Japanese tea ceremony

Video of a Japanese tea ceremony

The Japanese tea ceremony is called Chanoyu, Sado or simply Ocha and can be traslated as "way of tea". It is a choreographic ritual of preparing and serving Matcha together with traditional Japanese snacks or sweets. Depending of the extend this tea gatherings are either classified as chakai (茶会) or as chaji (茶事).

A chakai is a simple way of tea ceremony that includes usucha (薄茶), confections and perhaps a light meal. A chaji is much more formal and usually includes a whole meal (kaiseki) followed by confections, koicha (濃茶) and usucha . A chaji can last up to four hours.

Preparing tea a ceremony means full attention into the predefined movements. The host of the ceremony always considers the guests with every movement and gesture. Even the placement of the tea utensils is considered from the guests view point. The whole process is more then only drinking tea. As Zen Buddhism was a primary influence in the development of the tea ceremony it is more a kind of meditation.

See also

• Chinese tea ceremony
• Korean tea ceremony