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)

• warrior clans at that time pursued both the martial as well artistic, most importantly, CNY
• 3 generations:
  • 長近（なが　ちか）(1524-1608). Founder of 金森 clan.
  • 可重（よし　しげ or あり　しげ）(1558-1615): valiant warrior, able administrator, accomplished man of culture
  • 重近（しげ　ちか）/ 宗和（そう　わ）(1584-1656). Didn't fight, only CNY.

• 長近: Upstart warrior; because he was good, he could ally himself with 3 important warlords:
  • 織田信長（おだ　のぶなが）(1534-82). 長近 trained 8-year old 信長, and they fought together. 信長 gave 長近 his name (1560), hence they share 長. In 1582, 信長, having conquered about ⅓ of Japan, was assassinated, so 長近 joined 秀吉. Around that time, his son was also killed, so after that he became interested in Zen.
  • 豊臣秀吉（とよとも　ひでよし）(1536-98). Continued to unify Japan after 信長. 長近 around that time adopted his son 可重; 秀吉 gave them some land around 高山, where they build a city. 秀吉 died in 1598, and 長近 went to 徳川家康.
  • 徳川家康（とくがわ　いえやす）(1542-1616). Strongest warlord at that time.
• 長近 learned tea from 利休 and a rustic guy called 幽宅（ゆう　たく）; after 利休's suicide, 千道安（どう　あん）took shelter in 長近’s 高山 castle, and taught 長近's son 可重. Also friends with 古田織部（ふるた　おりべ）(1543-1615).
  • 可重 friends with many important warriors and tea people, like 織部（おりべ）and 小堀遠州（こぼり　えんしゅう）(1579-1647). Died in 1615.
  • 宗和: Eldest son of 可重, disobeyed an order of 徳川家康（とくがわ　いえやす）to join battle in 1614, was disinherited and moved to 京都（きょうと）. Also friends with 織部（おりべ）and 遠州（えんしゅう）. Was called princess because his CNY was so elegant.

• took place around 1940. Developments that caused this:
  1. Before that, tea gatherings organised by corporate organisations such as the Daishinkai and Kōetsukai (1922 and 1915, respectively). 数寄者（す　き　しゃ）such as Donnō would present their collections to the public
  2. Grand public tea gatherings in 1936 and 1940
  3. In Westernized Meiji climate, a lot of museums devoted to Japanese arts popped up between 1926-40), such as the Nezu Institute of Fine Arts.
• Upside of this: the public becomes aware of CNY.

• Urasenke Chanoyu Handbook One