Tea ceremony glossary

Leaving space rather than filling it; the subtractive principle governing the alcove and the host's area.

A winter gathering held by lamplight and candlelight, where darkness and the fire become the subject.

The anteroom where guests gather before entering, changing from outdoor dress into their gathering kit.

Hand-formed, low-fired bowls made by the Raku family of Kyoto; the emblem of the tea Rikyu aimed at.

Seven precepts attributed to Rikyu, each stating something obvious about hospitality — which is the point.

A hundred didactic verses transmitting Rikyu's teaching in memorable form; the most widely used beginner's text.

A procedure performed at a table with stools, so that guests who cannot kneel can still take part.

A hearth cut into the floor mats, used from November to April, that brings the fire close to the guests.

The garden leading to the tea room, arranged to shift the guest's mind from ordinary life to the gathering.

Opening the sunken hearth in November — called the practitioner's new year — often held with the jar-opening.

The four-character summary of the ethical aims of tea practice, attributed to Sen no Rikyu.

Finding sufficiency of mind within insufficiency and plainness; one of the root concepts of tea practice.

The restrained style of tea, developed in the 15th–16th centuries, that finds beauty in plainness and imperfection rather than in imported luxury.

Practising individual gestures in isolation, apart from any complete procedure; the foundation of everything else.