Abstract
The custom of drinking tea had already taken root in Japan as early as the 8th century in the refined society, especially among aristocrats and monks. We must wait, however until we reach the 15th century to witness tea drinking as a custom of daily life or sometimes as a social occasion, becoming so highly elaborated as to assume the form of a peculiar ‘art’, and then, finally establishing itself as a unique genre called ‘the Way of tea’ in the aesthetic-spiritual tradition destined to be transmitted to present-day Japan.1
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Notes
Concerning the historical formation of the art of tea, see Tatsusaburo Hayashiya, Masao Nakamura and Seizo Hayashiya: ‘Japanese Arts and the Tea Ceremony’ ( New York-Tokyo, 1974 ). This book also provides illustrated information about the art objects peculiar to the tea ceremony and the major technical terms and ideas related to this art.
This passage concerning suki is based on Shôtetsu Monogatari by Shôtetsu(13801459), a famous book on the theory of poetry (Iwanami Series: Classical Japanese Literature, vol. 65) (op. cit.) p. 230.
This is the idea underlying, for instance, the whole of the celebrated ‘essay’, Tsurezuregusa (written 1324–1331) by Kenkô Yoshida.
Fujiwara Iyetaka (1158–1237), an outstanding poet of the Shinkokin period, who together with Teika compiled the Shinkokin-shû.
A poem by Teika.
By Iyetaka.
Cf. Yoshinori Onishi: Fuga Ron (‘A Study of Fûga’) (Tokyo, 1940).
Cf. Shag() Kinbara: Tbyô Bijutsu (‘Oriental Arts’) (Tokyo, 1941) pp. 133–135. 8 Cf. Shûzo Kuki: Bungei Ron (‘A Study of the Theory of Literature’) (Tokyo, 1967 ) pp. 6–7.
The standard size of tatami is 6 X 3 Japanese feet.
Cf. Shaichi KatO: Nihon Bungaku-shi Josetsu ( Introduction to the History of Japanese Literature’) vol. I (Tokyo, 1975 ) p. 277.
Cf. ShOgo Kinbara: Bi-no KozO (‘Structure of Beauty’) (Tokyo, 1942) pp. 13–14; also Tetsurô Watsuji: Ftido (‘On the Climatic Features of Philosophies’ (Tokyo, 1971) pp. 190–191.
Cf. Shinichi Hisamatsu: SadO-no Tetsugaku (‘The Philosophy of the Way of Tea’) (Tokyo, 1973) pp. 145–151.
This poem is found in the section Metsugo of the Nanbb Roku.
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© 1981 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Izutsu, T., Izutsu, T. (1981). The Way of Tea. In: The Theory of Beauty in the Classical Aesthetics of Japan. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3481-3_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3481-3_3
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