September 2, 2025 • 8 mins
The Book of Tea, written by Okakura Kakuzo in the early 20th century, is a profound exploration of the art and philosophy surrounding tea in Japanese culture. First published in 1906, this timeless work has captivated readers across generations. Kakuzo introduces the concept of Teaism, illustrating how tea has permeated nearly every aspect of Japanese life, from thought to aesthetics. His unique background‚being born and raised in Japan yet fluent in English‚allows him to bridge cultural gaps, making the book accessible to Western readers. Within its pages, he delves into the intersections of Zen, Taoism, and the secular dimensions of tea culture, emphasizing the simplicity that Teaism imparts. This simplicity, he argues, has profoundly influenced Japanese art and architecture. The book culminates with insightful reflections on the Tea Masters, particularly Sen no Rikyu, and his pivotal role in shaping the Japanese Tea Ceremony. (Summary from Wikipedia)
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information are to volunteer, please
visit www dot LibriVox dot org. The Book of Tea
by Okakuda Kakuzo, Chapter seven, Tea Masters. In religion, the
(00:26):
future is behind us. In art, the present is the eternal.
The tea master held that real appreciation of art is
only possible to those who make of it a living influence.
Thus they sought to regulate their daily life by the
high standard of refinement which obtained in the tea room.
In all circumstances, serenity of mind should be maintained, and
(00:51):
conversation should be so conducted as never to mar the
harmony of the surroundings. The cut and color of the dress,
the poise of the boy, and the manner of walking
could all be made expressions of artistic personality. These were
matters not to be lightly ignored, For in tel one
has made himself beautiful, he has no right to approach beauty.
(01:14):
Thus the tea master strove to be something more than
the artist art itself. It was the zen of asceticism.
Perfection is everywhere, if only we choose to recognize it
Rikiu loved to quote an old poem which says, to
those who lung only for flowers, fain would I show
the full blown spring which abides in the toiling buds
(01:36):
of snow covered hills. Manifold indeed have been the contributions
of the tea masters to art. They completely revolutionized the
classical architecture and interior decorations, and established the new style
which we have described in the chapter of the Tea Room,
a style to whose influences even the palaces and monasteries
(01:56):
built after the sixteenth century have all been subject The
many sided Kobori Enshu has left notable examples of his
genius in the Imperial Villa of Katsura, the castles of
Nagoya and Nijo, and the monastery of Kohoan. All the
celebrated gardens of Japan were laid out by the tea masters.
(02:16):
Our pottery would probably never have attained its high quality
of excellence if the tea masters had not lent to
it their inspiration. The manufacture of the utensils used in
the tea ceremony calling forth. The utmost expenditure of ingenuity
on the part of our seramesis the seven kilns of
Enshiu are well known to all students of Japanese pottery.
(02:40):
Many of our textile fabrics bear the names of tea
masters who conceived their color or design. It is impossible, indeed,
to find any department of art in which the tea
master has not left marks of their genius. In painting
and lacquer, it seems almost superfluous to mention the immense
service they have rendered. The greatest schools of painting owes
(03:01):
its origin to the tea master Honnami Koyetsu, famed also
as a lacquer artist in potter. Beside his works, the
splendid creation of his grandson Koho and of his grand
nephews Courting and Kenzon almost fall into the shade. The
whole Courting school, as it is generally designated, is an
expression of Teaism. In the broad lines of this school
(03:24):
we seem to find the vitality of nature herself. Great
as has been the influence of the tea masters in
the field of art, it is as nothing compared to
that which they have exerted on the conduct of life,
not only in the usages of polite society, but also
in the arrangement of all our domestic details, do we
(03:45):
feel the presence of the tea masters. Many of our
delicate dishes, as well as our way of serving food,
are their inventions. They have taught us to dress only
in garments of sober colors. They have instructed us in
the proper spirit in which to approach flowers. They have
given emphasis to our natural love of simplicity and shown
(04:05):
us the beauty of humility. In fact, through their teachings,
Tea has entered the life of the people. For those
of us who know not the secret of properly regulating
our own existence on this tumultuous sea of foolish troubles
which we call life, are constantly in a state of misery.
While vainly trying to appear happy and contented, we stagger
(04:26):
in the attempt to keep our moral equilibrium, and see
forerunners of the tempest in every cloud that floats on
the horizon. Yet there is joy and beauty in the
role of the billows as they sweep outward towards eternity.
Why not enter into their spirit, or, like Leitzi, rite
upon the hurricane itself. He only who has lived with
(04:46):
the beautiful can die beautifully. The last moments of the
great tea Masters were as full of exquisite refinement as
had been their lives. Seeking always to be in harmony
with the great rhythm of the universe, they were ever
prepared to enter the unknown. The last tea of Rikiu
will stand forth forever as the acme of tragic grandeur.
(05:09):
Long had been the friendship between Rikiu and the Taito Hideyoshi,
and high the estimation in which the great warrior held
the tea master. But the friendship of a despot is
ever a dangerous honor. It was an age rife with treachery,
and men trusted not even their nearest kin. Rikiu was
no servile courtier, for he had often dared to differ
(05:30):
in argument with his fierce patron, taking advantage of the
coldness which had for some time existed between the Tycho
and Rikiu. The enemies of the latter accused him of
being implicated in a conspiracy to poison the despot. It
was whispered to Hideyoshi that the fatal potion was to
be administered to him with a cup of the green
(05:51):
beverage prepared by the tea Master, with Hideyoshi suspicion was
sufficient ground for instant execution, and there was no appeal
from the will of the angry ruler. One privilege alone
was granted to the condemned, the honor of dying by
his own hand on the day destined for his self immolation.
Rikiu invited his chief disciples to a last tea ceremony
(06:14):
mournfully at the appointed time, the guests met at the portico.
As they look into the garden path, the trees seem
to shudder, and in the rustling of their leaves are
heard the whispers of homeless ghosts, like solemn sentinels. Before
the gates of Hades stand the gray stone lanterns. A
wave of rare incense is wafted from the tea room.
It is the summons which bids the guests to enter.
(06:37):
One by one, they advance and take their places in
the tokonoma hangs a kakemono, a wonderful riding by an
ancient monk dealing with the evanescence of all earthly things.
The singing kettle, as it boils over the brazier, sounds
like some cicada pouring forth his woes to departing summer. Soon,
the host enters the room. Each in turn is served
(06:58):
with tea, and each in turn sighanly drains his cup.
The host last of all. According to established etiquette, the
chief guest now as permission to examine the tea equipage,
DQ places various articles before them with the kakemono. After
all have expressed admiration of their beauty, DQ presents one
(07:19):
of them to each of the assembled company as a souvenir.
The bowl alone, he keeps, never again shall this cup,
polluted by the lips of misfortune, be used by man.
He speaks and breaks the vessel into fragments. The ceremony
is over. The guests, with difficulty restraining their tears, take
(07:40):
their last farewell and leave the room. One only the
nearest and dearest is requested to remain and witness the end.
Riq then removes his tea gown and carefully folds it
upon the mat, thereby disclosing the immaculate white death robe,
which it had hitherto concealed. Tenderly, he gazes on the
shining blade of the fatal dagger, and in exquisite verse
(08:02):
thus addresses it welcome to thee O sword of Eternity.
Through Buddha and through Dharuma alike, thou hast cleft thy way.
With a smile upon his face, Rikiu passed forth into
the unknown. This is the end of the Book of
(08:25):
t by Okakuda Kakuzo
This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information are to volunteer, please
visit www dot LibriVox dot org. The Book of Tea
by Okakuda Kakuzo, Chapter seven, Tea Masters. In religion, the
(00:26):
future is behind us. In art, the present is the eternal.
The tea master held that real appreciation of art is
only possible to those who make of it a living influence.
Thus they sought to regulate their daily life by the
high standard of refinement which obtained in the tea room.
In all circumstances, serenity of mind should be maintained, and
(00:51):
conversation should be so conducted as never to mar the
harmony of the surroundings. The cut and color of the dress,
the poise of the boy, and the manner of walking
could all be made expressions of artistic personality. These were
matters not to be lightly ignored, For in tel one
has made himself beautiful, he has no right to approach beauty.
(01:14):
Thus the tea master strove to be something more than
the artist art itself. It was the zen of asceticism.
Perfection is everywhere, if only we choose to recognize it
Rikiu loved to quote an old poem which says, to
those who lung only for flowers, fain would I show
the full blown spring which abides in the toiling buds
(01:36):
of snow covered hills. Manifold indeed have been the contributions
of the tea masters to art. They completely revolutionized the
classical architecture and interior decorations, and established the new style
which we have described in the chapter of the Tea Room,
a style to whose influences even the palaces and monasteries
(01:56):
built after the sixteenth century have all been subject The
many sided Kobori Enshu has left notable examples of his
genius in the Imperial Villa of Katsura, the castles of
Nagoya and Nijo, and the monastery of Kohoan. All the
celebrated gardens of Japan were laid out by the tea masters.
(02:16):
Our pottery would probably never have attained its high quality
of excellence if the tea masters had not lent to
it their inspiration. The manufacture of the utensils used in
the tea ceremony calling forth. The utmost expenditure of ingenuity
on the part of our seramesis the seven kilns of
Enshiu are well known to all students of Japanese pottery.
(02:40):
Many of our textile fabrics bear the names of tea
masters who conceived their color or design. It is impossible, indeed,
to find any department of art in which the tea
master has not left marks of their genius. In painting
and lacquer, it seems almost superfluous to mention the immense
service they have rendered. The greatest schools of painting owes
(03:01):
its origin to the tea master Honnami Koyetsu, famed also
as a lacquer artist in potter. Beside his works, the
splendid creation of his grandson Koho and of his grand
nephews Courting and Kenzon almost fall into the shade. The
whole Courting school, as it is generally designated, is an
expression of Teaism. In the broad lines of this school
(03:24):
we seem to find the vitality of nature herself. Great
as has been the influence of the tea masters in
the field of art, it is as nothing compared to
that which they have exerted on the conduct of life,
not only in the usages of polite society, but also
in the arrangement of all our domestic details, do we
(03:45):
feel the presence of the tea masters. Many of our
delicate dishes, as well as our way of serving food,
are their inventions. They have taught us to dress only
in garments of sober colors. They have instructed us in
the proper spirit in which to approach flowers. They have
given emphasis to our natural love of simplicity and shown
(04:05):
us the beauty of humility. In fact, through their teachings,
Tea has entered the life of the people. For those
of us who know not the secret of properly regulating
our own existence on this tumultuous sea of foolish troubles
which we call life, are constantly in a state of misery.
While vainly trying to appear happy and contented, we stagger
(04:26):
in the attempt to keep our moral equilibrium, and see
forerunners of the tempest in every cloud that floats on
the horizon. Yet there is joy and beauty in the
role of the billows as they sweep outward towards eternity.
Why not enter into their spirit, or, like Leitzi, rite
upon the hurricane itself. He only who has lived with
(04:46):
the beautiful can die beautifully. The last moments of the
great tea Masters were as full of exquisite refinement as
had been their lives. Seeking always to be in harmony
with the great rhythm of the universe, they were ever
prepared to enter the unknown. The last tea of Rikiu
will stand forth forever as the acme of tragic grandeur.
(05:09):
Long had been the friendship between Rikiu and the Taito Hideyoshi,
and high the estimation in which the great warrior held
the tea master. But the friendship of a despot is
ever a dangerous honor. It was an age rife with treachery,
and men trusted not even their nearest kin. Rikiu was
no servile courtier, for he had often dared to differ
(05:30):
in argument with his fierce patron, taking advantage of the
coldness which had for some time existed between the Tycho
and Rikiu. The enemies of the latter accused him of
being implicated in a conspiracy to poison the despot. It
was whispered to Hideyoshi that the fatal potion was to
be administered to him with a cup of the green
(05:51):
beverage prepared by the tea Master, with Hideyoshi suspicion was
sufficient ground for instant execution, and there was no appeal
from the will of the angry ruler. One privilege alone
was granted to the condemned, the honor of dying by
his own hand on the day destined for his self immolation.
Rikiu invited his chief disciples to a last tea ceremony
(06:14):
mournfully at the appointed time, the guests met at the portico.
As they look into the garden path, the trees seem
to shudder, and in the rustling of their leaves are
heard the whispers of homeless ghosts, like solemn sentinels. Before
the gates of Hades stand the gray stone lanterns. A
wave of rare incense is wafted from the tea room.
It is the summons which bids the guests to enter.
(06:37):
One by one, they advance and take their places in
the tokonoma hangs a kakemono, a wonderful riding by an
ancient monk dealing with the evanescence of all earthly things.
The singing kettle, as it boils over the brazier, sounds
like some cicada pouring forth his woes to departing summer. Soon,
the host enters the room. Each in turn is served
(06:58):
with tea, and each in turn sighanly drains his cup.
The host last of all. According to established etiquette, the
chief guest now as permission to examine the tea equipage,
DQ places various articles before them with the kakemono. After
all have expressed admiration of their beauty, DQ presents one
(07:19):
of them to each of the assembled company as a souvenir.
The bowl alone, he keeps, never again shall this cup,
polluted by the lips of misfortune, be used by man.
He speaks and breaks the vessel into fragments. The ceremony
is over. The guests, with difficulty restraining their tears, take
(07:40):
their last farewell and leave the room. One only the
nearest and dearest is requested to remain and witness the end.
Riq then removes his tea gown and carefully folds it
upon the mat, thereby disclosing the immaculate white death robe,
which it had hitherto concealed. Tenderly, he gazes on the
shining blade of the fatal dagger, and in exquisite verse
(08:02):
thus addresses it welcome to thee O sword of Eternity.
Through Buddha and through Dharuma alike, thou hast cleft thy way.
With a smile upon his face, Rikiu passed forth into
the unknown. This is the end of the Book of
(08:25):
t by Okakuda Kakuzo
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