Saturday, January 17, 2009

A short history of Sado, the Japanese tea ceremony

Sado or The Japanese tea ceremony is both the oldest and world renowed japanese traditions. Its charm resides in its spirituality and the simple and unharmed beauty of this staggering nectar which is the green tea. The very tea which is the key point of the century old ceremony for wich japanese people are known around the globe. Modern japanese learn it in special schools and tourists came from all corners of the world to see it.
The tea plant was brought to Japan from China, in the 12 th century, by Eisai, a Buddhist monk. He is nowdays known as "the father of tea". Used exclusively in the japanese temples, it started in the following decades to be more and more appreciated by laics, especially by noblemen and samurai. In order to become a tea cult ( chanoyu) it required to reach a higher level, and this was made possible by another buddhist monk, Murata Juko (Shuko) (1422- 1503). It was him who established the first principles of the future tea ceremony. Chanoyu was later updated by the great master Soueki, the one who shape it into the modern form we know today.

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