Tea Ceremony in China and Japan

Tea was elevated to an art form resulting in the creation of the Chinese and Japanese Tea Ceremony. The form that still remains nowadays was originally coming from Chinese monasteries. It had its roots in Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. This form was learned by Japanese Buddhist priest Yeisei, who had spent years in Chinese monastery, learned and saw the value of tea in China in enhancing religious mediation. Before 1500's, Cha Dao, as a tea religion was formed and its concepts and formation of peace, respect, clearness and silence immediately accepted by Japanese, and Japanese tea ceremony had adopted the Chinese tea custom in monastery and developed to be its unique custom.

The best description of this complex art form was written by the Irish-Greek journalist-historian Lafcadio Hearn. He wrote from his personal observation, "The Tea ceremony requires years of training and practice to graduate in art...yet the whole of this art, as to its detail, signifies no more than the making and serving of a cup of tea. The supremely important matter is that the act be performed in the most perfect, most polite, most graceful, most charming manner possible".

Such a purity of form, of expression prompted the creation of supportive arts and services. A special form of architecture (chaseki) developed for "tea houses", based on the duplication of the simplicity of a forest cottage. The cultural/artistic hostesses of Japan, began to specialize in the presentation of the tea ceremony. As more and more people became involved in the excitement surrounding tea, the purity of the original Zen concept was lost. The tea ceremony became corrupted, boisterous and highly embellished. "Tea Tournaments" were held among the wealthy where nobles competed among each other for rich prizes in naming various tea blends. Rewarding winners with gifts of silk, armor, and jewelry was totally alien to the original Zen attitude of the ceremony.