Cha no yu nichinichisō by Mizuno Toshikata 02

is the term for the preparation area in a Japanese tea house ( ') or attached to any venue used for the

Japanese tea ceremony The Japanese tea ceremony (known as or ) is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of , powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called . While in the West it is known as "tea ceremony", it is se ...

. For instance, the area used for preparation during outdoor tea ceremonies is also called the . The term can also refer to purificatory fonts at

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

s and

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

s, as well as to storage cupboards for use in kitchens. This article, however, focuses on the tea ceremony '.

History

The full development of ''

chadō The Japanese tea ceremony (known as or ) is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of , powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called . While in the West it is known as "tea ceremony", it is sel ...

'' (the Japanese "Way of Tea") and advent of the independent structure dedicated to and designed for use for this cultural activity is generally attributed to the sixteenth century tea master

Sen no Rikyū , also known simply as Rikyū, is considered the historical figure with the most profound influence on ''chanoyu,'' the Japanese "Way of Tea", particularly the tradition of '' wabi-cha''. He was also the first to emphasize several key aspects ...

. With the development of a structure dedicated to receiving guests for this cultural activity, there naturally was the need for a "back room" area for the host to make ready the items to be used for the reception of the guests. Before this, during the early development of the Japanese tea ceremony, corners of large reception rooms were partitioned off for tea-making, and there was no specific area or space designed for the preparations. According to A. L. Sadler, the earliest extant example of a space attached to a (room intended for the tea ceremony) that is describable as a exists at the Taian, a designed by Sen no Rikyū.Sadler, A. L. ''Cha-No-Yu: The Japanese Tea Ceremony''. Tokyo: Tuttle, 1962, 25. are also mentioned in writings by Sen no Rikyū's ''chanoyu'' (tea ceremony) mentor,

Takeno Jōō was a master of the tea ceremony and a well-known merchant during the Sengoku period of the 16th century in Japan. His name has come down in Japanese cultural history because he followed Murata Jukō as an early proponent of wabi-cha, and was ...

."Mizuya" i
''Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System''

Use

As its name suggests, a provides a location for the performing of tea ceremony-related tasks involving

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

, such as washing the various utensils and supplies, and boiling extra water for filling and replenishing the pot in the tea room. A is also used for the final preparation of ''

wagashi are traditional Japanese confections that are often served with green tea, especially the types made of ''mochi'', ''anko'' (azuki bean paste), and fruit. ''Wagashi'' are typically made from plant-based ingredients. History In Japan, the wor ...

'' that will be served during a ''chanoyu'' function (such as cutting them, arranging them on dishes, and so on); for organizing, preparing, and (in some cases) storing the tea supplies; and, in the case of functions for large groups of people, for quickly preparing many bowls of tea to serve to guests.

Facilities

The most modest modern may comprise little more than a hot-plate or electric

kettle A kettle, sometimes called a tea kettle or teakettle, is a type of pot specialized for boiling water, commonly with a ''lid'', ''spout'', and ''handle'', or a small electric kitchen appliance of similar shape that functions in a self-contained ...

and several buckets of fresh water, and might be located in a screened-off outdoor area with a grass floor. A fully equipped modern indoor may rival the best-equipped

kitchen A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a ...

, with several sinks with hot and cold running water, an elaborate system of storage areas, cupboards, shelves and worktops, a refrigerator, stove, and microwave oven. In practice, however, most fall somewhere in between. A typical indoor has in it a recess three or four feet wide and two feet deep, the , possibly with a

tatami A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Tatamis are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about 0.9 m by 1.8 m depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are the floor used for traini ...

mat in front of it, equipped with a traditional sink, the (a long metal tub sunk into the floor and covered with a

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

grate called '), several wooden shelves for storing tea supplies, and a board with pegs for hanging ladles and towels. Where there is no permanent built-in with these facilities, a portable unit called an ''okimizuya'' may be used. There are manufacturers of such units. Whatever the style and size of this area, it will be kept scrupulously clean and organized, each school having its preferred order of arranging the utensils.

The special '

Some tea rooms may have a special type of built-in recessed cabinet called . It is built into the wall of the tea room, at floor level, on the side where the host's mat is situated, and has sliding doors so that it can be closed from view of the guests. A plain lacks the water drainage facility that a ' features, and therefore functions differently from a ''.'' Both and ' are innovations meant for the use of hosts who have difficulty walking and getting up and down from the

seiza ): "proper/correct sitting", seiza ( ja, , link=no): "quiet sitting" , Jing zuo '' Seiza '' ( or , literally "proper sitting") is the formal, traditional way of sitting in Japan. Form To sit ''seiza''-style, one must first be kneeling on the ...

sitting position, such as the elderly in particular.Kuwata Tadachika, ed., 茶道辞典 hadō Dictionary Tokyodo Shuppan, 1956. 39th edition, 1973. According to A. L. Sadler, the name is taken from the boxes in which strolling puppeteers kept their dolls, and was first borrowed by

. were first placed on the floor, then hung on the wall, and finally built in.Sadler, A. L. ''Cha-No-Yu: The Japanese Tea Ceremony''. Tokyo: Tuttle, 1962, 15.

References

External links

Image of a small built-in ''mizuya''

Image of built-in ''mizuya'' at Doyu-an

{{Teas Chadō Architecture in Japan Rooms