The Book of Tea

By Kakuzō Okakura and Kakuzo

Book Overview

Explore the heart of Japanese culture with Kakuzo Okakura's "The Book of Tea," a timeless exploration of the Japanese tea ceremony and its profound connection to Zen Buddhism, teaism, and Eastern philosophy. More than just a ritual, the tea ceremony, as revealed in this classic work, is a doorway into understanding Japanese aesthetics, ethics, and social customs. Okakura delves into the historical and philosophical underpinnings of "the way of tea," revealing its influence on art, life, and the pursuit of harmony. Discover the intricate layers of meaning embedded in this ancient tradition, offering insights into Japanese culture and the enduring principles of Eastern thought. This meticulously prepared print edition preserves the original text, allowing readers to fully immerse themselves in Okakura's elegant prose and gain a deeper appreciation for this significant aspect of social science and philosophical heritage.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 102295024X
• ISBN13: 9781022950245
• Release Date: March 2025
• Publisher: Anson Street Press
• Length: 50 Pages
• Weight: 0.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A book that is easy to ready yet inspires deep though

An book not just about tea but about life, art, society, religion, and history. It’s written to be read easily while learning about new concepts and to inspire the reader to think.

A modern classic

This book is a delightful oddity. It's about 100 years old now. It was written by a Japanese expatriate, in English, for an English-speaking audience. I mean the term "audience" in the most audible way, since this text was meant to be read aloud to the highest of the Boston Brahmins. (That attention to sound is probably a big part of why this reads so smoothly.) Kakuzo explains the Japanese tea ceremony to a non-Japanese audience. Oddly, he does not describe the ceremony. Instead, he lays out the history of tea and the history of the Zen esthetic in which cha-do ("the way of tea") makes sense. He describes the place in which the ceremony is held, and some of the tools used in that ceremony. He does not, however, spell out the mechanics of the service. Perhaps it's just as well. As Kakuzo describes, it is not the tea that matters. It is the effect that the ritual has on the people who perform it. This book is laid out simply and elegantly, as befits its topic. The primary font is a little unusual - a long-waisted serif that connotes the warm feeling of the text itself. Page layouts are airy, and have a distinctive swaying gait from as they step from chapter to chapter. The few photos that illustrate this book are atmospheric, and printed in a subdued color scheme. It doesn't equal the old slip-case edition, but it's still a pleasing and instructive sample of book design. This is a pleasant book, and a short one. The reading is over much too quickly. It is also a delightful contrast to another Japanese author writing for an English audience at very nearly the same time. Nitobe's unfortunate "Bushido" tries much too hard to explain itself in Western terms. Kakuzo, instead, expresses his home culture in its own terms, the only ones that make sense, and in much more readable language. //wiredweird PS: This edition has a new intro by Liza Dalby, the first and possibly only American woman to complete training as a geisha.

chajin

I loved this new edition and thought that the photographs were beautiful, capturing the essences of tea and giving examples( a rare thing) of actual tea implements. Unlike the reviewer who couldn't even leave a name who probably has no concept of the world of tea, I thought that the format also followed the ideals of tea by being contemporary and in the constantly evolving path of tea as given to us by Oiemoto (the current head of the Urasenke tea school). I enjoyed this book very much and have given several copies to my tea students and tea friends as well.

The Tempest in Tea Cup

I haphazardly discovered this book when I had undertaken the task of better acquainting myself with tea. Totally ignorant, I opened the book half expecting to find dry writing on types of tea leaves. Instead I discovered something deeply beautiful. This book does indeed teach the history of tea and its preparation, but it also provides an eloquent introduction to Teaism and other aspects of Japanese culture. Okakura wavers most delicately between prose and poetry, between the educational and the spiritual. The words linger with you long after you have finished, and tea, once an ordinary beverage, acquires a soul-- a source of peace."Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order. It is essentially a worship of the Imperfect, as it is a tender attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life."(Chapter One, The Cup of Humanity)