Free Tea by Laura Martín Page B

sixteenth century, explain his attitude toward tea. These rules are: “Make a delicious bowl of tea. Lay out the wood charcoal to heat the water. Arrange the flowers as they are in the fields. In summer, evoke coolness; in winter, warmth. Anticipate the time for everything. Be prepared for rain. Show the greatest attention to each of your guests.”
    Rikyu showed true genius in regard to the tea ceremony and believed strongly in the spiritual depth that it could reflect. He proposed that the practice of tea, in accordance with Zen principles, should be an egalitarian approach in which class, rank, and religion held no importance. He designed his tea huts so that everyone who entered had to stoop, symbolizing that all people are equal, in spite of rank and class. His teahouses were also designed to heighten an awareness of nature, and even the tea huts in the city gave the appearance of being in a remote, rural locale.
    The tea ceremony was an integral part of all Japanese life during the sixteenth century, for tea drinking had spread to commoners as well, by this time. Tea sellers on the streets of Kyoto sold a bowl of low-grade tea for a sen— the coin of least value of the time.
    Rikyu served Hideyoshi for many years and became a trusted and intimate companion, who was asked to take charge of the day-to-day working of Hideyoshi’s household. He was often asked to perform the tea ceremony and enjoyed a great reputation both at court and among commoners.
    But in spite of his affinity for simplicity within the tea-room, Rikyu had an arrogant nature that often irritated Hideyoshi. Even though the men initially enjoyed a close relationship, tensions built over the years until finally Rikyu was ordered by Hideyoshi to commit ritual suicide. There are many stories explaining the possible reasons for this harsh command. Some accounts say that Hideyoshi demanded that Rikyu’s daughter be given to a warlord as a concubine, and Rikyu refused. Another story says that Hideyoshi was jealous of Rikyu because he had such a large and devoted following. Whatever the reason, in 1591 , at the age of seventy, Rikyu performed one last tea ceremony, then committed seppuku .
    The tea ceremony that had developed in Japan by the end of the sixteenth century was the result of the passions and teachings of many men, from Eisai, who brought the first seeds from China and established a new way of preparing and serving tea, to Rikyu, who taught that the tea ceremony offered a place and time to leave worldly concerns behind and to enter for a short time into the realm of the spiritual. The tea masters left a rich legacy in the form of the tea ceremony, a deeply spiritual and symbolic ritual that is still practiced today.

CHAPTER 5
The Japanese Tea Ceremony
“Tea with us became more than an idealization of the
form of drinking; it is a religion of the art of life.”
    â€”Kakuzo Okakura
    I N J APAN, THE TEA CEREMONY is called cha-no-yu , which translates literally as “water for tea.” This, in a nutshell, is what the tea ceremony is all about. In spite of the rich symbolism, the attention to detail, and the ritualistic acts, the essence of the tea ceremony remains nothing more than adding water to tea leaves and then serving it to guests. The magic is in the manner in which that is done.
    Various tea masters through the centuries emphasized different aspects of the ceremony. Shuko, for example, taught that the most important element of the tea ceremony was the right attitude. Purity of mind, he said, is more important even than cleanliness. He went on to say that treating all guests with equality, self-control, and consideration was more important than honoring distinguished guests.
    Takeno Joo, who followed in his master’s footsteps, suggested that a tea master must essentially practice what he preaches. Thus, one’s ability to perform the tea ceremony with purity of mind was enhanced if he could perform all