Page 72 - @ccess 2 Reader´s Book
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Cha-no-yu, Tea Cult of Japan
              by Yasunoke Fukukita (Adapted fragment)       pastime
                                                            powdered
                                                            host
              Third Edition, 1937                           dipper
              Board of Tourist Industry                     Glossary on
              Japanese Government Railways                  pages 91, 92 and 93

                              "Tea with us became more than an idealization
                       of the form of drinking; it is a religion of the art of life."
                                               --Okakura's The Book of Tea


              To those who are interested in the cultural life of the
              Japanese people, nothing is more closely associated
              with the arts and crafts of Japan than Cha-no-yu, an
              aesthetic pastime in which powdered green tea is
              served in a refined atmosphere. A Cha-no-yu party is an
              exclusive one. It is not easy to receive an invitation. Five
              is the usual number of guests. The first thing the host
              does is to select the principal guest or leader. Choosing
              the other guests, who have a plesant relationship
              with the principal, is the next important matter.

              The host and guests are dressed as becomes the
              ceremony, i.e. in a comfortable silk kimono, of sober
              hue. When the men change from their close-fitting
              Western suits, which they wear at the office, they
              experience  physical and mental relaxation.

              The entrance to the tearoom is so small that the guests
              have to creep in. Each guest kneels in front of the
                     1
              alcove.  There is nothing gorgeous or magnificent in the
              room, but a careful observer will discover that everything
              there is placed so as to complement every other thing.




              1 The part of a room raised a few inches above the floor as a kind of platform, a
              place reserved for flowers and a hanging scroll.

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