All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions JAPANESE TEA RITUAL: RELIGION IN PRACTICE (original) (raw)
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The Journey to the Far East: Tea Ceremony as a Phenomenon of Japanese Culture
National Academy of Managerial Staff of Culture and Arts Herald, 2019
This paper aims at exploring the Japanese tea ceremony as a phenomenon of Japanese culture. The authors have used integrative anthropological approach, multidisciplinary analysis, comparative, cultural historical , and descriptive methods. Practical methods of research, including personal participation in the tea ceremony of the Urasenke Tradition of cha no yu, were used. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the exploration of the Japanese tea ceremony as a component of Japanese culture, as well as in the analysis of its philosophical and aesthetic aspects. Nurturing simplicity and naturalness and being an institutionalized form of spiritual activity, cha no yu opens a window into the spiritual realm of our being and brings true peace into our souls. Tea is philosophy, which is a part of the Japanese spirit. Due to the Way of Tea, the meditative component and element of joyful rest came into life. The Way of Tea teaches people to be sincere and responsive. Thus, it is more than just a ceremony-it is the way of life.
Codified Tranquility : Ritual and Communitas in the Japanese Way of Tea
2012
This thesis is an ethnographic study of chadō, the Japanese way of Tea, with particular focus on the social and communal aspects present in a formal Tea event, a chaji. Perhaps as a result of the closed nature of the Japanese way of Tea (an invitation from the host is required in order to take part in a chaji) previous studies of the subject in English have confined themselves primarily to the aesthetic or artistic nature of chadō. In contrast, this study emphasizes the ritual and symbolic aspects of a chaji, examining Tea (the term used to describe chadō within the study), as a transition ritual, the ultimate goal of which is enlightenment or tranquillity. Through a comprehensive analysis of Tea and its practice, the findings of this study suggest that a special social-sphere is created during a chaji, a sphere which in turn fosters a sense of shared community between the participants. As a result of the ritual practice and the manifestation of symbolic communication within a chaji, shared values of respect and harmony are affirmed and renewed among the community. The initial fieldwork for this study was conducted over a period of three months in Kyōto Japan, based on participant observation at the Urasenke school of Tea as well as through conducting interviews with some of the school's students. This first-hand observation and research was then filtered through the lens of transition rituals as defined by the classic study Rite de passage of Van Gennep and Victor Turner's conceptualization of society and rituals. In linking the data to these theoretical frameworks, the findings show that in participating in a chaji, Tea practitioners are able to leave the mundane world behind them, moving through a phase of symbolic cleansing, and into the sacred or spiritual realm of Tea. This transition occurs in three distinct phases which Van Gennep defines as separation, transition, and incorporation. The study argues that it is possible to view a sense of shared community among chaji practitioners as taking place not within the realm of structured society, but rather in its margins. As such, the individual participant of a chaji is no longer defined by his or her status or role in society at large; when participating in a chaji, the Tea practitioner is sharing in a "once in a lifetime" experience of shared communal harmony. The findings also suggest that through its focus on traditional Japanese art forms (ceramics, calligraphy, flower arrangement), Tea operates as a mechanism to create a communal experience with a shared value system. Although chadō is defined by its adherents as being quintessentially Japanese, this study makes comparisons to other consumption rituals in which a communal feeling is achieved among the participants.
Japanese Religious Traditions, Oxford University Press (2014)
This chapter is an author preview (or page proof) of the final version to be published in fall 2014 by OUP. There are a few typos, formatting issues, and other minor stuff that I caught and corrected (hopefully). The chapter appears in the university level textbook, World Religions: Eastern Traditions, edited by W. Oxtoby (who is deceased but apparently has name recognition, so Oxford still lists him), Roy Amore, and Amir Hussain. I don't know how long this chapter will be available here but I think it may help to promote interest in the overall project and so is worth posting on this website. We shall see.
2018
Japanese tea ceremony extends beyond the mere act of tea drinking: it is also known as chadō, or "the Way of Tea", as it is one of the artistic disciplines conceived as paths of religious awakening through lifelong effort. One of the elements that shaped its multifaceted identity through history is the evolution of the physical space where the ritual takes place. This essay approaches Japanese tea ceremony from a point of view that is architectural and anthropological rather than merely aesthetic, in order to trace the influence of Shinto, Confucianism, Daoism, and Zen Buddhism on both the architectural elements of the tea room and the different aspects of the ritual. The structure of the essay follows the structure of the space where the ritual itself is performed: the first chapter describes the tea garden where guests stop before entering the ritual space of the tea room; it also provides an overview of the history of tea in Japan. The second chapter figuratively enters the ritual space of the tea room, discussing how Shinto, Confucianism, Daoism, and Zen Buddhism merged into the architecture of the ritual space. Finally, the third chapter looks at the preparation room, presenting the interplay of the four cognitive systems within the ritual of making and serving tea. Each chapter also follows the different phases of a hypothetical tea gathering, in order to facilitate the comprehension of the architectural features by examining the ritual space in terms of the activities taking place in it.
Spreading the Sofra: Sharing and Partaking in the Bektashi Ritual Meal
History of Religions, 2012
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Editors' Introduction: Towards an Archaeology of Japanese Ritual and Religion
Towards an Archaeology of Japanese Ritual and Religion M a rk J . H u d s o n 8c S im o n K a n e r The Neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus (d. 538 BC) is often said to have been the world's first archaeologist. Nabonidus's interest in the ruins and inscriptions of ancient Babylon was motivated by a pious desire to better serve the gods. Right from the very beginning of archaeology, therefore, there has been a profound interest in ancient religion. Since then archaeology and religion have had an intimate if occasionally stormy relationship. Archaeology is largely concerned with the study of material items that have been preserved from the past, and that demand explanation within specific cultural contexts, while the study of the his tory of religion (particularly in Japan) can teeter on the brink of teleol ogy, in which the differences between past and present and the diversity of past religious structures are sacrificed at the altar of progressive evo lution. The aims of this special issue on "Archaeological approaches to ritual and religion in Ja p a n " are threefold:
The Practice of Religion in Japan: An Exploration of the State of the Field.
In Handbook of Modern Japanese Studies, J. Babb ed., Sage, 2015. (Reprint, with amendments and photos, of the Introduction to Japanese Religions, Sage Major Works, 4 vols, L. Dolce, ed., 2012, vol. 1, pp. xix-lvii).
Leading Patterns in Everyday Japanese Religion
This article presents a very specific answer to the question about the sense in which the general population of Japan can be said to be "religious". The question arises because it is frequently denied altogether, especially by Japanese persons themselves. This denial arises because the term "religion", for which there is a Japanese equivalent, namely shūkyō 宗教, is widely assumed to imply a very specific belief and value system to which intellectual and emotional commitment is given. In a different sense however, the vast majority of the population of Japan may be said to be religious in that they participate in a wide range of ritual activity throughout the year which is accompanied by conceptual assumptions and values of widespread currency. This "religion" has no formal name because it is wider than any of the many specific religions otherwise found in the country. I refer to it as the "primal religion" of Japan, because in some sense it is the bedrock of all other, more specific religious orientations and activities. Its main patterns are outlined in this paper. A book-length study with more details has been in preparation for a considerable time.