After reading many books, I wanted to read something different or new from what I have read until now so by doing some research and getting recommendations I got my eye on this book “The Wisdom of Tea” written by Japanese author Noriko Morishita. I have always liked Japanese culture ,and tradition so it was a matter of time before I got my hands on this book. Japan is one of the countries which has maintained their ancient tradition, values since ancient times.
The conventional traditions of the Japanese tea ceremony are explained by Noriko Morishita, a journalist who started her journey in learning tea ceremony. Initially she did have passion or interest in the Tea ceremony preferring western drinks like soda or juice but after her mother insisted on attending the class with her cousin, Michiko who unlike Norika had an interest in learning tea ceremony. This story is from the perspective of Noriko Morishita as she tries to reflect on her life and gain wisdom under the tutelage of Sensei(Teacher in Japanese), Aunt Takeda, a friend of her mother.
In the beginning of The Wisdom of tea we learn about the difficulties faced by the writer in her early life and about her character. Aunt Takeda was a calm and patient person, she was similar to a typical resident of Yokohama.
There are historical aspects of the Tea ceremony which have not changed and still continue in the modern time like how the small doorway which led to the nijiriguchi(tea room) was specially designed so that samurai can leaves their katana(a type of sword) outside ,this allowed the warriors to get away from world and have a moment to relax.
As Morishita journey begins in learning the art of tea ceremony, she finds it increasingly difficult to execute the procedure properly, in what order she had to do it and the number of things she had to keep in mind . One of the main reasons for these problems was she was told not to memorize the process, which is quite different from learning she had been taught until now. Aunt Takeda also had told her to slurp before finishing her tea which can be viewed as bad moral in the current time.
All of this left her quite overwhelmed and brought up thoughts like she will be unable to learn Tea ceremony and she usually left exhausted on her way home. The only benefits of attending the classes was that sensei brought different traditional sweets for the sessions. There were many instances when Morishita had made a mistake and was reprimanded by Sensei, which made her think about quitting but she still continued.
“Worthless pride is just unnecessary baggage. You have to cast it aside and empty yourself. Otherwise there is no room to take anything in.” – Morishita Noriko
You must keep in mind that this book is not some sort of guide for tea ceremony but about the intricacies of the tea ceremony. Many people after reading the book may find it interesting and might even arouse their curiosity.
It took many chapters for Noriko to get used to the process and after that she was able to instinctively complete the process, her moves on like it had become a habit. This was the main charm of the Tea ceremony. She was starting to figure out things that she didn’t notice before like sweets changing according to the season or days and the daily scroll which Aunt Takeda changes.
There were also different procedures for preparing the tea and the one drinking. There were many things that should be kept in mind in the whole process which you will only understand after experiencing. Tea ceremony may look simple, but the true complexity is shown in this book and you will find it is not as easy as it seems.
While reading The Wisdom of Tea, I would highly suggest looking at the pictures whenever a new tool or term is introduced to get a better understanding. In this Japanese book you expect to find words written in Japan.
My understanding of the world changed after reading this book like when Morishita figures out that in the rainy season there are different phases prompting me to find joy in them. This proves that there is more than what we see in the book “The Wisdom of Tea”. The development of Morshita who initially dislikes the Tea ceremony but changes overtime with eventually getting fondness of it. The most interesting thing is that there are certain tools only used once in 12 years which many people can find baffling like the author.
“there is no graduation from Tea” – Morishita Noriko
Learning Tea ceremony never ends, this was shown or implied many times in the book. One of such instances was when the old lady said she has come for learning, another was when sensei told that she is still learning even though she is not taking any formal class.
The Wisdom of Tea shows the tea ceremony is about self discovery, persistence, getting new insights about ourselves and the world around us. You can definitely learn something new whether it might be related or no-related to tea.
Definitely give it a try at least once. For more book reviews click on https://tirtales.com/category/book-reviews/.