceremonies, and for different seasons of the year. During summer, for example, shallow bowls are used, to allow the tea to cool rapidly. In winter, the bowls are more narrow and deep, allowing the tea to remain hot longer.

Even today, when bowls break—which they inevitably do—they are sometimes painstakingly repaired instead of being thrown away. Traditionally, the mended bowls are used in ceremonies late in the year (November and December), when the concepts of simplicity and humbleness (wabi) are emphasized.

Chashitsu, the Tearoom

According to the strictest principles of Zen, not even the tearoom itself should be permanent, as only the soul is eternal.

Of course, there were, and still are, rooms and small houses that are set aside for the sole purpose of cha-no-yu. In these, the room remains empty except for the implements and decorations brought in for each individual ceremony. The tea master chooses embellishments carefully and avoids repetition. For example, if a flower arrangement is used, a scroll depicting calligraphy, rather than flowers, is hung. If the tea caddy is long and narrow, then the tea kettle is round, and so on.

Traditionally, the tearoom is just large enough to hold four and a half tatami mats, and placement is important for determining how people walk through the room. Usually, there is a center mat, on which the tea utensils are placed for viewing, and the other mats are placed around this.

According to tradition, people should shuffle, rather than stride, when walking on tatamis. This helps one maintain correct posture, slow down, and to walk quietly, all characteristics in keeping with the philosophy of the tea ceremony.

Decoration

The flower arrangements used in the teahouse are called
chabana
. They differ from
ikebana
, Japanese floral arrangements used throughout the house. The host arranges the flowers in the most natural way, simply putting them in a vase. Brightly colored flowers are avoided, and white flowers are not used while there is still snow on the ground.

Very few flowers are used in chabana, usually only one large flower in the center with a smaller flower or bud on the side. Too many leaves or flowers take away from the simple beauty.

A hanging scroll, called a
kakemono
, is almost always placed in the tearoom. These are usually brush paintings of nature—birds, trees, flowers, or landscapes—or calligraphy of poems, Buddhist sayings, or teachings of some of the famous masters. One of the favorite themes for calligraphy scrolls is Rikyu's principles of the tea ceremony: harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility.

TEA GARDENS

The tea garden is created for viewing from the teahouse. During the Muromachi period in Japan (
1333
–
1573
), after a large banquet, guests went to the garden to rest in cool air before they went on to the pavilion to have tea.

Although each garden is unique, the following are common elements:

Plants.
All plants are used symbolically, and few flowering plants are used, as they are considered too distracting. For example, trees, usually evergreens such as pine and cedar or deciduous trees such as oak, are planted to look like remote mountains. Moss is used in abundance to remind viewers of mountain scenery.

Wash basin.
A stone basin (
tsukubai
) is placed outside the tearoom. Originally, guests used this water to rinse their mouths and wash their hands before the tea ceremony. Now the washing is done more for the symbolism than the cleanliness, but it remains an important act of purifying before beginning the ceremony. The word
tsukubai
, which means “crouching,” was used because the basin is small and low to the ground.

Stone lantern
(
ishi-doro
)
.
Stone lanterns were introduced to Japan from China and Korea through Buddhist priests, for they were originally used in temples, and then later in Shinto shrines. A large lantern is placed beside the wash basin, and other smaller lanterns are placed throughout the garden.

Bench.
A bench where the guests wait, called
koshikake machiai
. It is sometimes protected by a wooden arbor. This is a place for guests to sit quietly before entering the tea room.

Garden path.
The garden path, or
roji
(which literally means “earth damp with dew”), is a stone path connecting the bench with the tearoom. The stones vary in size, depending on the scale of the garden, but they are almost always surrounded with moss and small, low-growing plants. Walking along the roji allows guests to enter the first stage of the meditation of the tea ceremony. This is considered a passage into a more inward place and is intended to help prepare the guest for the experience of the tearoom. Kakuzo Okakura, author of
The Book of Tea
, wrote, “One who has trodden this garden path cannot fail to remember how his spirit . . . became uplifted above ordinary thoughts.”

Rikyu, the sixteenth-century tea master, thought the secret of a successful tea garden was found in this ancient, anonymous poem:

I looked beyond;
Flowers are not,
Nor tinted leaves.
On the sea beach
A solitary cottage stands
In the waning light
Of an autumn eve.

“Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world.”

—Tien Yiheng, Chinese poet

THE FIRST STEEPED TEA

During the rule of the Mongols in China (early
1200
s through
1368
), tea lost much of its popularity and, for a while, was considered just another beverage. During the Ming dynasty (
1368
–
1644
), however, new and innovative methods of processing the leaves caused a renewal of interest in tea, and it regained its popularity throughout the country. Instead of being beaten into a powder that was then whipped, the leaves were picked, withered, rolled, dried, and oxidized. The new process created a product composed of dried, loose tea leaves, which, when steeped in hot or boiling water, yielded a delicious, full-bodied, and smooth-tasting beverage—the same that we enjoy today. There are exceptions, of course—Tibetans still use brick tea, and the Japanese still use powdered tea (matcha) in the tea ceremony—but this was the final step in the evolution of tea processing.

Loose tea, steeped to make the beverage, was used throughout China. Testimony to the popularity of steeped tea comes from Emperor Hong-wu, the first ruler of the Ming dynasty, who required that the imperial tribute tea be sent as loose tea, rather than in bricks, as had previously been required. Not only did this tea taste better, it also was easier to process. The leaves were pan-fried, rather than steamed, which saved much time. (This is still done in China; in Japan, tea leaves are still steamed.)