The book of tea explains a lot japanese and asian philosophy, revolving around the cup of tea, in teaism as in taoism, in a stunning form of simplicity, producing such gems as this. In 1906 in turnofthe century boston, a small, esoteric book about tea was written with the intention of being read aloud in the famous salon of isabella gardner. Published in 1906, okakuras book of tea espouses that tea is the foundation for a system of life, a philosophy, and its associated benefits all conspire to bring together that which is fundamental, holistically and spiritually. From taoist and zen upbringings, teaism not a typo. Born in yokohama to parents originally from fukui, okakura learned english while attending a school operated by christian missionary, dr. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover.
This edition has an afterword by anna sherman and delightful illustrations by sayuri romei. Kakuzo okakuras legendary book of tea appeared for the first time in 1906 and is a classic. The classic book of tea by kakuzo okakura is now fully illustrated with period japanese art and introduced to a contemporary audience with additional material. Reflections on the book of tea by okakura kakuzo, 1906. This little book is illuminating in its revelation of the old world of japanese thought and culture, with its reaction on japanese daily life. The illustrated classic edition okakura, kakuzo, dalby, liza, proctor, daniel on. Illustrated, by okakura kakuzo was first published in 1919. I picked up the book of tea from the interwebs for not very much money. Not so much a step by step, but a brief history of tea in japan, and explanation of the importance of drinking tea. The author, the late okakura kakuzo, was one of the leaders in the movement which a. Tuttle company, rutland, vermonttokyo, japan, 1956. But when we consider how small after all the cup of human enjoyment is, how soon overflowed with.
The outsider may indeed wonder at this seeming much ado about nothing. Kakuzo okakura s 1906 treatise on tea is a fascinating exposition of japanese culture and the countrys relationship to the west kristen treen sat 10 sep 2011 19. Okakura kakuzo, february 14, 1862 september 2, 19 also known as okakura tenshin was a japanese scholar who contributed to the development of arts in japan. He describes in detail the different aspects of the tea ceremony, how it was founded, the role of the tea masters, the architecture of the tea room and the stages of making and serving the tea. Its from 1906, and is a guide to the japanese tea ceremony. The book of tea books by okakura kakuzo best japanese tea. Containing many illustrations in colour and in black and white. Outside japan, he is chiefly remembered today as the author of the book of tea. It was authored by okakura kakuzo, a japanese philosopher, art expert, and curator. The fifteenth century saw japan ennoble it into a religion of aestheticismteaism.
Kakuzo okakura quotes author of the book of tea goodreads. In a short, sharp, insightful little book, okakura puts forward the art of teaism in a treatise for everything that is glorious about boiling water, adding tea leaves, and sipping away. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. In china, in the eighth century, it entered the realm of poetry as one of the polite amusements. Like translation is always a treason, and as a ming author observes, can at its best be only the reverse side of a brocade all the threads are there, but not the subtlety of colour or design. The philosophy of tea is not mere aestheticism in the ordinary acceptance of the. Many of his works, such as the ideals of the east 1903, the awakening of japan 1904, and the book of tea 1906, were written in english in order to. It wasnt written to belittle those ignorant of the easts fascination with tea, nor is it a haughty account of why westerners are living their lives incorrectly. Illustrations at head of each chapter taken from ink drawings of sesshu 14201506, the greatest of japanese painters in the same zen tradition that inspired the tea ceremony.
The book of tea, which followed two previous meditations on japanese culture by okakura, became a central text in the orientalist movement of the early 1900s, and captivated poets like eliot and. In response to that, okakura kakuzo set out to explain the beauty and simplicity of japanese daily life which was greatly inspired by teaism. Reflections on the book of tea by okakura kakuzo, 1906 rain taxi. Ito was surprised and indignant that heidegger used zhuangzis concept without giving him credit.