The Japanese Tea Ceremony and The Shoguns

The Japanese Tea Ceremony and the Shoguns is a concise historical overview of the evolution of cha-no-yu - that uniquely Japanese ritual, the tea ceremony - and how it was used in Japan by the shoguns and other political powers between the twelfth and twentieth centuries to validate position and consolidate power. The contributions of leading tea masters of the past are summarized. A description of a typical tea ceremony is provided, together with a discussion of the appropriate environment and utensils. The spirit and purpose of the tea ceremony are also addressed. The text - by award-winning author Linda Hewitt - is approximately 13,000 words long. Elegant pen-and-ink illustrations drawn specifically for the piece by award-winning artist Robert Hewitt demonstrate some of the aesthetic elements associated with the ceremony. Related drawings from nineteenth-century Japanese chap books, hand-colored for this edition, decorate the text. The survey - which has been used as supplemental reading in college-level cross-cultural history courses - approaches the topic in an accessible, reader-friendly style.