Why is the tea-room entrance, or nijiriguchi, so narrow? How did the practice of “passing the bowl,” or mawashinomi, come about? And that hidden meaning lies behind the ritual purification of hands and mouth, or chozu? Chanoyu, the art of preparing tea, developed against a backdrop of social turmoil in late medieval Japan. Through the singular figure of Sen no Rikyu, it found expression as wabi-cha, or wabi tea, the foundation of Japanese tea culture today. Here, scholar and curator Kumakura Isao investigates the unique cultural value of tea. He examines its rituals and behaviors, elaborates its structure, spaces, and style, and delves into the history of everything from the tea whisk to the tea room itself. Drawing on folklore studies and performing-arts history, Kumakura develops a new perspective on Japan’s culture of tea.


にじり口はなぜ狭いのか？ 廻しのみはいつ始まったのか？ 手水（ちょうず）に隠された意味とは？ わび茶の儀礼や立ち居振る舞いなどの芸態から独自の文化的価値を分析、茶会の構造・空間・趣向の全体像を提示、茶筅や茶屋の歴史にも言及する。下剋上を背景に発展した茶の湯を民俗学と芸能史の視点でとらえ、新しい茶の湯の在り方を展望する。
Translator’s Note/ Preface to the English Edition/ Chapter 1: The Creation of Wabi-cha/ Chapter 2: Breaking Away from the Medieval/ Chapter 3: Tea Devotee (Chajin) Practices/ Chapter 4: Tea-Gathering Style/ Chapter 5: Wabi-cha Environs/ Conclusion/ Appendix 1: Historical Sources/ Appendix 2: Glossary of Key Terms/ References & Further Reading/ About the Author and the Translator