The history of Japanese tea practice covers more than eight hundred years from Eisai's transmission in 1214 to the present, with major stages: shoin tea, wabi tea, warrior-class tea, daimyo tea, modern tea, and contemporary practice.
The sequence
Transmission by Eisai in the Kamakura period; shoin tea in the Muromachi period; wabi tea under Rikyu in the Momoyama period; the iemoto system in the Edo period; modernisation in the Meiji period; internationalisation after the Second World War.
How to hold the shape of it
Two things are easy to miss from a short account. First, the aesthetic and the institutional histories run on different clocks — the aesthetics settle in the Momoyama period, the institutions in the Edo and Meiji periods. Second, each stage was formed in reaction to the previous one, so the tradition contains its own oppositions rather than a single continuous taste.
Sources
- 茶の湯（改訂新版 世界大百科事典「歴史」項） / コトバンク
Supports: 茶の湯が喫茶を中心とする宴の芸能として発展した経緯（歴史項）
- お茶あれこれ お茶の歴史 / 公益社団法人 静岡県茶業会議所
Supports: 平安初期に最澄・空海ら入唐僧が中国から茶を持ち帰ったのが日本の茶の始まりとされること、鎌倉期に栄西（1141〜1215）が茶を伝え『喫茶養生記』を著したこと
About this article
Edited by the operator of Chaen (a one-person operation) / Last updated:
Tea ceremony descriptions can vary by school and source. Where interpretations differ, this glossary avoids definitive claims and focuses on broadly shared understandings. If you notice an error, please let us know viaContact. To learn about our organization, seeAbout Chaen.
Term info
- Category
- Term
Related terms
- EisaiEisai
The monk (1141–1215) who brought tea seeds back from Song China and wrote Japan's first book on tea.
- Sen no RikyuSen no Rikyu
The tea master (1522–1591) who brought wabicha to its definitive form and from whom the three Sen schools descend.
- Chado (The Way of Tea)chado
The Japanese practice of preparing and serving powdered green tea, treated as a lifelong discipline rather than a beverage ritual.