Abstract :
One hundred and fifty years ago when Japan finally reopened the country, it faced some major challenges, two of which were mutual understanding between the East and the West, and conflicts between traditional culture and the latest science and technology. In 1906, Okakura Ten shin published The Book of Tea in New York, the first book ever that asked the meanings of civilization to the world from the Japanese side. What we have to pay attention here is that Okakura was not a tea master. Despite the fact, however, he used "tea" to succinctly introduce Japanese culture. Chakai or a tea ceremony means not only daily practice of drinking tea and having a meal but also practice of constructing a philosophical and aesthetical space. Chaji or a formal tea ceremony takes about four hours, which starts with guests entering a tea room by walking through a garden specifically prepared for them. In the room, they appreciate a hanging scroll on the wall of its alcove, which indicates the theme of the ceremony on the day, enjoying a course of kaiseki dishes and drinking sake. The course ends with cakes, an interpretation of the scroll\´s theme, and then, the guests retire to the garden for a short break. Reentering the tea room, they see the scroll taken away and the host set charcoal pieces on a sunken hearth for making koicha or very strong tea. Each guest takes a drink from the bowl, passing it on to the next guest. The whole process of the formal tea ceremony helps the host and the guests create a beautiful world of once-in-the-lifetime encounter together. In other words, the ceremony is meant to install the encounter. As the cakes serve as an apparatus to facilitate communication between the host and the guests, I will elucidate construction and functions of the cakes. I will also analyze tradition-regulated motions for making tea, while essentially cooking-related ones, these motions signal many things.
