The ancient ritual still is an extremely important part of Japanese culture today. One of the main ideas is that this ceremony is not taught through a book, but should be taught from master to disciple. The movements are all learned with the body, and not the brain. There are schools entirely dedicated to teaching the art of the tea ceremony, including Urasenke, Omotesenke, Mushakoji. These specific schools teach different branches of the tea ceremony all taught by grand tea masters claiming descent from Sen no Rikyu. During this class, everyone will take turns preparing tea and play the role of a guest. Adding to that, they learn things like how to make the tea, perfect the charcoal fire, look after the utensils, and how to prepare the powdered tea. They learn how to appreciate the art too. The main teachings are taught, which includes that they know how to deport themselves in a tatami room and to always think of others first. These teachings also has become one of the social graces that is required to be known by young ladies of a marriageable age. During class, students are constantly reminded that the Way of Tea, Chado, is not a course of study that has to be finished, but it is life itself.
Above: Japanese Tea Ceremony School Urasenke
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