17.The Japanese tea ceremony, or 茶の湯(chanoyu), 茶道(sado) or simply お茶 (ocha) in Japanese.
-Preparing tea in this ceremony means pouring all one's attention into the predefined movements. It is a choreographic ritual of preparing and serving Japanese green tea, called 抹茶 (matcha), together with traditional Japanese sweets to balance with the bitter taste of the tea. The whole process is not about drinking tea, but is about aesthetics, preparing a bowl of tea from one's heart. Even the placement of the tea utensils is considered from the guests view point (angle), especially the main guests called the 正客 (shokyaku).
-The Japanese tea ceremony is a tradition in Japan that features the serving and drinking of Matcha, a powdered Japanese green tea. The practice of holding social gatherings to drink Matcha spread among the upper class from about the 14th century. Having witnessed or taken part in the Japanese Tea Ceremony only once, one will come to understand that in Japan, serving tea is an art and a spiritual discipline. The ritual preparation requires the person hosting a tea party to know how to cook a special meal, how to arrange the flowers which will be placed in the alcove (床の間、Tokonoma). When choosing utensils and other things, the host (亭主、Teishu) has to consider the rank and type to make sure that they will stand out.
-The objective of the Japanese tea ceremony is to create a relaxed communication between the host and guests. It is based on the etiquette of serving tea (点前,Temae), but is also includes the connections with architecture, landscape gardening, unique tea utensils, paintings, flower arrangement, ceramics, calligraphy, Zen Buddhism, and all the other elements that coexist in relationship with the ceremony. The Japanese tea ceremony is simply an entertainment where the guests are invited to drink tea in a pleasant and relaxing room.
-The western understanding of "a ceremony" is a set of formal acts, often fixed and traditional, performed on important social or religious occasions. However, rather than fixed, the Japanese Tea Ceremony does have flexibility since every occasion and different season calls for special and unique preparations, choice of utensils, choice of flowers for arrangement, a hanging scroll to describe the kind of tea-meeting and objective of the host. The host studies all related aspects such as calligraphy, flower arrangement, cooking, the wearing of a kimono, ceramics and much more. Deeply rooted in Chinese Zen philosophy, it is a way to remove oneself from the mundane affairs of day-to-day living and to achieve, if only for a time, serenity and inner peace.
-The more you know~
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