Japanese Tea Ceremony

Most surviving ceramics from this period appear to be tea sets for use in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, or chanoyu.

Very simply put, the host prepares and serves sweets and tea (and in the case of a formal tea ceremony a meal and sake as well), and the guests receive them.

Naturally there's a whole lot more to it than that.

At minimum you need a bowl, a tea whisk, tea, a tea scoop, and a source of hot water.

Of course, this will be for a very informal and incomplete version. For the most basic formal Japanese tea ceremony you will need:

- a tray

- a waste water container

- a tea brazier

- a tea ceremony kettle

- a tea bowl

- a tea scoop

- matcha

- a tea whisk

- a fukusa (a special silk cloth)

- a natsume (tea caddy)

- a chakin (a special linen cloth) - sweets - a sweet dish or tray

Plus of course several months if not at least a year of training

Because kimonos are the traditional clothing of Japan, and so tea ceremony developed to accommodate kimonos. For instance, the silk cloth used to purify the tea equipment is kept tucked in the obi (sash) and the paper used for eating sweets is kept tucked in the front of the kimono. Various movements are designed to move sleeves out of the way, and so on.

The Japanese drink almost exclusively green tea, but drink many different types of it.

In Japan tea can be drunk hot or cold, but hot is the most popular way. Hot tea is nearly always drunk plain. Other popular types include barley tea or "mugicha," oolong tea, black tea and mixed black and herb teas. All of these can be bought in vending machines.

There are tons of other types, too, that can be bought dry and are made from different varieties and parts of the tea plant: for example, "gyokuro" is the very top grade of green tea, "kariganecha" is made from the stems instead of the leaves, "hojicha" is roasted, and sometimes brown rice is brewed with tea to make "genmaicha." A basic type of green tea, common in Japan but less common in the West is called "bancha".

Japan has been through a very bad quake and is trying to cool there nucular power plants

The meaning of martial arts isn't fighting and winning, it's about respect. Tea is a symbol of life, so if you drink tea before training, it'll give you concentration and relaxation so that you won't be mad at your opponent if you loose.

I don't know of any symbols that specifically mean respect. Plus, various symbols and shapes mean different things in different cultures. But symbols work by association, so you could make a symbol that means respect for you in your circumstance. Respect means "to look back at" or even "re-look." So, a pair of spectacles, a eyeglass, binoculars, etc. could all be more literal symbols. A rearview mirror might be interesting. Choose something meaningful to you.

Initially, upper-class men and Buddhist priests, then wealthy merchants, geisha, and today anyone who is interested.

raku

Yes, both men and women can host a tea ceremony, though in origin it was mostly a monastic (male) practice from when it was introduced from China around the 10th century. By the 16th century it had attained most of the characteristics we associate with this ceremony today and was practiced by all levels of society.

Teavana.

Or local whole food stores.

Tea is important because, Tea is a tradition in Japan. They drink tea everyday.

It is known as Chanoyu or Chado. It is the Japanese tea ceremony where powdered green tea, called matcha, is made and served.

The Japanese Tea Ceremony is taught at Pittak's Isshinryu Karate and Martial Arts Center in Stow, Ohio. They have a tea room.

a long twisted marshmallow sweet

in a Japanese tea ceremony men usually wear traditional kimonos with a hakama or formal dress tied around the waist they also have washi paper tucked in at the kimonos collar when they revive sweets in the ceremony this acts as a plate.

Human beings interact with the environment and modify it according to their need.

the environment containing faetures of humans

Yes, they do. Some schools in Japan have clubs for children to learn about and how to do Tea ceremonies.

To attend a basic (~30 minute) demonstration will be anything from free to $25 US dollars.

Attendance at a full, 4.5-hour formal tea ceremony is usually by invitation, and so is free. I can't imagine what you'd have to pay to attend one (if such a thing were even possible, which I doubt), but given the amount of work involved it would probably be in the hundreds of dollars.

To host a formal tea ceremony, assuming you already own all the necessary clothing and equipment, will probably cost at least $50-$100 US.

Approximately 4.5 hours, including breaks.

The merchant class were able to become tea masters when the Japanese tea ceremony became popular again. Some merchants went into the tea business at this time.

You can purchase Japanese tea online from the Amazon website. Once on the page, type "Japanese Tea" into the search field at the top of the page and press enter to bring up the items.

They vary greatly. The British tea ceremonies generally focus on being tactful and polite while Japanese tea ceremonies are much more complicated. They have several different schools of tea ceremonies in japan, but generally it's about how to handle bowls, how to drink tea and eat sweets, how to use paper and sweet-picks, and myriad other details. They get to learn things like how to open the door properly and to avoid stepping on the edges of the tatami mats. There are several imaginary and real lines to take into account when you're at a Japanese tea ceremony.

All wrapped up British tea ceremonies are a bit similar to the Japanese ones, however they are not the same in the way that the Japanese ceremonies are are considered art while the British ones are sort of like watered down versions of the Japanese ones without seating orders or ornate calligraphy hanging on the walls.

Tea bowls and other tea equipment, scrolls, tatami mats.... literally hundreds of things.