Page 72 - @ccess 2 Reader´s Book

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.

Reader's Book 71