Japanese tea bowls: a historical look and a class project - Integrating the curriculum - art project

Arts & Activities, Feb, 2003 by Sara Grove Macaulay

Materials

* Clay

* Canvas

* Rolling pins

* Cutting tools

* Clay tools

* Glazes and brushes

* Air-tight plastic bags

* Wooden paddles

Tea was introduced to Japan as early as the eighth century from China, where it was used for medicinal reasons. Tea was used as a stimulant by Zen Buddhist monks in China who found that tea helped them maintain concentration during extended periods of meditation. Japanese monks who studied at Chinese monasteries learned about tea and, in 1191, a Japanese monk brought seeds of the tea plant back to Japan. In Zen monasteries, tea was served to important visitors and thus tea drinking spread outside the monastery walls.

The methods of preparing tea have evolved from the early days when tea was boiled with salt, butter and milk products! In 13th-century Zen temples, tea was consumed not only to prevent drowsiness during meditation, but also as a form of communion, with the bowl being passed from person to person. In the 14th century, there were luxurious tea-tasting competitions in which participants had to guess where the tea had been produced. Prizes were given and, after the competition, banquets and alcohol were served.

Toward the end of the 15th century, it became the custom for a host to prepare and serve tea to several male guests. In the late 16th century, merchants used tea rooms as gathering places to talk business. The tea ceremony has been popular among women since the 1890s, when it became an important part of their cultural training. Over the centuries, the drinking of powdered and whisked green tea in a small room with a few close friends has gone from being an informal practice to a ritual.

THE TEA CEREMONY "Cha no yu," meaning "hot water for tea" in Japanese and called the "tea ceremony" in English, can last three to four hours and includes the serving of thick and thin tea and a meal. A shortened version that includes thin tea and sweets is also common in Japan. A special room is designated for the tea ceremony, either part of the house or in a corner of the garden. Tea rooms range in size from approximately 12 to 20 square feet. The building materials are plain and natural, the setting is quiet, simple and tranquil. The ambience is one of harmony, reverence, purity and calm.

For each tea ceremony, the host first decides on a theme for the gathering and then hangs an appropriate painting or scroll in the alcove of the tea room. The host chooses the scroll to provide the principal decoration and establish the mood of the gathering. Beneath it is a flower arrangement. He then selects tea utensils appropriate to his guests. The implements for making tea are chosen for their simplicity and natural beauty.

They are not merely functional objects used in the preparation and consumption of tea but works of art to be collected, appreciated and displayed for their aesthetic and historical value.

Tea utensils include tea jars for storing fresh green tea leaves, mortar and pestle for grinding the leaves into powdered tea, spoons for scooping the tea into teabowls, teabowls from which to drink, a brazier and iron kettle for boiling water, ceramic or bamboo rests for the kettle lid, a long-handled ladle for scooping water, bamboo or metal whisks for mixing tea and water, a cold water container, a wastewater container, serving dishes and napkins.

The guests proceed down the tea garden path, pausing to cleanse their hands at the water basin before stooping to crawl into the tea room. Once inside, each guest in turn admires the scroll and other works of art, such as precious ceramics, Buddhist statues or painted icons. The last guest to enter shuts the small sliding door with an audible click to signal to the unseen host that all the guests have arrived.

After exchanging greetings, the host builds a fire for the tea kettle. While the fire is being prepared, the guests admire and comment on the utensils and works of art. The mood of the kneeling guests is one of repose. Their attention is given to the movements of the host and the objects he uses, the work of art and to the flower arrangement. Every movement of the host as he prepares tea for his guests is precise, to the number of swirls of the bamboo whisk, and the angle at which the ladle is set down.

The guests are served a formal meal, which usually consists of fish, rice, vegetables and sake, a rice liqueur. At the end, sweets are eaten to prepare the palate for the bitter tea that will follow. The tea ceremony includes the drinking of both thick and thin tea. Using a bamboo whisk, thick tea is prepared by mixing powdered green tea with just enough water to produce the proper consistency. The tea is prepared in a single bowl and shared by all the guests, each of whom carefully wipes the rim before passing it on. More water is used for thin tea, however, both types are prepared by whipping the mixture with a whisk rather than by steeping.

TEABOWLS Sasaki Chojiro's (1516-92) teabowls are sometimes considered the ultimate in Japanese ceramics. They are modest in shape and undecorated, they fit well in the hand and convey the warmth of the hot tea. Handbuilt without the use of a wheel, the bowls are irregular in shape with a small, round foot and sides that are almost straight. Chojiro's teabowls serve as inspiration as students create their own teabowls (see sidebar on page 35).