A Brief History of Chanoyu
Tea was first imported from China as a beverage and over the course of several hundred
years was developed into the art of Chanoyu from which developed Chado.
The study of tea is effective in teaching discipline and instilling respect for others.
The Japanese created a unique way of life by elevating the mundane practice of drinking tea
to a spiritual discipline. Especially after the contact with Zen, The Way of Tea was strengthened because the spirit of Tea and Zen became to be seen as one and the same.
Peace, respect, purity, and tranquility are the four precepts of Chanoyu.
Chanoyu, over the centuries, has become deeply rooted in the hearts and customs of the
Japanese people and has had a great influence on Japanese culture .
Dancha
In China, the custom of drinking tea was already popular in the T'ang Dynasty (618 -907 ).
In the Heian period (794-1185) tea was brought back from China by priests like Saicho and
Kukai and was enjoyed by the nobles around Emperor Saga who was the first patron of tea.
At this time, tea was called dancha, a brick-like ball of fermented tea leaves.
Since this type of tea did not taste good, people gradually lost interest. Also the kentoshi,
system of diplomatic relations between Japan and China, was abolished in 894. Further
contributing to the decline of interest.
Eisai
Eisai (ll41-1215), who studied in China and founded the Zen sect in Japan, brought back tea
seeds and the Chinese etiquette of tea presentation.
He presented tea and his book the Kissa Yojoki ( The medicinal Benefits of Tea Drinking ),
to the Shogun Minamoto Sanetomo (1214 ). He wrote, "Tea is a medicine which cures diseases
and promotes long life."
Togano-o Tea
Myo-e of the Kozan-ji temple in northeast Kyoto was given tea seeds by Eisai.
He cultivated tea there in Togano-o and produced excellent crops because of the conducive climate.
This was the origin of Togano-o cha.
Later, tea plants were transplanted to Uji in the Yamashiro area, south of Kyoto.
This was the origin of Uji-cha. Thereafter, tea plantations spread to many places
throughout the archipelago.
Zen and Chanoyu
Myo-e, a close friend of Eisai, promoted the drinking of powdered tea leaves as an aid to
longevity and health as well as an ascetic aid to his Zen training. Tea and Zen became inseparable.
Dogen (1200-1253) introduced the Soto Zen school of gradual enlightenment from China.
Tea was integrated as part of the formalized, daily routine of this religious training.
The ancient rituals of Yotsugashira at Kennin-ji temple is important because it preserves
this historic form of tea.
Eison who founded Saidai-ji temple in Nara, always served tea to the public when he gave his sermons.
Thus the diffusion of tea-drinking accompanied the propagation of Buddhism, especially by the
priests of the Zen sect.
Tocha
Tocha was a betting game consisting of drinking many varieties of tea and guessing which one
was from Togano-o. The participants received prizes according to the number of correct guesses.
Tocha was also called Juppuku-cha (ten cups of tea) or Gojuppuku-cha (fifty cups of tea),
because each person took many sips.
Tocha gatherings were held upstairs in a room called kissa-no-tei. The host was called Teishu.
Even now people use the name teishu for the host of a tea gathering.
Little by little, the custom of tea gatherings spread to the common people .
Ippuku issen
Tea for Ippuku issen, a bowl of tea for one sen, the cheapest coin at the time, was popularized
by venders with tea stalls in public places. In Kyoto, around the great southern gate of To-ji
temple and during the Gion festival, tea venders' stalls were thronged with customers.
By the beginning of the fifteenth century, such stalls had become a familiar part of Kyoto life.
This was known as Unkyakucha, a low grade, poor tasting variety.
Chinese Tea Caddy
By the end of the Muromachi period, uniquely Japanese art and culture began to flourish.
This period, a high point in Japanese culture, is known as the Higashiyama Era. This cultural
efflorescence was centered at Ginkaku-ji, the Temple of the Silver Pavilion. Chanoyu and
flower arranging date from this period.
Shogun Yoshimasa used the room called Dojinsai in the Togudo building at Ginkaku-ji, for
the enjoyment of tea.
Then, the main stream of tea was very formalized centering upon karamono (Chinese utensils)
and procedures. It has come to be known as Denchu chanoyu.
Originally tea became popular because it aided the relationships formed among the people.
But when people started using Chinese utensils, instead of focusing on personal relationships,
they focused instead on the utensils creating a "tea for utensils sake".
Chinese Tea Bowl
Distinguished by the suffix Ami in their names, their opinions were much in demand.
Noami, one of the Doboshu, established the shoin no daisu kazari, rules for the use of
the Daisu in a formal reception room. The Daisu stand was originally a board used by
Zen priests to place utensils upon.
Murata Shuko
It remained for Murata Shuko (1423-1502) to set tea free from the excessive display of utensils.
He united tea and spirituality and introduced it to the common people. With him, the history
of the Way of Tea started.
Shuko took his Zen training under Ikkyu at Shinjuan in Daitoku-ji temple, Kyoto.
Here he realized that Tea and Zen were, in essence, the same.
He emphasized the spirit and mind of the person making tea instead of the form.
When Shogun Yoshimasa asked Shuko for his definition of tea, he replied:
"Tea is not a game and not an art; one taste of tea refreshes and purifies and gives
enlightenment to the universal law. "
Later, Shuko was presented with a calligraphic scroll done by the Chinese sage Yuan Wu.
It is said that he hung this scroll in his tearoom. Under his influence tea people began going to
temples to meditate.
Shuko preferred the atmosphere and intimacy of a small room where the people could communicate
through the medium of tea. He divided a large formal-style Shoin room with a screen
and partitioned off a four and a half mat area. This is the reason that a tearoom is
called kakoi, partition. Later, he created a small grass-thatched hut for tea but died
before realizing his ideal of Wabi-cha.
Shigaraki
Flower Container
The mercantile city of Sakai, with its steady inflow of novel imports and ideas, was important
in the development of tea along with Kyoto and Nara.
Sarugaku and Yokyoku were elegant entertainment enjoyed by many people at this time.
Three famous tea masters were citizens of Sakai. They were Takeno Jo-o (1502-1555),
Imai Sokyu (1520-1593), and Sen Rikyu (1522-1591).
The Way of Tea was initiated by Sokyu, carried on by Jo-o and accomplished by Rikyu.
Jo-o used pottery bowls and jars from Shigaraki, Seto or Bizen instead of tea utensils made in China. It was Jo-o who continued the ideal of Wabi established by Shuko.
Rikyu
Rikyu, who accomplished Wabi-cha, was born in Sakai in 1522. His first name was Yoshiro
when he began his study of tea at an early age. His first teacher was Kitamuki Dochin who taught
tea in the style suited to the shoin reception room. Later, he learned from Jo-o in the
style of the small, thatched tea house.
Daitoku-ji temple in northwest Kyoto, has had a long, deep relation with tea.
Rikyu, like Shuko and Jo-o underwent Zen training at Daitoku-ji. Thereafter Rikyu changed his
name from Yoshiro to Sen Soeki taking the family name of Sen from his grandfather`s name, Sen-ami.
It was then that Rikyu composed the poem which dates from that time :
" Though many people drink tea, if you do not know the Way of Tea, tea will drink you up. "
Without any spiritual training, you think you are drinking tea, but actually tea drinks you up.
Another well-known saying of Rikyu is:
"The Way of Tea is naught but this: first you boil water, then you make the tea and drink it." However, this can only be appreciated after strict training in the Way.
It was Rikyu who synthesized a unique way of life combining the everyday aspects of living
with the highest spiritual and philosophical tenets. This has been passed down to the present
as the Way of Tea.
From the age of 58, he served the Shogun, Oda Nobunaga. After the death of Nobunaga, he became
the tea master of the Shogun Hideyoshi, the man who unified Japan for the first time in history.
Ostensibly, in charge of tea, he actually wielded great influence with Hideyoshi in other matters as well.
When Hideyoshi hosted a tea at the Imperial Palace in 1585, Rikyu received the Buddhist title
of koji from the Emperor Ogimachi, thus establishing his preminence among the practitioners of tea in Japan.
Chanoyu and Christianity
During this time, Chanoyu came into contact with Christianity. Many missionaries came to Sakai and Kyoto
where they befriended Rikyu and the other teachers of tea.
Among the seven principle students of Rikyu were three devout Christians: Furuta Oribe, Takayama Ukon, and Gamou Ujisato.
Rikyu's extraordinary sense of beauty left a great imprint on the world of ceramics, architecture,
design and the myriad arts and crafts that are combined to create the world of tea.
Wabi-cha
In the later years of his life, Rikyu realized and practiced his ideal of Wabi-cha.
With superb discrimination, he chose objects for use in the tearoom from among everyday utensils.
This revolutionary movement away from the reliance on imported Chinese utensils, begun by
Jo-o, was continued by Rikyu. So excellent were his choices, they are still used as standards to this day.
Raku Tea Bowl come to be known as Raku.
Rikyu's innovative architectural design and exemplary use of space are vividly displayed in
his tea house Taian, at Myokian, near Kyoto. The Japanese government has declared it a National Treasure. There is the whole world of Rikyu, in a two-mat tea house.
Kitano Shrine Great Tea Gathering
As Rikyu neared the fulfillment of his tea, the Great Tea Gathering was held at Kitano Shrine in northwest Kyoto in October of 1587.
Hideyoshi proclaimed that rich or poor, high or low born might bring one pot for hot water
and one bowl for tea, and attend the gathering . Over a thousand people from all walks of life
assembled at the shrine. Hideyoshi erected a solid gold tea house while Rikyu used his preferred thatched hut.
Thus both extremes of tea, the flamboyant utensil -tea, and the restrained wabi tea were
represented at Kitano. At this time, Hideyoshi and Rikyu were very close.
Daitoku-ji Temple
Though there is some disagreement about the actual cause, Rikyu fell out of favor with Hideyoshi.
Some say that Rikyu's statue being insetled in the gate of Daitoku-ji, the building of which he
contributed to, so angered Hideyoshi that Rikyu was ordered to commit ritual suicide at the
age of 71 in 1591.
After bidding family and disciples good-bye, he composed his death poems, one in Chinese and one in Japanese.
" I raise the sword,
This sword of mine,
Long in my possession
The time is come at last.
Skyward I throw it up!"
(translation: Suzuki Daisetsu)
And died.
After Rikyu's death, Hideyoshi repented, regretting the loss of such a great person.
Konnichian
Though the family had been scattered and were in hiding in the residences of various generals ,
his son Shoan and grandson Sotan, succeeded in reestablishing the family name and reassembling
their possessions. They began their task by rebuilding the Zangetsutei and Fushinan tea houses at
Ogawa Teranouchi in Kyoto, the present day sites of Omotesenke and Urasenke.
Soon after, Shoan retired and Sotan became head of the family. Though he was asked repeatedly to work for
various lords, he refused, citing his commitment to wabi tea and to the common people.
Upon Sotan`s retirement, he divided the family property among three of his sons.
To his third son, Koshin Sosa, he gave Fushinan. This branch is now known as Omotesenke.
To his fourth son, Sen Soshitsu, he gave the back part of the property encompassing the tea houses
Kan-untei, Yuin and Konnichian. This branch is now known as Urasenke.
His second son, Ichio Soshu left the family house early in his life and built a house at Mushanokoji.
This family is now known as Mushanokojisenke.
At the beginning of the Meiji period in the 1870`s, the 11th generation Urasenke Grand Tea Master,
Gengensai Soshitsu, created the ryurei style of tea using tables and chairs for the first time,
thus establishing a more modern tea etiquette.
Other tea families incorporated this style into their own tradition and passed it on to succeeding generations.
Urasenke
The 13th generation Grand Tea Master, Ennosai Soshitsu, established tea courses in the schools.
Thus enabling women to participate in tea for the first time.
The 14th generation Grand Tea Master Tantansai Soshitsu, established chapters throughout Japan.
The present Grand Tea Master, Hounsai Soshitsu, has established Urasenke chapters in many
countries throughout the world.
The Urasenke Way of Tea has become international .
Now many people from all over the world come to Urasenke in Kyoto, to master the Way of Tea.
With ever increasing numbers of people experiencing tea, the hope that individual and collective peace
can be achieved through the making and sharing a bowl of tea comes closer.
It has been the dream of the present Grand Tea Master Hounsai to show as many people as possible,
all over the world, that peacefulness can be found through a bowl of tea.