Tea was originally found in China, one man that made a brew from tea leaves learned it was a refreshing drink that relieved fatigue. It was first imported to Japan around the time of the rule of Prince Shotoku (572-622). It was mostly the Japanese priests studying Buddhism in China who brought tea home to Japan. In 806 the priest Kukai (774-835) introduced to Japan the method of brewing tea. Also in the twelfth century, Priest Eisai(1141-1215) went to study Zen Buddhism in China he realized tea was a neccesity to Zen life. Later he went back to Japan with some seeds to attempt to use tea as a tool for propagating Zen in Japan. He convinced many to plant seeds. For a while, this practice of brewing tea died out, and it wasn’t until 1400 that tea became popular in Japan. Around this time, tea started to be sold to commoners. Tea was first drunk as a form of medicine or to keep awake during meditation. Later, tea began to show up during parties where guests had to guess the origins of a particular tea. In the 1400s Murata Juko (1422- 1502) broke all convention to perform the tea ritual for an aristocratic audience in a four and a half mat room. After that, Sen no Rikyu later perfected the ritual. During his time period, everything non-
essential was taken out of a tea room, this caused people to develop a
tea ritual which there was no wasted movement and no object that was superfluous.
essential was taken out of a tea room, this caused people to develop a
tea ritual which there was no wasted movement and no object that was superfluous.
Above: An ancient tea ceremony in China from the Ming Dynasty
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tea#/media/File:Huishanchahui.jpg