Stories from a Tearoom Window: Lore and Legnds of the Japanese Tea Ceremony

· Tuttle Publishing
Ebook
192
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

The Japanese tea ceremony blends art with nature and has for centuries brought harmony to the daily life of its practitioners.

Stories From a Tearoom Window is a timeless collection of tales of the ancient tea sages, compiled in the eighteenth century. Both longtime adherents and newcomers to the tea ceremony will be fascinated by these legends, anecdotes, bits of lore and history that so aptly express the essence of tea.

Many of these stories center around the lives of the great tea masters. First among them is Sen no Rikyu, who perfected the tea ceremony and embodies its poise, modesty and refinement. Among the famous tales recounted here are those of Rikyu's morning glory tea ceremony and of his tragic death. Darker presences of the great warlords Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, who sponsored and also abused Rikyu, are manifest as well.

Holding to the tea ceremony's core ideal of natural simplicity, author Shigenori Chikamatsu brings to the page stories which touch on the related arts of ceramics, poetry, Zen, calligraphy, and the origins of everyday items of Japanese life such as the cotton tabi split-toed socks and the bento lunchbox.

Chapters include:
  • Tearooms in the Old Days
  • Flowers in the Tea Garden
  • The Origins of Tea
  • Iori's Tea Scoop
  • Famous Lacquerers
  • The Legacy of Rikyu's House
  • The Tea Ceremony for Warriors

About the author

Shigenori Chikamatsu was a warrior who studied and deeply enjoyed the tea ceremony. His manuscript on the tea ceremony remained unpublished until 1804.

Kozaburo Mori received the Order of the Sacred Treasure from the Emperor of Japan for his long service in education.

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