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Tea culture, often referred to as "tea ceremony," is one of the most famous elements of Japanese traditional arts. Originally a relatively un-ritualized element of elite banquets, tea practice became formalized into an art in the late 16th century (the [[Azuchi-Momoyama period]]), and came to be promoted as a key part of Japanese traditional culture in the [[Meiji period]].

Tea culture, often referred to as "tea ceremony," is one of the most famous elements of Japanese traditional arts. Originally a relatively un-ritualized element of elite banquets, tea practice became formalized into an art in the late 16th century (the [[Azuchi-Momoyama period]]), and came to be promoted as a key part of Japanese traditional culture in the [[Meiji period]].

Elite samurai patronage and practice of tea ceremony in the 15th-16th centuries was central to numerous developments in ceramics, architecture, and collecting practices in those periods. Though the term "tea ceremony" remains widely known and used in English, many scholars have begun to use the term "tea culture" instead; this serves both to emphasize the broader culture around tea practice, including aspects of art appreciation and architecture, that are not strictly limited to the so-called "ceremony," and to critique or challenge the Meiji period formalization of tea as a "national" and "traditional" "art."<ref>Corbett, 13.</ref>

Elite samurai patronage and practice of tea ceremony in the 15th-16th centuries was central to numerous developments in ceramics, architecture, and collecting practices in those periods.

 

Though the term "tea ceremony" remains widely known and used in English, many scholars have begun to use the term "tea culture" instead; this serves both to emphasize the broader culture around tea practice, including aspects of art appreciation and architecture, that are not strictly limited to the so-called "ceremony," and to critique or challenge the Meiji period formalization of tea as a "national" and "traditional" "art."<ref>Corbett, 13.</ref>

 

==History==

==History==

The [[1872 Kyoto Exposition]] saw the introduction of ''ryûrei'', a form of tea ceremony performed seated in chairs around a table, thus making it both more accessible & attractive to Westerners, and more accommodating to the Westernized decor, furnishings, and lifestyle of Meiji Japan.

The [[1872 Kyoto Exposition]] saw the introduction of ''ryûrei'', a form of tea ceremony performed seated in chairs around a table, thus making it both more accessible & attractive to Westerners, and more accommodating to the Westernized decor, furnishings, and lifestyle of Meiji Japan.

[[Okakura Kakuzo|Okakura Kakuzô's]] [[1906]] ''[[Book of Tea]]'' may be credited with being the first major means by which tea ceremony was introduced to the United States. Though throughout the Edo period the term ''chanoyu'' was the most commonly used term for the practice of making tea according to ritualized procedures known as ''temae'', in the Meiji period the term ''sadô'' ("Way of Tea") came to be used to emphasize or "evoke connotations of a spiritual path connected to tea practice."<ref>Corbett, 13.</ref> After World War II, the Urasenke school began promoting the reading ''chadô'' instead of ''sadô''.

[[Okakura Kakuzo|Okakura Kakuzô's]] [[1906]] ''[[Book of Tea]]'' may be credited with being the first major means by which tea ceremony was introduced to the United States.

 

Today, women make up some 90% of tea practitioners, but top-level positions of power and authority in the major schools of tea (incl. Urasenke, Omotesenke, and Mushanokôji-senke) continue to be passed down through the hereditary line from teachers to sons or male students in the ''[[iemoto]]'' system.

==Teahouse and Ceremony==

==Teahouse and Ceremony==