Kindai cha refers to tea practice from the Meiji period onward, a period of substantial change: the collapse of warrior-class tea, the rise of modern connoisseurs, the participation of women, school tea, and spread abroad.
Development
The collapse of warrior society with the Meiji Restoration removed the financial basis of the head families, and the schools were rebuilt by opening their doors to townspeople, business figures, and women. The foundations of modern practice were laid through collaboration between modern connoisseurs — Masuda Donno, Hara Sankei — and heads of the schools including Gengensai and Ennosai.
Why it matters
Almost everything a present-day student encounters as tradition was settled in this period: the standard utensils in a lesson room, the certificate structure as experienced by ordinary students, seated ryurei practice, and the demographic composition of the practice. The Momoyama period supplies the aesthetics; the Meiji period supplies the institutions.
About this article
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