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  • Essay / A Detailed Overview of the Japanese Tea Ceremony

    Chaji is a complete presentation of tea with a meal. As with virtually all tea ceremonies, the host may spend days going over last minute details to ensure this ceremony will be perfect. Thanks to tea, we recognize that each human encounter is a singular occasion that cannot and will never exactly happen again. So, every aspect of the tea should be savored for what it brings to the participants. The ceremony takes place in a room designed and designated for tea. This is called chashitsu. Usually, this room is located in the tea room, located away from the residence, in the garden. The guests (four is the preferred number) are led into the machiai (waiting room). Here, the hanto (host's assistant) offers them sayu (hot water which will be used to make tea). During their stay, guests choose one member of their party to act as the main guest. The hanto then leads the guests, with the chief guest directly behind, to a garden sprinkled with water and devoid of flowers. It is called roji (dew soil). Here, guests shake off the dust of the world. They then sit on the koshikake machiai (waiting bench), anticipating the approach of the host who bears the official title of teishu (household master). Just before receiving the guests, the teishu fills the tsukubai (stone basin), located among low stones, with fresh water. Taking a ladle of water, the teishu purifies his hands and mouth then passes through the chumon (middle gate) to welcome his guests with a greeting. No words are spoken. The teishu leads the hanto, the chief guest, and the others (in that order) through the chumon, which symbolizes the doorway between the gross physical world and the spiritual world of tea. The guests and hanto purify themselves with the tsukubai and enter the tea room. The sliding door is only thirty-six inches tall. So everyone who enters must bow their heads and squat. This door highlights the reality that all are equal before tea, regardless of their status or social position. The last person to enter locks the door. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Inside the tea room The room is devoid of any decoration except for an alcove called a tokonoma. In the alcove hangs a kakemono (scroll painting), carefully selected by the host, which reveals the theme of the ceremony. The Buddhist scriptures on the scroll are written by a master and are called bokuseki (ink marks). Each guest takes turns admiring the scroll, then examines the kama (kettle) and hearth (furo for the portable type and ro for the type built into the ground in winter to provide heat), which were placed just before to be welcomed by the host. They are then seated according to their respective positions in the ceremony. The host himself sits down and greetings are exchanged, first between the host and the main guest, then between the host and the other guests. A charcoal fire is then lit if it is ro season and after the meal if it is furo season. During the ro season, kneaded incense is put into the fire and sandalwood incense during the furo season. The meal Each guest is served a meal called chakaiseki. Served on a platter with fresh cedar sticks, the meal consists of three courses. On the tray, white rice cooked in a ceramic bowl, which will be eaten with other dishes, miso soup, which is served in bowls covered with lacquer, and raw fish, plain or marinated, or vegetables marinated in a ceramic dish. Sake is served. The first dishis called hashiarai (rinsing chopsticks). Nimono (food simmered in broth) in separate dishes covered with lacquer. Yakimono (grilled foods) are served in individual portions on ceramic plates. Extra rice and soup are offered to each guest. At this course, the guest can eat, if he wishes. The palate is then cleared with kosuimono, a simple clear broth served in lacquer-covered bowls. The next course takes its name from the Shinto respect for nature. It is called hassun, which is also the name of the simple wooden tray used to serve this dish. This course consists of uminomono and yamanomono (seafood and mountain foods, respectively), which signify the abundance of sea and land. The host eats during this class and each guest serves him sake. The position of waiter is considered a higher position, and to ensure equality for everyone in the teahouse, everyone acts as a host if only momentarily. Konomono (fragrant objects) are served in small ceramic bowls, and browned rice is served in salted water in a lacquerware pitcher, representing the rest of the rice. Each guest cleans the utensils they used with the soft paper they bring. An omogashi (main sweet) is served to conclude the meal. The host then invites his guests to retire to the garden or the waiting room while he prepares tea. Once the guests have left, the host removes the parchment and replaces it with flowers. The room is swept and the utensils for preparing koi cha are put away. More than thirteen individual elements are used. Each is expensive and considered an art object. The fire is then rebuilt for usa cha (fine tea). This tea will rinse the palate and symbolically prepare guests to leave the spiritual world of tea and re-enter the physical world. Smoking items are available, but smoking in a tea room is rare. It's just a sign of relaxation. Zabuton (cushions) and teaburi (hand warmers) are available. To complete the usa cha, higashi (dry sweets) are served. Usa cha and koi cha are made in the same way, except that less of the lower quality tea powder is used and it is dispensed from a date-shaped wooden container called a natsume. The tea bowl is more decorative in style; and the guests individually receive a bowl of this forty beverage. At the end, the guests express their appreciation for the tea and their admiration for the host's art. They leave while the host watches from the teahouse door. During the Japanese tea ceremony, many elements are used to represent Japanese beliefs. During the tea ceremony, water represents yin and fire in the hearth, yang. The water is kept in a pot called mizusashi. This stoneware pot contains fresh water symbolizing purity and is only touched by the host. The matcha (green tea) is kept in a small ceramic container called a pulpit, itself covered with a shifuku (fine silk pouch), placed in front of the mizusashi. The occasion will dictate the type of tana (stand) used to display the chosen utensils. The host enters with the chawan (tea bowl) which contains the chasen (tea whisk), the chakin (tea towel) which is a bleached white linen cloth used to dry the bowl and the chashaku (tea spoon), a thin bamboo spoon used to dispense matcha, which sits on top. These are arranged next to the water jar, which represents the sun (symbolic of yang); the bowl is the moon (yin). Retreating to the preparation room, the host returns with the kensui (sewage bowl), hishaku (bamboo water ladle), and futaoki (a green bamboo footrest for the kettle lid ). When the host enters, he closes the door to the preparation room. HAS.