Spiritual World Of Tea

2 Pages 488 Words

The Spiritual World of Tea
In the Japanese tea ceremony there are many things that are used to represent the Japanese beliefs.
In tea ceremony, water represents yin and fire in the hearth, yang. The water is held in a jar called the mizusashi. This stoneware jar contains fresh water symbolizing purity, and is touched only by the host. Matcha (green tea) is kept in a small ceramic container called a chaire, which is in turn covered in a shifuku (fine silk pouch), which is set 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 holds the chasen (tea whisk), chakin (the tea cloth) which is a bleached white linen cloth used to dry the bowl, and the chashaku (tea scoop), a slender bamboo scoop used to dispense the matcha, which rests across it. These are arranged next to the water jar, which represents the sun (symbolic of yang); the bowl is the moon (yin). Retiring to the preparation room, the host returns with the kensui (waste water bowl), the hishaku (bamboo water ladle) and futaoki (a green bamboo rest for the kettle lid). As the host enters they close the door to the preparation room.
Using a fukusa (fine silk cloth), which represents the spirit of the host, the host purifies the tea container and scoop. Deep significance is found in the host's careful inspection, the folding and handling of the fukusa, for their level of concentration and state of meditation are being intensified. Hot water is ladled into the tea bowl, the whisk is rinsed, and the tea bowl is emptied and wiped with the chakin.
Lifting the tea scoop and tea container, the host places three scoops of tea per guest into the tea bowl. Hot water is ladled from the kettle into the tea bowl in a quantity sufficient to create a thin paste with the whisk. Additional water is then added, so the paste can be whisked into a thick liquid consiste...