Book of Tea - Rambling Readers

128 pages

English language

Published Dec. 26, 2016 by Penguin Books, Limited.

ISBN:: 978-0-241-25135-5

(1 review)

The Book of Tea is much more than a book about tea. It's a celebration of the arts and culture of Japan, and a portrait of tea ceremony, the "Way of Tea", as the pinnacle of Japanese spirituality and artistic life.

Written in 1906 by Kakuzo Okakura, curator of Chinese and Japanese Art at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and a noted scholar and art critic, this modern classic traces the history of tea from its early medicinal uses in China, through the development of Chinese tea culture, and finally to the role of tea in Japanese Zen, culture, and politics. In the process, Okakura weaves together the philosophies, myths, history, and poetry of China and Japan. He introduces us to tea masters, emperors, and warlords, and brings us an appreciation of the transient beauty of life that is at the heart of Japanese artistic ideals.

4 editions

Stephanie Jane reviewed Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuso

A short, but deeply thought-provoking read

4 stars

The Book of Tea, first published back in 1906, is a short, but deeply thought-provoking read. In it Kakuzo Okakura examines in detail how the drinking of tea, with its associated rituals and customs, has influenced all aspects of Japanese culture over the centuries including their art, architecture and minimalist interior decor. Okakura quotes a number of famous tea-masters, interpreting their ideas for a Western audience, and also gives a history of tea cultivation in China and then in Japan. I had no idea that the leaves were originally pounded and made into a cake, before being repeatedly boiled with salt! With that concoction as a beginning, it's amazing that tea drinking ever caught on anywhere, let alone gaining its current popularity.

I loved the chapters evoking the restrained elegance of the true Japanese tea room. Having once experienced a Westernised example in San Francisco I could get some way …

The Book of Tea, first published back in 1906, is a short, but deeply thought-provoking read. In it Kakuzo Okakura examines in detail how the drinking of tea, with its associated rituals and customs, has influenced all aspects of Japanese culture over the centuries including their art, architecture and minimalist interior decor. Okakura quotes a number of famous tea-masters, interpreting their ideas for a Western audience, and also gives a history of tea cultivation in China and then in Japan. I had no idea that the leaves were originally pounded and made into a cake, before being repeatedly boiled with salt! With that concoction as a beginning, it's amazing that tea drinking ever caught on anywhere, let alone gaining its current popularity.

I loved the chapters evoking the restrained elegance of the true Japanese tea room. Having once experienced a Westernised example in San Francisco I could get some way towards imagining a truly authentic structure and marvelled at the care and ingenuity with which a tea master would prepare the space for guests. The ceremony did feel religious in tone, a concept underscored by Okakura's comparisons of traditional Teaism with Taoism. All in all, The Book of Tea is a fascinating insight into a beautifully enigmatic way of life which allowed me a greater understanding of its origins. The language is perhaps somewhat over-flowery and dated for the modern reader, but I felt that this did actually work well in conjunction with the history it reveals.

Subjects

Japanese tea ceremony
Tea