Japan in the sixteenth Century: The World of tea. Discuss the Japanese Tea Ceremony with reference to the movie, “Rikyū”.

According to historical records, tea was introduced to Japan from China during the Great Tang Dynasty (618-907) by Japanese Buddhist monks . It was during this time that cultural interchange reached its peak in Japan, resulting in her first centralized state headed by an Emperor (Tenno) and his court situated in Heian (794-1185) . The first mentioned of a formal ceremony involving the drinking of Tea was in the eighth century, when Emperor Shomu (724-749) invited Buddhist monks in extolling Tea’s elegance on its spiritual qualities in an event called incha. It was in the sixteenth century that a Tea master by the name of Sen No Rikyū (1522-1591) epitomized the fine art of Chanoyu. Chanoyu is a Japanese artistic ritual that is focused around preparing tea, serving tea, drinking tea, through aesthetic contemplation, social dimensions and spiritual exploration . Rikyū’s influence on wabicha (Chanoyu based on the wabi simplistic aesthetic) was profound. Totman (2000) interprets wabicha to mean “poverty tea” . Rikyū was essentially a man of the Azuchi-Momoyama (1568-1600) culture, who carried tea ceremony to its austere limits. Varley (1989) asserts that Rikyū created Chanoyu through the refinement of Chinese custom of drinking tea, and distilled with elements of Zen philosophy, which gave it various symbols and rituals . The view presented in this essay is that how Rikyū or the Way of Tea (Chanoyu) contributed in terms of its historical significance to the world in general and Japan in particular? Personal-psychological, aesthetic-religious and social-political-economic and health aspects will be correlated in terms of its historical significance in relation with the movie Rikyū.

Firstly, Chanoyu contributed significantly to personal-psychological aspects. It is thought by some experts, for example, Okakura (2007) that Chanoyu seeks social harmony not merely through aesthetic contemplation, but through self-discipline and personal discovery which disagree with Pitelka’s (2003) argument regarding the focus of Chanoyu . The Way of Tea combines ritual's social agenda with a personal desire for salvation. Tea requires a degree of contemplation of, and concentration on, fine ritual actions. Chanoyu invites participant to look into themselves to discover a self that is no longer separate and potentially antagonistic but in harmony with nature and people surrounding it . In addition, Tea was seen as an object to touch order behind chaos, as experienced in war and natural disasters in anarchy Japan. Anderson (1991) refers to the four famous principles of Chanoyu (wa or "harmony", kei or "respect", sei or "purity", and jaku or "tranquillity") as the "major mediators between the transcendent, the cultural system, Tea ritual, and the individual" and relates them to Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto, and Buddhism respectively . She sees the first three as confirmatory and the last as transformatory. Chanoyu is also definitely “to build one’s personality and character ", and the most revered Tea master of past history Sen Rikyu is quoted as saying, "The most important purpose of tea...is...to arrive at spiritual enlightenment " or, in another translation, "Chanoyu is above all a matter of practicing and realizing the way in accord with the Buddha’s teaching ". With the combined principles of Tea inculcated, personal-psychological aspect of an individual might be personify as the way of Tea.

In addition, Chanoyu significantly heightens religious aesthetic. Chanoyu draws much of its fine aesthetics from its Zen Buddhism origin. As was explained earlier, Chanoyu had and still have social dimension, its ritual aesthetics aims at emotionally united diverse people under a homogeneous cultural model. Chanoyu had indeed achieved a common culture shared by all Japanese through universal emotional participation. It was undeniable that Chanoyu was sacred on its own because it was confined to a sanctified, ritual space . To an outsider, Chanoyu is just a physical act of drinking Tea. However, Chanoyu is actually a spiritual art by itself. A Zen priest and ostensibly the father of Tea ceremony called Murata Shuko (1422-1502) claimed that the purity of mind, rather than an outward appearance of cleanliness, should be observed at all times . The opinion of Ludwig (1981) is that in relations between the host and his guests, self control and consideration should be maintained, and a person of a lower social status should be given the same degree of respect as one who comes from a high social level . During Rikyu’s lifetime, he exulted in preserving the purity and simplicity of Chanoyu. Having a close infinity with Zen philosophy, the simplicity and purity of Chanoyu helped to mould the rules and ritual in the development of aesthetic grandeur . In my opinion, although there is a close relationship between ethics of Zen Buddhism and Chanoyu, they differ in the following manner: while Zen calls for enlightenment of the individual through meditation and detachment, Chanoyu is a fine art in which people communicate with each other through sincerity in spirit and purity of mind thus making Chanoyu a historical significant.

Apart from its psychological and aesthetic historical significant, Chanoyu has social, political and economic dimensions as well. Chanoyu has been a tool of peace and agreement, as well as of social order. Being in such turmoil times of Japanese history, Chanoyu had to become such a highly refined ritual art in order to have some forms of symbolic relations with the outside world particularly Japan to get such esteemed respect. Turner (1967) maintains that ritual symbolized a larger cultural context by multifocal symbols that allow the individual periodically to readapt to the basic conditions and axiomatic values of human social life . For him, ritual is a kind of normative system. Geertz (1993) too understood ritual as such a system "... which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence..." As stated by Geertz (1993), the symbols of ritual create a common understanding of reality; ritual is a means to overcome the anxiety that life is meaningless and absurd . It associates reality with a cosmic order by means of symbols. Ritual makes life meaningful as it links up with a cosmic order and as it extends that order into reality.

Furthermore, Japanese used Tea for different purposes for different periods of their history. In each period, Tea was used to fulfil some immediate requirements - be it local or contemporary needs. Adapting itself constantly to new social, political and consequently cultural situations, Chanoyu still is a dynamic system much like ancient Shinto ritual. Looking at the transformation that Tea underwent, from its introduction to Japan at the end of the sixth century until today, we realize that Chanoyu is a ritual which, like other ritual, relates to reality in a multi-dimensional symbolic way.

Politically, during the warring states period (1467-1572), when the daimyō fought among each other for military or political supremacy, Chanoyu was used to create consensus and peace. On the other hand, in times of peace, say after the reunification of the nation in 1591 and the establishment of the Tokugawa Bafuku (shogunate) government in 1603, Chanoyu is a reaffirmation of social and political order. Tokugawa Bafuku (shogunate) saw Tea as a necessity in becoming an ideal sovereign and citizen. Chanoyu also served to restrict violent behaviour and to leave a door open for political discussions and social harmony within the elite communities themselves. This idea could be seen in the movie whereby Toyotomi Hideyoshi suggested that Chanoyu could provide a platform in winning over Lord Leyasu to conquer China together. In contrast, commoners saw Chanoyu as an ideal way for human communication and cultivating the human mind through ritual which was shown between Rikyū and Soji and between Rikyū and Abbot Kokei respectively in the movie . Therefore, the way Geertz (1993) interprets ritual is therefore particularly relevant to Tea, as Tea is a ritual/symbolic form of human interaction based on a macrocosmic, ideal order of things, reimposed onto reality . Chanoyu being a tool or ritual of peace created a ritual locus for the conquest of crisis. From the movie , Rikyū is definitely in the most strategic position to assert influence to both political policies and Toyotomi Hideyoshi but yet he focuses his full attention to the study and teachings of Chanoyu. If only he have taken the monumental leap in curbing Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s greed and madness, Hideyoshi won’t had brought about his own tragic greatness. Rikyū even lamented that he only cautioned Hideyoshi once and obfuscated about his idea on the conquest of China and Korea. On the other hand, without Tea, the destruction of the warring states period might have been much worse and perhaps Japan will not be unified.

Socially, Chanoyu was seen as a catalyst in encapsulating an archaic system of values and pattern of human encounter within a newly bureaucratized and unified Japan . Chanoyu was meant symbolically to perpetuate peace and compromise. In times of war, however, when Tea particularly flourished, leaders/ritualists sought strict human equality in the tearooms as shown in the movie . By inviting potential enemies to Tea, they tried to create harmony and consensus by breaking down social difference and by promoting equality and intimacy between host and guests. In the movie , Hideyoshi use of Tea did not stop at politics and diplomacy, it extended to his Tea masters who, like Tea itself, became political go-betweens. Furthermore, within Chanoyu’s sphere women are seen as equals to men even though Chanoyu is seen as a Bushi culture, whereby only men are considered to take part. In the movie , several scenes which showed that drinking from the same Tea bowl reaffirmed this concept of parity between higher and lower social class. Although, it is debatable on the exact reasons why Hideyoshi forced Rikyu into suicide soon after this event, it is possible that it was a conflict over the use of Tea as a mirror of the new social order that he tried to establish after he managed to unify the nation under his hegemony. With Rikyū's death, Tea changed from an egalitarian, transformatory ritual to a "confirmatory" one. Rikyū was a product of the warring states period whereas Furuta Oribe (1545-1615) and his successors were products of national unity. As ritual, Chanoyu had to adapt itself to these changes. Chanoyu also assumes a confirmatory function when members of a certain social class practice it in ways so as to affirm class belonging and allegiance . However, Chanoyu can assume both functions at the same time especially when it functions to initiate the individual into his social group or help a political leader to legitimize his authority. Chanoyu can be used to transform the individual in a religious or social context and to conform and reconfirm the status quo. Perhaps Rikyū failed to realize quickly enough that his period had come to an end and died tragically as a consequence.

Economically, Chanoyu in the sixteenth century Japan was of transformatory use when warlords such as Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) and Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) reunified the nation as seen in the movie . Many of the other daimyō of the sixteenth century became avid Tea enthusiasts. Many prided themselves of their fine collections of Tea bowls and other Tea utensils. Prized bowls and coveted tea room alcove paintings changed hands for astronomical sums of money. Tanaka (1973) explains that competition over tea objects was even the cause--or a contributing cause--of violence and military conflict . Ironically, it was precisely such material fixation and self- exaggeration that the practice of Chanoyu was supposed to help overcome. The structure organization of economic activities surrounding Chanoyu with its expensive utensils, extravagant tea houses and Japanese elites taking part in these sacred rituals leads it to have economic value . As a result, tea growing became economically important in Japan after the end of the Tokugawa Bafuku (Shogunate), for its trade potential. Chanoyu itself has an economic and historical dimension which attributed to Japan’s rich historical and a prosperous nation.

Last but not the least is the health benefits of Tea itself. Varley (1989) indicates that drinking tea counts as a significant constant in human exposure to disease transmitted through drinking water which affects the alimentary tract . Furthermore, Chanoyu provided a barrier against infection through boiling the water which kills most of the bacteria presence. Four to six centuries ago, Japan could not have survived without some sort of barrier against propagation of lethal epidemic through drinking water. However, with the introduction of drinking boiled water that was essentially made palatable by Tea was an essential prophylaxis against intestinal infection through drinking contaminated water . In the movie, Lord Leyasu was seen as someone who was not that healthy (coughing blood) which might be a gastrointestinal tract infection, in spite of this Tea provided that remedy in easing his pain . Furthermore, between 1300 and 1700, the spread of Tea drinking coincided with a doubling of population in Japan . The epidemiological consequences of drinking Tea were of course only partly responsible. For these changes, the epidemiological aspect of Tea was important, and its consequences ramified all through Japanese Society, even affecting the elegance and artistry of Chanoyu.

In conclusion, events in sixteenth-century Japan and beyond revealed the fact that the historical significance of Chanoyu evolves and revolves with time that contributed significantly to the personal-psychological, aesthetic-religious and social-political-economic-well being of Japan.

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