Changes

The ritual of serving tea places strong emphasis on the roles of "host" and "guest," but even so, guests are required to be familiar with the specified movements and practices expected of them - including when and how deeply to bow, how to receive a bowl of tea, how to drink it, and so forth.

The ritual of serving tea places strong emphasis on the roles of "host" and "guest," but even so, guests are required to be familiar with the specified movements and practices expected of them - including when and how deeply to bow, how to receive a bowl of tea, how to drink it, and so forth.

As the ritual also involves the use and display of the host's treasured things - including both the tea implements themselves (bowls, bamboo tea scoops, ceramic tea caddies) and paintings hung in the tearoom - tea practices were centrally influential in architectural innovations such as the ''[[tokonoma]]'' (an alcove in which seasonally and thematically appropriate paintings and flowers are displayed, helping to set a tone for one's guest), ''[[chigaidana]]'' (a stepped, asymmetrical shelf), and built-in writing desks, standard elements of elite architecture from that time forward. Tea thus also connected closely into collecting practices, and many lords and other elites of the time (particularly the [[Ashikaga shogunate|Ashikaga shoguns]]) retained cultural advisors called ''dôbôshû'' to advise and manage their collections. Chinese objects (''karamono'') were particularly sought-after by shoguns and others at this time, and tea ceremonies offered an opportunity for elites to show off their ''[[tenmoku]]'' bowls, [[Mu Qi]] paintings, and the like; once works amassed a famous provenance, having passed through the hands of prominent tea masters or warriors, they became increasingly powerful as symbols of the power and prestige of their owners.<ref>Pitelka, 20-21.</ref>

As the ritual also involves the use and display of the host's treasured things - including both the tea implements themselves (bowls, bamboo tea scoops, ceramic tea caddies) and paintings hung in the tearoom - tea practices were centrally influential in architectural innovations such as the ''[[tokonoma]]'' (an alcove in which seasonally and thematically appropriate paintings and flowers are displayed, helping to set a tone for one's guest), ''[[chigaidana]]'' (a stepped, asymmetrical shelf), and built-in writing desks, standard elements of elite architecture from that time forward. Tea thus also connected closely into collecting practices, and many lords and other elites of the time (particularly the [[Ashikaga shogunate|Ashikaga shoguns]]) retained cultural advisors called ''dôbôshû'' to advise and manage their collections. Chinese objects (''karamono'') were particularly sought-after by shoguns and others at this time, and tea ceremonies offered an opportunity for elites to show off their ''[[tenmoku]]'' bowls, [[Mu Qi]] paintings, and the like, obtained largely from merchants and from Zen temples; these were powerful symbols of the owner's connections with significant individuals, elite institutions, and overseas networks. Once works amassed a famous provenance, having passed through the hands of prominent tea masters or warriors, they became increasingly powerful as symbols of the power and prestige of their owners.<ref>Pitelka, 20-21.</ref>

Though [[Sen no Rikyu|Sen no Rikyû]], advisor to [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] in the late 16th century, is generally credited with (re)inventing the tea ceremony in the ''[[wabi]]-[[sabi]]'' form it has come to be most strongly associated with, ''wabi-cha'' had its start decades earlier, amongst the merchants of [[Sakai]]. Tea masters based in Sakai in the early 16th century, including [[Takeno Joo|Takeno Jôô]], [[Kamiya Sotan|Kamiya Sôtan]], [[Tsuda Sokyu|Tsuda Sôkyû]], and [[Imai Sokyu|Imai Sôkyû]], are credited with furthering the development of ''wabi-cha'', the practice of simple but aestheticized tea. Among the merchants of Sakai, tea was one of the chief modes of cultured socializing, and helped create a space of equality and safety (a sort of neutral zone, in a sense) for political discussions and mercantile negotiations.

Though [[Sen no Rikyu|Sen no Rikyû]], advisor to [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] in the late 16th century, is generally credited with (re)inventing the tea ceremony in the ''[[wabi]]-[[sabi]]'' form it has come to be most strongly associated with, ''wabi-cha'' had its start decades earlier, amongst the merchants of [[Sakai]]. Tea masters based in Sakai in the early 16th century, including [[Takeno Joo|Takeno Jôô]], [[Kamiya Sotan|Kamiya Sôtan]], [[Tsuda Sokyu|Tsuda Sôkyû]], and [[Imai Sokyu|Imai Sôkyû]], are credited with furthering the development of ''wabi-cha'', the practice of simple but aestheticized tea. Among the merchants of Sakai, tea was one of the chief modes of cultured socializing, and helped create a space of equality and safety (a sort of neutral zone, in a sense) for political discussions and mercantile negotiations.