The Book of Tea (ISBN 1600967256)

Download Description:
Tea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage. In China, in the eighth century, it entered the realm of poetry as one of the polite amusements. The fifteenth century saw Japan ennoble it into a religion of aestheticism - Teaism. Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order. It is essentially a worship of the Imperfect, as it is a tender attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life. The Philosophy of Tea is not mere aestheticism in the ordinary acceptance of the term, for it expresses conjointly with ethics and religion our whole point of view about man and nature. It is hygiene, for it enforces cleanliness; it is economics, for it shows comfort in simplicity rather than in the complex and costly; it is moral geometry, inasmuch as it defines our sense of proportion to the universe. It represents the true spirit of Eastern democracy by making all its votaries aristocrats in taste.

The Tao of Tea:
Kakuzo Okakura (1862-1919) was born in a Japan that had seen Commodore Perry but had not yet renounced the Shogunate. By the end of his life he had seen the Great War and Japan's first imperialistic military adventures in Korea and Manchuria that would culminate in the tragedy of the Second World War. The scion of Japanese aristocracy, Okakura chose to spend the latter half of his life as an expatriate living in Boston, Massachusetts, where he befriended the Brahmins of that city. THE BOOK OF TEA was written in this period, sometime in the nineteen-oh-ohs. Written for an American audience, it eloquently introduced the Boston bluebloods to an idealized vision of Japan, the Japan of cherry blossoms, kakemono, and Chanoyu, the Tea Ceremony. Reading THE BOOK OF TEA, one realizes that Okakura was not "selling" Japan to the West. THE BOOK OF TEA does not engage in any lacquer-box hucksterism. Rather, THE BOOK OF TEA is his paean to and his lament for a Japan of the virtues that was all-too-rapidly being consumed by Occidentally-intoxicated militarists and industrialists. THE BOOK OF TEA was written to banish the soot-stained chrysanthemums of Okakura's deepest nightmares. Although this reviewer came to THE BOOK OF TEA expecting a manual on the Tea Ceremony, this book is nowhere so vulgar as that. Yes, a manual on the highly stylized Chanoyu has its place, but it's place is nowhere without this book which penetrates to the heart and soul of the ceremony. This reviewer can honestly say that THE BOOK OF TEA provided him with comprehension, a deeper insight, and a first true appreciation for Japanese art forms, so different than the European. In its simplicity and its elegance, the Tea Ceremony is a form of Zen practice. Every element, from the atmosphere of the tearoom (called in Japanese "The Abode of Fancy," a world unto itself), the selection of the flowers, the artwork, the bamboo tea implements, the bright, sharp jade green macha tea, and the specially made jangling teapot and ceramic cups, speaks to an aesthetic foreign to the West. Okakura calls it "Teaism," a play on Taoism, and its purpose is to delight the senses, touch the heart, and place the participant fully in the present moment. Shambhala Publications has presented THE BOOK OF TEA in a fine paperbound edition, the colors, typeset, and dimensions of which please the mind. Shambhala has also provided color photographs, in truth forms of abstract art, of the tea implements in use, that add a visual dimension to this already fine book.

History, Philosophy, Poetry, and Religion - All In A Cup Of Tea:
This book was written around 1900, it seems, for those upper class ladies and gentlemen who delight in tea yet are ignorant of its artistic quality to life past and present. I expected at least one receipe of Japanese tea unknown to the west but found not one blend but certainly a receipe for greater bliss, rapture with each cup. I found the missing ingredient in my tea - perspective. This little book takes you through the history, the philosophy, the poetry, and the religion of tea. The chapters are as follows: -The Cup of Humanity -The Schools of Tea -Taoism and Zennism -The Tearoom -Art Appreciation -Flowers -Tea Masters This book reads like poetry. There is a chapter called "Flowers" which gives you the perspective of a flower in the grasp of man. It challenges you to gain feeling, to become alive by admiring life. "Tell me, gentle flowers, teardrops of the stars, standing in the garden, nodding your heads to the bees as they sing of the dews and the sunbeams, are you aware of the fearful doom that awaits you? Dream on, sway and frolic while you may in the gentle breezes of summer. Tomorrow a ruthless hand will close around your throats. You will be wrenched, torn asunder limb by limb, and borne away from your quiet homes. The wretch, she may be passing fair. She may say how lovely you are while her fingers are still moist with your blood. Tell me, will this be kindness? It may be your fate to be imprisoned in the hair of one whom you know to be heartless or to be thrust into the buttonhole of one who would not dare to look you in the face were you a man. Like all the Shambhala classics, this book is spiritual. I hope you can read it and be forever changed. Next time I will taste with my spirit not my tongue.

The Philosophy Of Tea:
Japanese green tea has recently been touted as health drinks having lots of nutrious ingredients including catechin and Teanin. This book by the late 19th century artist Tenshin Okakura whose disciples include Daikan Yokoyama ,one of the painters who well describe the beauty of Mt. Fuji, is not about benefits of tea. The book by narrating how the tea philosophy and ceremony tradition developed in Japan, tries to take us into the beauty of Japanese minds refined by Tea traditon of Japan and the lure of Budhisim or Taoism upon which the tea philosophy is based. One particular icon representing the tea religion is Rikyu Sen the very founder of the tea phlosophy in Japan. The scene of the death of Rikyu is just brilliantly written. So for some Japanese tea is beyond health drinks. It is a way of our philosophical backbone. Verdict: Excellent work describing what Japanese should be proud of Rating: 90 out of 100 Some of the anecdotes are hard to come by unless you are highly educated. Recommended for: Anyone who loves the beauty of Japan and Bushido fans.

Japanese culture in a teacup:
A fascinating look at the cultural significance and spiritual--and sometimes political--influence of tea on Japanese culture. Short and easy to read. Recommended to anyone who celebrates tea as something so much more than a beverage.

Insight into Japanese Culture:
I purchased and read this book for a Japanese culture class in college. The book discusses various aspects of tea, ranging from its history to its preparation. It gives you a first hand account of how tea has an affect on Japanese culture. The author writes this book in a negative stance towards the west, which I believe will close a lot of western reader's minds. You have to make sure to keep an open mind when reading this book and take from it what you can.