Originally an import from China, Tea was began to be practiced by Zen priests in the middle of the 12th century. It gradually spread to the aristocracy and samurai and until the middle if the 19th century only men had practiced Tea. During the Meiji Restoration Tea was introduced to girls as part of the high school educational curriculum. After world war 2 the 15th generation grand Tea master of the Urasenke (a direct descendent of the most famous master Sen Rikyu) began teaching to both men and women of all nationalities. Nowadays, 80% of practitioners are women.

In Japan today there are two schools of Tea, Urasenke and Omotesenke. The differences are subtle, such as the way one enters the tea room and where the cups are placed. The host prepares and serves the tea sincerely and quietly and the guest receives the tea and the hosts ‘mind’ in a humble manner. All movements are deliberate and mindful showing both respect and humility towards both the host and the guest. Few if any words are spoken and gratitude is shown by bowing (there are 3 different levels of bow).

The quietness and tranquility of Tea practice was embraced by the samurai. When entering the Tea room samurai would remove their katanas (long swords) -the entrance to the tea room is very narrow so one may not enter while wearing a sword. Instead they took in a ceremonial fan (sensu). Since then the fan has become the symbol of the guest and it represents the division between the outside hectic world and the peaceful world of Tea.

The symbol of the host is a square silk cloth (fukusa) used to wipe or purify the utensils. The action implying that the host is also purifying him/herself.

The guest will first eat some traditional sweets before being served tea. Then the tea is placed before him in a fine tea cup (chawan). The guest turns the front of the bowl away from himself (2 turns) to avoid drinking from the front, drinks the tea (usually 3 sips -the third a powerful suck so no tea remains in the chawan), turns the cup back and places it in front of himself. Then the guest will examine and admire the cup by kneeling forward and holding it close to the ground -looking underneath also to see the name of the maker. Cups often cost thousands of pounds, sometimes they are priceless.

A traditional tea room room would be about 4 tatami mats in size, in the centre there is a lowered area for the stove and kettle this is only used during the colder months. in the summer it is covered and the kettle is on the mats.

Flower arranging (Kado) and calligraphy (Shodo) are closely linked through Zen to Chado. Hence the flowers and calligraphy contribute to the atmosphere of the tea room.
In the room shown the calligraphy is by the foremost calligrapher in Japan and is worth many thousands of pounds. It reads ichigo ichie (which translates roughly as ‘though we may meet again it shall not be as it is now’ or ‘a once in a lifetime chance’.)