Detailed Description of the Japanese Tea ceremony

First of all, if the tea is to be served in an independent tea house, the guests will wait in a garden shelter until summoned by the host. Subsequently, the guests ritually purify themselves by washing their hands and rinsing their mouths with water from a small stone basin, and proceed through a simple garden along a dewy path to the tea house. As a sign of respect, guests remove their shoes and enter the tea house through a small door – they then proceed to the tokonoma scroll alcove, and are then seated seiza-style on the tatami (in order of prestige). In order to heat the water for making the tea, the host may build the charcoal fire in the presence of the guests – however, this MUST be done in a prescribed manner in accordance with Japanese tradition.

Depending on the even or even on the season, guests may be served a light, simple meal called a "tenshin", or a special kind of full-course meal called "cha-kaiseki" (with sake). However, if a meal is not served, the host will proceed directly to the serving of a small sweet or sweets. Subsequently, the guests will then return to the waiting shelter until summoned again by the host. Afterwards, each utensil - including the tea bowl, whisk, and tea scoop - is then ritually cleaned in the presence of the guests in a precise order AND using prescribed traditional motions – next, the utensils are placed in an exact arrangement according to the particular style of tea-making procedure being performed. .

When the cultural ritual of cleaning and preparing the utensils is complete, the host will place a measured amount of green tea powder in the bowl and add the appropriate amount of hot water – next, the tea is whisked, again using deliberate movements. When the tea is ready, the host places it out and, depending on the circumstances, an assistant takes it to the guest or the guest comes back to be served.

Now, bows of respect are exchanged between the host and guest of honour – the guest then bows to the second guest, and raises the bowl in a gesture of respect to the host. Traditionally, the guest rotates the bowl to avoid drinking from its front, takes a sip, and compliments the host on the tea. However, if it is thick tea (koicha), the guest then takes two more sips before wiping the rim, rotating the bowl to its original position, and passing it to the next guest with a bow. The procedure is repeated until all guests have taken tea from the same bowl, and the bowl is returned to the host – interestingly, in some ceremonies, each guest will drink from an individual bowl, but the order of serving and drinking is always the same. In the case of thin tea (usucha), the tea is invariably prepared in individual servings.

 

If thick tea (koicha) has been served first, the host will then prepare thin tea, or usucha. To compliment and accentuate the thin tea, the host first brings in a smoking set (tabakobon) and different kinds of confections, referred to as higashi. Actually, the tea is served in much the same manner as for koicha, but in a more relaxed atmosphere – that is, people are open to speak about whatever they wish. On the other hand, during the thick tea serving, conversation basically is limited to a few formal comments exchanged between the first guest and the host (in Western culture, this would be the equivalent of talking about the weather – very polite and non-controversial conversation). In the thin tea serving, after a similar ritual conversation, the guests are expected to ‘switch’ to more casual and festive conversations.

After all the guests have been satisfied, the host cleans the utensils in preparation for putting them away – traditionally, the guest of honour will request that the host allow the guests to examine some of the utensils, and each guest in turn examines each item, including the tea caddy and the tea scoop. Again, the items are treated with extreme care and reverence as they may be priceless, irreplaceable, handmade antiques, and guests often use a special brocaded cloth to handle them. The host then collects the utensils, and the guests leave the tea house – now, the host bows from the door, and the ceremony is over. A tea ceremony can last up to four hours – the amount of time is determined by the type of ceremony performed, the number of guests, the types of meal, and the tea served.