Kakuzō Okakura

The Book of Tea

Lo zen e la cerimonia del tè

Księga herbaty

Depuis un siècle, Le Livre du thé, qui offre une introduction des plus subtiles à la vie et à la pensée asiatiques, s'adresse à toutes les générations. Et ce grand classique, qui a permis naguère de jeter un pont entre l'Orient et l'Occident, n'a rien perdu de sa force et peut encore éclairer notre modernité. Le trait de génie d'Okakura fut de choisir le thé comme symbole de la vie et de la culture en Asie : le thé comme art de vivre, art de penser, art d'être au monde. Il nous parle d'harmonie, de respect, de pureté, de sérénité. Au fond, l'idéal du thé est l'aboutissement même de cette conception zen : la grandeur réside dans les plus menus faits de la vie. Qui cherche la perfection doit découvrir dans sa propre vie le reflet de sa lumière intérieure. Aussi la voie du thé est-elle bien plus qu'une cérémonie : une façon de vivre en creusant aux racines de l'être pour revenir à l'essentiel et découvrir la beauté au cœur de la vie.

Le livre du thé

The Awakening of Japan

Om den japanske tedrikningsceremoni set som et spejlbillede af landets kultur

كتاب الشاي

Ayça Ögel

Çay kitabı

Çay ve Zen

Το βιβλίο του τσαγιού

At the turn of the 20th century, in Boston, a small esoteric book about tea was written with the intention of being read aloud in the famous salon of Isabella Gardner. It was authored by Okakura Kakuzo, a Japanese philosopher, art expert, and curator. Little known at the time, Kakuzo would emerge as one of the great thinkers of the early 20th century, a genius who was insightful, witty and greatly responsible for bridging Western and Eastern cultures. Nearly a century later, Kakuzo's book of tea is still beloved the world over. The Book of Tea is a delightful cup of enlightenment from a man far ahead of his time.

Original Text

The Book of Teaby Kakuzō OkakuraAt the turn of the 20th century, in Boston, a small esoteric book about tea was written with the intention of being read aloud in the famous salon of Isabella Gardner. It was authored by Okakura Kakuzo, a Japanese philosopher, art expert, and curator. Little known at the time, Kakuzo would emerge as one of the great thinkers of the early 20th century, a genius who was insightful, witty and greatly responsible for bridging Western and Eastern cultures. Nearly a century later, Kakuzo's book of tea is still beloved the world over. The Book of Tea is a delightful cup of enlightenment from a man far ahead of his time.

At the turn of the 20th century, in Boston, a small esoteric book about tea was written with the intention of being read aloud in the famous salon of Isabella Gardner. It was authored by Okakura Kakuzo, a Japanese philosopher, art expert, and curator. Little known at the time, Kakuzo would emerge as one of the great thinkers of the early 20th century, a genius who was insightful, witty and greatly responsible for bridging Western and Eastern cultures. Nearly a century later, Kakuzo's book of tea is still beloved the world over. The Book of Tea is a delightful cup of enlightenment from a man far ahead of his time.Tea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage. In China, in the eighth century, it entered the realm of poetry as one of the polite amusements. The fifteenth century saw Japan ennoble it into a religion of aestheticism-Teaism. Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order. It is essentially a worship of the Imperfect, as it is a tender attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life.

The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzō (1906) is a long essay linking the role of chadō (teaism) to the aesthetic and cultural aspects of Japanese life. In 1906 in turn-of-the-century Boston, a small, esoteric book about tea was written with the intention of being read aloud in the famous salon of Isabella Gardner, Boston's most notorious socialite. It was authored by Okakura Kakuzo, a Japanese philosopher, art expert, and curator. Little known at the time, Kakuzo would emerge as one of the great thinkers of the early 20th century, a genius who was insightful, witty-and greatly responsible for bridging Western and Eastern cultures. Okakura had been taught at a young age to speak English and was more than capable of expressing to Westerners the nuances of tea and the Japanese Tea Ceremony.In The Book of Tea Classic Edition, he discusses such topics as Zen and Taoism, but also the secular aspects of tea and Japanese life. The book emphasizes how Teaism taught the Japanese many things; most importantly, simplicity. Kakuzo argues that tea-induced simplicity affected the culture, art and architecture of Japan.Nearly a century later, Kakuzo's The Book of Tea Classic Edition is still beloved the world over, making it an essential part of any tea enthusiast's collection. Interwoven with a rich history of Japanese tea and its place in Japanese society is a poignant commentary on Asian culture and our ongoing fascination with it, as well as illuminating essays on art, spirituality, poetry, and more. The Book of Tea Classic Edition is a delightful cup of enlightenment from a man far ahead of his time.

Kakuzō Okakura

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