Dec.  r,  1896.] 
TEE  TROPECAL  AGRiCULTaRIS  T. 
391 
A TEA-DR[NIvING  CEREMONY  IN  JAPAN. 
Fro:n  an  illiisbrateJ  pipsr  in  tho  .S3pDein'jer 
number  of  the  b'ar  East,  by  M'\  Takas’.nm  i S'.oba, 
Professor  of  English  in  the  Higher  Coaim ei’cial 
College,  Tokyo, entitled  “TheChanoyu  Cereniany,” 
we  in  ike  blie  following  extracts  : — 
Japan,  with  her  long  line  of  history  and  trcaditions, 
is  still  a problem  in  divers  things  to  Western  peo.de, 
especially  in  some  of  her  ciiaracteristic  iustitniions 
which  still  remain  unfathoined  despite  the  pile  of 
inform  ition  called  by  globe-trotters  and  other  prolific 
writers  whose  fanciful  pens  often  depict  .Japanese 
affairs  in  colours  altogether  unnatural.  To  these 
writers  caprice  seems  to  sway  m my  things.  Japanese 
in  such  a way  as  sometimes  to  thwart  all  attempts  at 
analysis.  Taste,  widely  different  according  to  coun- 
try, age  and  race,  should  he  thoroughly  appreciated 
ere  one  can  gain  an  insight  into  the  manners  and 
habits  of  a nation.  To  judge  Japanese  institutions  by 
a Western  standard  of  taste  or  in  a matter-of-fact  way 
may  perhaps  render  them  incomprehensible,  or  even 
absurd.  For  example  the  question  may  naturally 
arise  of  what  wisdom  and  practical  benefit  are  tho.se 
endless  formalities  in  the  malting  and  drinking  of  tea 
in  the  Chanoyu  ceremony  ? Certainly,  if  judged  by  a 
cold  utilitarian  principle,  i.e.,  if  tea  drinking  means 
no  more  than  drinking  tea,  this  august  ceremony  will 
lose  all  its  significance  and  charm,  but  the  Chanoyu 
rightly  underscood  means  more  than  a mere  gratifica- 
tion of  tne  palate,  and  its  merits  must  be  considered 
from  an  aasthetioal  and  also  from  an  ethical  point  of 
view.  It  is  an  art  in  the  sense  that  every  movement 
and  action  in  the  performance  of  the  ceremony  is 
rendered  in  compliance  with  the  laws  of  grace  and 
refinement,  while  on  the  other  hand  it  involves  an 
ethical  significance,  inasmuch  as  in  ancient 
times  it  was  looked  upon  as  a means  of  religious 
discipline.  The  man  who  enters  into  the  true 
spirit  of  Chanoyu,  free  from  the  detractions 
necessarily  entailed  by  wordly  cares  and  am- 
bitions, however  extravagant  it  may  sound  to  say  it, 
is  fitted,  in  the  language  of  a priest  who  made  much 
of  this  ceremony,  “ to  be  better  disposed  to  grasp  the 
truths  of  the  Infinite.”  As  to  whether  Chanoyu  was 
instituted  for  merely  bringing  friends  together  to  enjoy 
a pleasant  time  over  a cup  of  tea,  or  whether  it  u as 
intended  to  impart  to  those  who  took  pait  in  it  certain 
sound  practical  lessons  for  the  conduct  of  daily  life, 
our  readers  mast  draw  their  own  conclusions. 
Except  to  the  initiated,  the  secrets  of  the  ceremony 
are  a veiled  my.slery.  The  profound  motives,  so  elo- 
quently set  forth  by  various  Cliatioyu  men  in  regard 
to  the  ceremony,  sound  rather  far-fetched  and  impro- 
bable. Rikiu,  the  greatest  master  in  this  art  that 
ever  lived,  referred  in  one  of  his  poems  to  the  fact  th  it 
Chanoyu  meant  no  more  than  to  boil  water,  make 
tea  and  drink  it  properh;.  On  one  occasion  when  a 
man  quizzed  him  on  the  secrets  of  Chanoyu,  Ilikin 
replied,  “ Well,  there  is  no  particular  secret  in  the 
ceremony  save  in  making  tea  agreeable  to  the  palate, 
in  pilling  charcoal  on  the  brazier  so  as  to  make  a good 
fire  for  boiling  the  water,  in  arranging  flowers  in  a 
vase  in  a natural  way  and  in  making  things  appear 
cool  in  summer  and  warm  in  winter.”  Somewhat- 
disappointed  at  the  apparently  insipid  reply  the  in- 
quirer said,  '•  Woh  on  earth  does  not  know  such  a 
simple  explanation  as  that.”  llikiu’s  happy  retort 
was,  “ Well  if  you  know  it,  do  it”  It  sounds  paradoxi- 
cal but  is  true  that  “there  is  no  iron  law  for  Chanoyu 
requiring  that  such  and  such  forms  should  be  observed, 
but  at  the  same  time,  the  ceremony  should  not  be 
performed  at  random.”  All  the  endless  round  of 
formalities  is,  after  all,  a means  to  an  end.  Every- 
thing in  the  ceremony  seems  strikingly  artificial 
and  conventional  innumerable  laws  regulating  oven 
every  move  of  the  hand  and  body.  There  are  said  to 
be  seventy  five  manual  movements  in  an  ordinary 
Chanoju,  and  over  three  hundred  in  the  true  orthodox 
ceremony.  But  the  consciousness  of  being  fettered 
by  laws,  shows  that  one  has  not  yet  reached  a state  of 
proficiency  in  the  art.  Freedom  and  ease  are  the 
ultimate  end  of  Chanoyu,  so  that  the  slavish  adherence 
to  rules  in  the  beginning  should  finally  end  in  an  un- 
CDncious  observance  of  them.  Hence  the  manners  of 
Chanoyu  mister  .should  be  graceful  and  polished,  and 
their  taste  chaste  and  refined,  not  because  they  strive 
tn  be  thus,  but  breanse  of  the  culture  received  through 
theCiinoyu  practice.  It  is  as  much  a violation  of 
the  spirit  of  the  ceremony  to  make  much  ado  about 
the  cdtecliis'ii‘1  and  secret  traditions  existing  in  diffe- 
rent schools  of  Oh  inoyn  as  to  wrangle  about  the  diffe- 
rences of  the  tenets  of  different  denominations  igno- 
ring the  very  spirit  of  Christi  inity.  Again  losing  sight 
of  the  miin  motive  of  Chanoyu,  people  are  often  led  to 
believe  tha .,  but  for  the  display  of  wealth  and  luxury, 
the  ceremony  could  not  be  conducted  with  any  de- 
gree of  success.  The  simplicity  and  uuobtrusiveness 
so  beantifnlly  exemplified  in  Rikin’s  whole  career  may 
lo3  safely  tiken  as  its  watchwords.  Good  fellowship 
and  the  absence  of  social  barriers  characterize  all 
C lanovu  moetiugs.  In  feudal  times  when  people 
were  bloodthirsty  and  bent  on  warfare,  the  prevalence 
of  Chmoyn  among  the  military  class,  strange  as  it 
may  appear  that  the  Sanmmi  of  those  days  took  to 
this  graceful  ceremony,  exercised  no  mean  influence 
towards  cooling  the  heat  of  military  ardour. 
The  Chanoyu  ceremony  had  its  origin  in  Buddhism. 
About  seven  hundered  years  ago  a priest  of  Kyoto 
named  Yeisei  brought  back  to  this  country  from  China, 
where  he  had  been  on  a mission,  some  tea  seeds 
which  he  planted  for  trial  on  Mr.  Seburi  in  Chikuzen. 
A good  crop  of  tea  rewarded  his  labour,  whereupon 
he  presented  some  of  the  choice  leaves  to  a promi- 
nent personage  of  ihe  time,  who  relished  them  as  a 
rave  tonic  for  headache.  Meikeishonin,  another 
priest  of  note  in  those  days,  is  said  to  have  trans- 
planted some  of  the  shrubs  to  Mb,  Togano  with  a 
result  that  far  surpassed  his  expectations.  From  that 
time  on,  tea  has  gradually  become  a popular  beverage 
both  among  the  high  and  the  low.  Tha  introdnetion 
of  the  Chanoyn  ceremony  piroper  was  deferred  to  a 
later  period,  i.e.,  1‘2G7  A.D.,  when  a set  of  Daisu,  the 
cerenunial  tea  service,  Was  first  brought  over  from 
China.  Of  course  in  those  days  the  ceremony  had 
nothing  of  the  elaborate  character  which  it  presents 
today.  It  was  then  a cherished  pastime  for  the  priest 
in  his  solitary  hours  in  the  monastery,  but  it  had  not 
yet  comm  luded  the  attrmtion  of  society  at  large. 
Some  years  after,  the  D%isu  referred  to  above  fell 
into  the  hands  of  Ashikaga  Takauji  who  lived  in  the 
•Middle  of  the  fourteench  century,  and  whose  record  in 
history  was  blotted  by  his  disloyal  conduct  towards 
the  Emperor  in  his  latter  days.  Enjoying  a short 
interval  uf  peace,  he  gave  himself  up  to  the  pleasures 
of  Chanoyn  but  soon  after  the  country  becoming 
tnrbuleiit,  he  had  to  take  up  arms.  Chanoyu  shared 
the  viccissitu  les  of  disturbed  society  for  many  years 
un  il  the  final  restoration  of  peace  caused  its  rewats- 
sdiica.  The  golden  epoch  of  the  C'nanoyu  ceremony 
in  the  medi.ieval  history  of  this  country,  was  at  the 
time  of  Yoshim  isa  who  grasped  the  reins  of  power  in 
the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century.  In  1479,  freeing 
himself  from  worldly  respionsibiiities.  this  accom- 
plished general  retired  to  “ Giukakiiji,”  the  Silver 
Storied  Temple  in  Kyoto,  in  buildingwhich  no  expense 
was  spared.  Near  the  main  building  he  caused  to  be 
put  up  a little  apartment  where  he  frequently  held 
Chanoyu  meetings  with  prominent  men  of  the  time. 
Yoshimasa  learned  Chanoyu  under  Shuko,  a priest  of 
Shomeiji  in  Kyoto,  who  for  the  first  time  formulated 
and  codified  its  canons.  Under  such  an  impetus  the 
ceremony  reached  a marvellous  degree  of  popularuy 
In  the  course  of  time  numerous  schools  sprang 
up,  but  it  is  universally  recognised  that  Cha- 
noyu as  it  is  practised  today  was  perfected  by  Rikiu 
who  introduced  divers  improvements.  Being  a m in  of 
extraordinary  talent,  rare  intrepidity  and  ready  wit, 
his  life  as  a Chanoyu  artist  reads  like  romance.  For 
the  marvellous  woik  he  achieved  in  his  profession,  he 
surely  deserves  the  esteem  and  regard  lavished  upon 
him  by  the  men  of  his  time  as  well  as  by  succeeding 
generations.  Serving  first  under  Nobunaga,  and  sub- 
sequently under  Taiko,  his  worlis  speak  more  elo- 
quently than  volumes  of  panegyrics.  Rising  above 
the  grave  error  of  the  people  of  his  time,  who  vied 
wiihone  another  in  putting  up  elegant  rooms  and 
collecting  costly  utensils,  this  great  master  inaugu* 
