0901　Japanese Tea ceremony utensils　Matcha

Matcha

Matcha is made by steaming fresh tea leaves, drying them without rolling them, and then grinding them into a powder using a stone mill. Its origins lie in its import from China to Japan.

At that time, tea was extremely valuable because it wasn't cultivated in Japan. Furthermore, in China, it was a popular herbal medicine, and only a select few, such as monks and nobles, could consume it.

Therefore, it was not available to the general public.

During the Kamakura period, in 1191, the Zen monk Eisai brought tea back to Japan from Song China along with Zen teachings.

Eisai published "Kissa Yojoki" (Records of Tea Drinking for Health), a book detailing the benefits of tea, how to drink it, and its effects on health, in order to spread the understanding that tea was not merely a beverage but an important medicinal herb for maintaining health.

The historical context of the time was one of intense warfare, food shortages, and deteriorating sanitary conditions due to the rise of the samurai class, leading to serious health problems. Eisai focused on the fact that tea had the effect of strengthening the body and preventing disease, and sought to protect people's health by promoting its use.

Around 1320, "Tocha," a game of comparing and identifying different types and origins of tea, became popular.

During the Muromachi period, tea drinking evolved beyond simply consuming tea into a ritual emphasizing spiritual discipline, etiquette, and harmony with nature, developing deeply in connection with Zen teachings.

While the tea ceremony culture of the upper class was characterized by its extravagance, a new tea ceremony emphasizing simple beauty emerged with the monk Murata Juko.

This form of enjoying tea quietly in a tranquil room is known as "Wabi-cha," or "The Tea of the Thatched Hut." Juko, influenced by Noami and the Rinzai Zen monk Ikkyu Sojun, pursued the spirit of Noh, Renga, and Zen, and is said to have discovered the spirit of "Wabi-cha," a new way of appreciating tea.

"Wabi-cha" was established around the mid-Muromachi period by Takenō Jōō, a wealthy merchant and tea master from Sakai. Around this time, tea ceremonies were enjoyed in thatched huts, and Jōō called small tea rooms of about 2.5 to 3.5 tatami mats "Wabi-shiki."

Also around this time, it is said that the tea plantations in Uji received special treatment from the third shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, leading to Uji's development as a famous production area for matcha.

From the Muromachi period onward, tea production spread to various regions, and the culture of drinking tea became more familiar. Then, during the Azuchi-Momoyama period, Sen no Rikyū, famous for his tea, emerged and perfected "Wabi-cha," which had been developed by Juko and Jōō.

Rikyu was appointed as the head tea master at tea ceremonies for figures like Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and dedicated himself to the development of tea ceremony culture in many settings.

This gave rise to the uniquely Japanese culture of the tea ceremony and sencha (green tea) ceremony.

The "tea ceremony," which has undergone its own unique development, originated from tea culture transmitted from China, but has continued to the present day as "Japanese culture, the tea ceremony."

Today, the tea ceremony, a part of Japanese culture, is recognized globally as an art form that embodies Japanese aesthetics and spirituality.

The tea ceremony embodies the spirit of "wabi-sabi," a uniquely Japanese aesthetic that finds beauty in imperfection, aging, and the calmness and depth found in the passage of time, as well as in finding beauty in stillness.

The spirit of the tea ceremony—appreciating things as they are, and the concept of "ichigo ichie" (one time, one encounter), where each moment is unique and therefore precious—and the spirit of heartfelt hospitality towards the guest, is being embraced by people overseas.

　Japanese Tea ceremony utensils