NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Japanese tea house

In Japanese tradition a tea house (茶室, chashitsu lit. "tea room") is a structure designed for holding Japanese tea ceremonies. Tea rooms for tea ceremony are also called cha-shitsu, but they are located within a dwelling. Tea houses in Japan are usually small, wooden buildings and are located in remote, quiet areas or in the gardens or grounds of larger houses. This file has been listed on Wikipedia:Images and media for deletion. ... This file has been listed on Wikipedia:Images and media for deletion. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1887x1474, 689 KB) fr: Mariko, cÃ©lÃ¨bre maison de thÃ©, 21e vue, sÃ©rie Les cinquante-trois relais du TokaÃ¯do, MusÃ©e Guimet, Paris en: Mariko, famous tea ouse, 21st view, The 53 relays of TolaÃ¯do series, Guimet... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1887x1474, 689 KB) fr: Mariko, cÃ©lÃ¨bre maison de thÃ©, 21e vue, sÃ©rie Les cinquante-trois relais du TokaÃ¯do, MusÃ©e Guimet, Paris en: Mariko, famous tea ouse, 21st view, The 53 relays of TolaÃ¯do series, Guimet... A woman wearing a kimono performs a tea ceremony outdoors, while seated in seiza position on tatami. ... The gallery in The Willow Tearooms. ...

The design of tea houses is heavily influenced by Zen Buddhist philosophy. A typical tea house is surrounded by a small Japanese garden often featuring a water pool. In the garden there will also be a waiting area for guests, as well as a roji (路地), or "dewy path", leading to the tea house. Bodhidharma, woodcut print by Yoshitoshi, 1887. ... Buddhism is a nontheistic religion and philosophy focusing on the teachings of the Buddha ÅšÄkyamuni (PÄli:Sakyamuni), born SiddhÄrtha (PÄli: Siddhattha) of the Gautama (PÄli: Gotama) gotra, who probably lived in the 5th century BCE. Buddhism spread throughout the ancient Indian sub-continent in the five... Stone lantern amid plants. ...

The tea house itself is usually built of wood and bamboo, and the only entrance and exit is a small, square door which symbolically separates the small, simple, quiet inside from the crowded, overwhelming outside world, and encourages humility in the host and guests, as all must kneel to enter the room. Tea houses usually consist of two rooms, one used for the preparation of food, snacks and tea supplies, and the other for the holding of the tea ceremony itself. The main room is typically extremely small, often 4 1/2 tatami mats, and the ceilings are low. There is no furniture, except what is required for the preparation of tea. There will usually be a charcoal pit (炉, ro) in the center of the room for boiling water for tea. Tatami mats (畳) (originally meant folded and piled) are a traditional Japanese flooring. ...

Guests and hosts sit seiza style on the floor. There is usually little decoration. There will be a tokonoma (scroll alcove) holding a scroll of calligraphy or brush painting, and perhaps a simple, small flower arrangement called cha-bana (茶花). All materials used are purposely simple and rustic. All doors and windows are traditional Japanese shōji, made of thin strips of balsa wood covered in a translucent Japanese paper which allows light from outside to come into the room. The floor is built a few feet above the ground in order to keep the room dry. These features are still common not only in traditional style houses and inns but also in ordinary residences. A woman in seiza, on tatami, performing the Japanese tea ceremony Seiza (æ£åº§, literally correct sitting) is a Japanese word which describes the traditional formal way of sitting in that country. ... A tokonoma ( Japanese 床の間) is a small raised alcove where decorative scrolls are hung. ... Japanese room with sliding shoji doors and tatami flooring In traditional Japanese architecture, a shoji (éšœå) is a room divider or door consisting of translucent washi over a wooden frame. ... The Sugiharagami (æ‰åŽŸç´™), a kind of Washi Washi (å’Œç´™) or Wagami is a type of paper made in Japan. ...

Tea houses are purpose-built as a place to hold a tea ceremony and each element is arranged with extreme care. The tea house itself can be seen as one of the tools for the tea ceremony. Download high resolution version (1024x946, 206 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1024x946, 206 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... A window is an opening in an otherwise solid and opaque surface through which light and, sometimes, air can pass. ... Inuyama (犬山市; -shi) is a city located near Nagoya in Aichi, Japan. ...

Tea houses were first introduced in the Sengoku period in Japan, a time in which the central government had nearly no practical power, the country was in chaos, and wars and uprisings were commonplace. Seeking to reclaim Japan, samurai were busy acquiring and defending territories, promoting trade and overseeing the output of farms, mills and mines as de-facto rulers, and many of the poor were eager to seek the salvation of the afterlife as taught by Buddhism. The Sengoku period (Japanese: æˆ¦å›½æ™‚ä»£, Sengoku-jidai) or Warring States period, was a period of civil war in the history of Japan that spans from the middle 15th to the early 17th centuries. ... Japanese samurai in armour, 1860s. ...

Tea houses were built mostly by Zen monks or by daimyo, samurai, and merchants who practiced tea ceremony. They sought simplicity and tranquility, which was akin to the values of Zen, in which samurai found salvation and philosophy for their fate. Daimyo Matsudaira Katamori visits the residence of a retainer. ... Japanese samurai in armour, 1860s. ...

The acknowledgment of simplicity and plainness, which is a central motivation of the tea house, continued to remain as a distinct Japanese tradition in the later periods.

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