Tea (14 page)
Authors: Laura Martin
Of course, Hideyoshi wanted more than pots. His ultimate goal was to dominate the Koreans and to force them to help him overtake the Chinese throne in Beijing. China sent troops to Korea to prevent this, and the combined Chinese and Korean forces were winning the war against the Japanese when Hideyoshi died suddenly in September
1598
, apparently of a heart attack. The Japanese gave up the fight and returned home.
The results in Korea of these pottery wars were devastating. Economic hardship was widespread, and only the wealthy aristocrats and scholars could afford to drink tea during the years following these wars. Tea drinking and the tea ceremony were only reestablished in Korea in the early nineteenth century under the direction of the scholar Tasan Chong Yak-yong (
1762
â
1836
), who began the practice of drinking tea in a formal way in a special tearoom.
Tea in Russia
In the 1600s, a trade route was developed between China and Russia. The route was long and difficult, as the paths went through treacherous mountainous terrain and barren countryside for a distance of about eleven thousand miles. It took Chinese traders approximately sixteen months to make the journey to Russia, so all products brought from China were expensive and considered luxury items in Russia, including tea.
There is some controversy about just when tea first came to Russia, but most scholars date the event to 1618, when the emperor of China sent a gift of several chests of tea to the Czar Alexis.
In spite of its great cost, tea became immensely popular with the royalty and high society of Moscow. It took nearly a century for the price of tea to drop, but when it did, the general populace became equally enthusiastic about the beverage. The Russians were quick to develop their own way of blending different teas together. On the whole, they preferred strong, dark tea sweetened with honey, sugar, or jam.
Typically, two or three different kinds of tea were brewed in individual pots, then small but concentrated amounts of the infusion were poured into a single cup. Hot water was added to dilute the concentrated liquid, the quantity depending on personal preferences.
The water was heated in a samovar, a large kettle first used in the eighteenth century, patterned after those used in Mongolia as early as the thirteenth century. The samovar consisted of a large kettle (usually copper or bronze), a tap, and a charcoal burner as a heat source. A cylindrical pipe of hot air passed through the water-filled container to heat the water and keep it an even temperature. During the warm summer months, the samovar was placed outside in the garden. In winter, it was brought into the house, where a long pipe carried the smoke directly into the chimney. The water was deemed ready for tea when the samovar began to make sounds. According to tradition, the water is ready after it “sings,” but before it “growls.”
Tea was served in a glass, and wealthy Russians used a silver or bronze holder, decorated with engraved pictures, to hold the heat-tempered tea glass. Called
podstakanniki
, which literally means “under the glass,” these are still in use today.
Russians generally ate only one large meal a day, usually between three and six in the afternoon, but they would drink tea all day long. A cup of tea, whenever it was taken, was usually served with sweetsâ cakes and cookies. Rather than putting a sweetener
in
the tea, it became customary to take a spoonful of jam or a lump of sugar in the mouth, followed by a mouthful of hot tea, flavored with citrus.
Teas that are commonly called “Russian teas” were actually China teas such as Keemun, Chingwoo, Szechwan, and Lap-sang souchong, blended together and sweetened with spices and citrus.
Korean Potters
Most of the Korean potters brought to Japan were taken to the port city of Karatsu, in eastern Japan. Here, in the seventeenth century, they introduced the
noborigama
, the chambered “climbing kiln,” which greatly impacted the Japanese ceramics industry by opening up the possibility of creating many different types of glazes. The huge kilns used massive amounts of firewood, and the resulting ash created beautiful colors and glazes on the pottery. The pottery coming from this district was called Karatsu ware and was characterized by freehand or geometric patterns from nature, painted on a white background.
Raku Ware
Different potters, of course, developed different styles, some of which were forgotten as soon as they developed, while others, such as raku, are still remembered and revered today. Raku ware, a lead-glazed earthenware, was first created in the sixteenth century in Kyoto, specifically for making vessels for the tea ceremony. Many consider raku the most remarkable of all tea pottery.
Tanaka Chojiro, the son of one of the Korean potters taken to Japan, made bowls that were simply shaped, with a basic monochrome glaze, usually either black or dark brown. This was in keeping with the aesthetic of wabi, held so important by the tea master Rikyu. The bowls were originally called
ima-yaki
, meaning “now wares,” but the name was eventually changed when Hideyoshi awarded Chojiro an honorary gold seal with the name
Jurakudai
, the name of his palace, which eventually came to symbolize his rule. Chojiro was probably greatly honored to receive this accolade from the ruler, but he eventually shortened the name to raku, which literally means “joy” or “happiness.” He not only used the name for his pottery, but also adopted it as the family name.
Today, Kichizaemon Raku maintains the family tradition and represents the fifteenth generation to do so.
Oribe
By the end of the sixteenth century, art in Japan had undergone a transformation, due in part to the creative genius of the tea master, scholar, and gentleman samurai Furuta Oribe (
1544
â
1615
).
Oribe, who had been one of Rikyu's students, was one of the first tea masters appointed by the emperor after his teacher's death. Among his other skills, Oribe was also a stunningly innovative artist who showed great creativity in creating ceramics to be used in the tea ceremony. He completely changed the type of glaze used on traditional pottery, and his wares were used not only for formal tea ceremonies but for more casual, domestic occasions as well.
His ceramics featured thick glazes of brilliant green, pink, and black. He was able to attain such a stunning, glistening effect that his pottery shone like glass. The graphic motifs found on his pottery were painted on with an iron glaze, creating an almost modernistic appearance. Many of the motifs were exotic for Japan, showing for the first time the influence of the West.
Tea Spreads Throughout the World
“Goodness is a decision for the mouth to make.”
âLu Yu, eighth-century tea master
CHINA ISOLATES HERSELF
Although historical events in China during the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries had little direct impact on the story of tea, they form a chapter that cannot be ignored, for these events formed the foundation for the tremendous impact tea was to have on the worldâand particularly on Chinaâduring the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The Ming dynasty lasted
276
years, under the rule of sixteen different emperors. It was a time in Chinese history during which arts and culture were emphasized, and there was great enthusiasm for maritime exploration. During the early fifteenth century, China amassed the most powerful naval force ever assembled in the world, and one that was larger than any other until modern times. Under the leadership of an Admiral Zheng, Chinese ships went to present-day Vietnam, Java, Sumatra, Sri Lanka, and the east coast of Africa. Tea proved to be a popular trade item wherever these ships traveled. By the middle of the century, however, Chinese shipbuilding and exploration came to an abrupt halt, for no clear and apparent reason. The cause was perhaps economic, but the change may also have been due to the personalities of the new rulers of the country.
During the fifteenth century, the Ming dynasty was under attack from both the Mongols and the Japanese. Rather than fight back, the Chinese government's response was to retreat from the world. By the end of the
1430
s, China imposed a policy of “strength through isolation.” The result was a very strong, complex central government that provided stability for its citizens, but its rigidity could not weather the changes that would eventually lead to the decline of the ancient Chinese civilization.
At the same time that the Ming rulers were isolating themselves, Europe was undergoing a state of unrest that resulted in the dynamic transformations of the Renaissance, the Reformation, growth of national states, and expansion into the New World.