Traditional Tea Ceremony from Japan

Tea was introduced to Japan around 600A.D. At first it was drunk by Buddhist monks in monasteries. Around 800 A.D. a monk named Dingyo Daishi brought tea plant seeds from China to Japan and planted them in the garden of his monastery. When the leaves were ready, he sent them to the Japanese Emperor, Saga. Saga is said to have liked the tea so much that he ordered tea to be cultivated in Japan. Tea consumption in Japan began to rise.

In 1191, a Buddhist monk named Eisai returned to Japan after visiting China. Eisai wrote a book called Kissa-yojo Ki or "Notes on the Curative Effects of Tea." In the book, he told of tea's medicinal powers. The book reached Sanetomo, the Shogun, or military leader of Japan.

Sanetomo was suffering from a stomach illness. Eisai's method of making tea cured him. Eisai's method of tea preparation included instructions on how to pick, prepare, and drink a powdered green tea called matcha. Tea houses and stalls sprung up all over Japan and people also began to grow tea plants in their home gardens. By 1400, the steps of tea preparation laid out by Eisai had evolved into a tea ceremony. The tea ceremony was greatly influenced by Zen Buddhism, which is an important part of Japanese culture. Zen Buddhism is a form of Buddhism in which people strive to live "in the moment" and to appreciate the things in everyday life.

Earlier tea ceremonies in Japan were held in great halls and were a chance for the wealthy to show off elaborate tea vessels. Buddhist priests began incorporating the ideals of Zen into the tea ceremony. The ceremony was moved to small tea rooms as well as the equipment for preparing and serving tea. Individuals became more aware of their surroundings and actions. By the 1500s, the ceremony had evolved into Sado or Chado, as it is known and practiced today. Sado means "the way of tea." The tea ceremony represents four important Japanese beliefs: harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility.

The Japanese tea ceremony lasts up to four hours. Each action and moment of the ceremony is carefully planned and carried out. The tea ceremony tales place in homes and at tea houses across Japan. A special room called a chashitsu, or tea room, is reserved for the ceremony. The host of the ceremony rings a bell or bangs on a gong, called a dors, to tell the quests that is time to enter the room. In some tea ceremonies, guests are served a light meal before the ceremony begins. The ceremony includes the acts of serving and receiving tea, and all guests share tea from the same bowl. Throughout the ceremony the host and the guest remember that their "time together is a singular event that will never happen exactly the same way again.

The tea ceremony requires very specific tools called dogu.