ホモテナシ

• In Chinese T'ang dynasty (818-907), tea was popular in China.
• 785 the famous chajing by Lu Yu is written
• Tea drunk at that time was dancha: tea leaves are steamed, beaten into firm balls, which are then shaved into a powder and mixed with water, and sometimes additional spices.

• The tea plant is not native to Japan
• First seeds probably came to Japan in Heian period (794-1185), by priests

• Three protagonists of 侘び茶: 珠光（しゅこう）, Joo, 利休

• Around 1450: 珠光（しゅこう） learned shogun-style tea in Nara, then formed 侘び茶. Moved to Kyoto, and taught it in Shimogyo district, so his students are called Shimogyo Chanoyu practitioners.
  • Soju was his student, built the first 4.5 mat tea house (normal was 18 then) with pine + cedar in front. People wrote how this gave the idea of a mountain cottage and hermitage in the city

A good place to hide yourself
When depressed even in the mountains
The hut under the pine tree
In the middle of the capital

• Takeno Joo: Also part of Shimogyo circle in Kyoto, went back to Sakai in 1536, then 利休 became his student.
  • Sakai is an open, bustling city, with European calling it Venice of Japan. Most merchants at that time practised CNY, mostly to collect items. Because there's limited numbers of Chinese tools, they turn to Japanese ones.
  • Rodriguez (1561-1634) describes Sakai's tea houses: the meaning is to find an isolated tranquility within a city space
  • 1564: Shinshosai Shunkei (Sakai tea man) sais: CNY doesn't need Chinese tools anymore!
  • They had so much wealth, so they'd be at ease at this artificial shortage of CNY
• CNY infects Hideyoshi Toyotomi (1536-1598), he builds huts in his castles in Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka)

• Middle of Edo period (1603-1868), CNY became a genteel pastime (self-righteous decadence). This annoyed two people:
  • Matsudaira Fumai, who tidied up lists of famous tea utensils, dispelling unscientific myths.
  • Ii Naosuke, tidied up CNY spiritually. He added the idea of solitary reflection, where the host has his own reflection after the guests have left. This is his addition to CNY.
• Meiji restoration begins (1868), and CNY is regarded as frivulous on one hand, and focus shifts to the West away from all traditional Japanese arts.
• At 1872, CNY was officially considered a genteel pastime, an artistically inclined entertainment.
  • Gengensai XI and the heads of the other two Sen families fought this; and tried to revitalise CNY. The ryurei CNY developed by Gengensai is one result of this.
  • At that time, CNY in decline, but sencha very popular. From sencha comes the grand tea gathering, ie open-house, large-scale invitations, which CNY adapted.

• Urasenke Chanoyu Handbook One