The Book of Tea

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Born in Yokohama to parents originally from Fukui, Okakura learned English while attending a school operated by Christian missionary, Dr. Curtis Hepburn. At 15, he entered Tokyo Imperial University, where he first met and studied under Harvard-educated professor Ernest Fenollosa. In 1889, Okakura co-founded the periodical Kokka. A year later he was one of the principal founders of the first Japanese fine-arts academy, the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (東京美術学校 Tōkyō Bijutsu Gakkō), and a year later became its head, although he was later ousted from the school in an administrative struggle. Later, he also founded the Japan Art Institute with Hashimoto Gahō and Yokoyama Taikan. He was invited by William Sturgis Bigelow to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1904 and became the first head of the Asian art division in 1910. Meanwhile, let us have a sip of tea. The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos, the fountains are bubbling with delight, the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle. Let us dream of evanescence, and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things."

I read the first book in this series, A Magic Steeped in Poison, earlier this year and it was soo good, so I had high hopes for this sequel- and unfortunately I finished this feeling a little bit disappointed😒 🫤 Venom dives more into Taiwanese and Chinese mythology. I loved the deeper connections between the gods and Ning’s powers that came about in this one. There was also a ton of action and tension, though the stakes definitely were higher in this one since the threat wasn’t elimination but death (or something worse). I first fell in love with tea ceremony as a child watching "Alice and Wonder Land", then my love was evoked again in high school when I read "Memoirs of A Geisha" by Arthur Golden. (It's still my favorite book of all time, to this date!) I then found other books on reading tea leaves and using herbs to heal from Chronic Lyme Disease naturally, so ya, you could say I'm INTO tea.Marion, Mathieu (2014). "Wittgenstein on Heidegger and Cosmic Emotions". Mind, Values, and Metaphysics. 1 (Philosophical Essays in Honor of Kevin Mulligan): 441. ISBN 978-3-319-04199-5– via https://www.springer.com/la/book/9783319041988. {{ cite journal}}: External link in |via= ( help) As he explained in chapter II, Teaism is Taoism in disguise. This explains why those in the East took (and still take) it all so seriously – tea is another arm of Buddhism, their way of life, which assists them with finding moments of relaxation. There is a subtle charm in the taste of tea which makes it irresistible and capable of idealisation. Western humourists were not slow to mingle the fragrance of their thought with its aroma. It has not the arrogance of wine, the self-consciousness of coffee, nor the simpering innocence of cocoa.

The simplicity of the tea-room and its freedom from vulgarity make it truly a sanctuary from the vexations of the outer world. There and there alone can one consecrate himself to undisturbed adoration of the beautiful … Nowadays industrialism is making true refinement more and more difficult all over the world. Do we not need the tea-room more than ever? V: Art Appreciation I suppose I share the same meticulous approach – although I don’t ever have sugar or milk with my tea, I prefer it to be in a large mug and, when making at home, a teapot is essential to place the lid over the steeping teabag and trap in those healthy oils, nutrients, and ghosts of Teaists from days gone by. Another thing that Lin does very well is the tension between Ning and Kang, both in the previous book and in this one. They went from having a blooming connection in the last one, to it being very complicated because of the betrayals that happened in the palace. Obviously, this affects how they view one another and react to one another. I think the tension they still had between them was very well done, both of them were affected by what happened but still wanted to be close to the other person.

IV. The Tea-Room

Overall, this was a decent read- a bit disappointing but also not bad 🫶🫶 I would still recommend this duology if you're looking for: Stunningly, in the course of only 20 years, the nation blasted itself forward by several centuries and rapidly became a leading industrial nation. It remains a startling achievement, but the world was well and truly changing and everyone had to adapt to emerging revelations. Okakura writes at that time humans were truly feeling a “sense of proportion to the Universe”– in 1905, the year before the Book of Tea became available, Albert Einstein handed four articles into the Annalen der Physiks and changed the course of human history. That the tea-room should be built to suit some individual taste is an enforcement of the principle of vitality in art. Art, to be fully appreciated, must be true to contemporaneous life. It is not that we should ignore the creations of the past, but that we should try to assimilate them into our consciousness. Slavish conformity to traditions and formulas fetters the expression of individuality in architecture.

Now available in a gorgeous hardcover slipcase edition, this "object d'art" will be sure to add grace and elegance to tea shelves, coffee tables and bookshelves. A keepsake enjoyed by tea lovers for over a hundred years, The Book of Tea Classic Edition will enhance your enjoyment and understanding of the seemingly simple act of making and drinking tea. In a short, sharp, insightful little book, Okakura puts forward the art of Teaism in a treatise for everything that is glorious about boiling water, adding tea leaves, and sipping away. I started drinking tea in 2008 having put off the habit for some time (23 solid years, to be exact). Being a young one, I was more interested in partying and living a hedonistic lifestyle than sipping at a cup of hot water with leaves in it. Of what possible interest could that be? Some flowers glory in death – certainly the Japanese cherry blossoms do, as they freely surrender themselves to the winds. Anyone who has stood before the fragrant avalanche at Yoshino or Arashiyama must have realised this. For a moment they hover like bejeweled clouds and dance above the crystal streams; then, as they sail away on the laughing waters, they seem to say: ‘Farewell, Spring! We are on to Eternity.’ VII: Tea-Masters It may be over 100 years old, but the Book of Tea is a treatise for everything glorious about tea consumption. Public opinion may have shifted, and coffee become the favoured beverage of those on the go, but there remains in tea a historic record of how to find moments of delight in day-to-day life.This leads us to Kakuzō Okakura (1863-1913), who penned the Book of Tea for confused Westerners who fail to understand why those in the East take tea drinking so seriously. The result is a brilliant essay – a classic work of literature and an impassioned cry for moments of calm in an otherwise hectic world. The Book of Tea There’s a comparison for life and art here, again, as the enthusiastic writer was keen to make clear: The arrival of what he calls the “Art of Flower Arrangement” was simultaneous with Teaism around the 15th century. By the 17th century, Flower-Masters had become prominent and it was a skill as revered as any great tea-master, with Japanese artistic styles such as Ukiyo-e and Shijo influenced by both. Ultimately, after a few years of not finding the right formula, I settled on the pattern of rising at around 5am, getting a pot of Clipper’s fabulous Assam Tea with Vanilla on the go, and letting rip on my laptop. By 11am, I’ve completed a vast amount and still have the rest of the day to fit in whatever I want. The art of today is that which really belongs to us: it is our reflection. In condemning it we but condemn ourselves. We say that the present age possesses no art: who is responsible for this? It is a shame that despite all our rhapsodies about the ancients we pay so little attention to our own possibilities. Struggling artists, weary souls lingering in the shadow of cold disdain! … We are destroying art in destroying the beautiful in life. Would that some great wizard might from the stem of society shape a mighty harp whose strings would resound to the touch of genius. VI: Flowers