,,the ,,book ,,of ,,tea ,by ,kakuzo ,okakura ,i4 ,the ,cup of ,humanity ,tea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage4 ,in ,china1 in the eighth century1 it entered the realm of poetry as one of the polite amusements4 ,the fifteenth century saw ,japan ennoble it into a religion of aestheticism--,teaism4 ,teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence4 ,it inculcates purity and harmony1 the mystery of mutual charity1 the romanticism of the social order4 ,it is essentially a worship of the ,imperfect1 as it is a tender attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life4 ,the ,philosophy of ,tea is not mere aestheticism in the ordinary acceptance of the term1 for it expresses conjointly with ethics and religion our whole point of view about man and nature4 ,it is hygiene1 for it enforces cleanliness2 it is economics1 for it shows comfort in simplicity rather than in the complex and costly2 it is moral geometry1 inasmuch as it defines our sense of proportion to the universe4 ,it represents the true spirit of ,eastern democracy by making all its votaries aristocrats in taste4 ,the long isolation of ,japan from the rest of the world1 so conducive to introspection1 has been highly favourable to the development of ,teaism4 ,our home and habits1 costume and cuisine1 porcelain1 lacquer1 painting--our very literature--all have been subject to its influence4 ,no student of ,japanese culture could ever ignore its presence4 ,it has permeated the elegance of noble boudoirs1 and entered the abode of the humble4 ,our peasants have learned to arrange flowers1 our meanest labourer to offer his salutation to the rocks and waters4 ,in our common parlance we speak of the man with no tea in him1 when he is insusceptible to the serio-comic interests of the personal drama4 ,again we stigmatise the untamed aesthete who1 regardless of the mundane tragedy1 runs riot in the springtide of emancipated emotions1 as one with too much tea in him4 ,the outsider may indeed wonder at this seeming much ado about nothing4 ,what a tempest in a tea-cup6 he will say4 ,but when we consider how small after all the cup of human enjoyment is1 how soon overflowed with tears1 how easily drained to the dregs in our quenchless thirst for infinity1 we shall not blame ourselves for making so much of the tea-cup4 ,mankind has done worse4 ,in the worship of ,bacchus1 we have sacrificed too freely2 and we have even transfigured the gory image of ,mars4 ,why not consecrate ourselves to the queen of the ,camelias1 and revel in the warm stream of sympathy that flows from her altar8 ,in the liquid amber within the ivory-porcelain1 the initiated may touch the sweet reticence of ,confucius1 the piquancy of ,laotse1 and the ethereal aroma of ,sakyamuni himself4 ,those who cannot feel the littleness of great things in themselves are apt to overlook the greatness of little things in others4 ,the average ,westerner1 in his sleek complacency1 will see in the tea ceremony but another instance of the thousand and one oddities which constitute the quaintness and childishness of the ,east to him4 ,he was wont to regard ,japan as barbarous while she indulged in the gentle arts of peace3 he calls her civilised since she began to commit wholesale slaughter on ,manchurian battlefields4 ,much comment has been given lately to the ,code of the ,samurai1--the ,art of ,death which makes our soldiers exult in self-sacrifice2 but scarcely any attention has been drawn to ,teaism1 which represents so much of our ,art of ,life4 ,fain would we remain barbarians1 if our claim to civilisation were to be based on the gruesome glory of war4 ,fain would we await the time when due respect shall be paid to our art and ideals4 ,when will the ,west understand1 or try to understand1 the ,east8 ,we ,asiatics are often appalled by the curious web of facts and fancies which has been woven concerning us4 ,we are pictured as living on the perfume of the lotus1 if not on mice and cockroaches4 ,it is either impotent fanaticism or else abject voluptuousness4 ,indian spirituality has been derided as ignorance1 ,chinese sobriety as stupidity1 ,japanese patriotism as the result of fatalism4 ,it has been said that we are less sensible to pain and wounds on account of the callousness of our nervous organisation6 ,why not amuse yourselves at our expense8 ,asia returns the compliment4 ,there would be further food for merriment if you were to know all that we have imagined and written about you4 ,all the glamour of the perspective is there1 all the unconscious homage of wonder1 all the silent resentment of the new and undefined4 ,you have been loaded with virtues too refined to be envied1 and accused of crimes too picturesque to be condemned4 ,our writers in the past--the wise men who knew--informed us that you had bushy tails somewhere hidden in your garments1 and often dined off a fricassee of newborn babes6 ,nay1 we had something worse against you3 we used to think you the most impracticable people on the earth1 for you were said to preach what you never practiced4 ,such misconceptions are fast vanishing amongst us4 ,commerce has forced the ,european tongues on many an ,eastern port4 ,asiatic youths are flocking to ,western colleges for the equipment of modern education4 ,our insight does not penetrate your culture deeply1 but at least we are willing to learn4 ,some of my compatriots have adopted too much of your customs and too much of your etiquette1 in the delusion that the acquisition of stiff collars and tall silk hats comprised the attainment of your civilisation4 ,pathetic and deplorable as such affectations are1 they evince our willingness to approach the ,west on our knees4 ,unfortunately the ,western attitude is unfavourable to the understanding of the ,east4 ,the ,christian missionary goes to impart1 but not to receive4 ,your information is based on the meagre translations of our immense literature1 if not on the unreliable anecdotes of passing travellers4 ,it is rarely that the chivalrous pen of a ,lafcadio ,hearn or that of the author of ,the ,web of ,indian ,life enlivens the ,oriental darkness with the torch of our own sentiments4 ,perhaps ,i betray my own ignorance of the ,tea ,cult by being so outspoken4 ,its very spirit of politeness exacts that you say what you are expected to say1 and no more4 ,but ,i am not to be a polite ,teaist4 ,so much harm has been done already by the mutual misunderstanding of the ,new ,world and the ,old1 that one need not apologise for contributing his tithe to the furtherance of a better understanding4 ,the beginning of the twentieth century would have been spared the spectacle of sanguinary warfare if ,russia had condescended to know ,japan better4 ,what dire consequences to humanity lie in the contemptuous ignoring of ,eastern problems6 ,european imperialism1 which does not disdain to raise the absurd cry of the ,yellow ,peril1 fails to realise that ,asia may also awaken to the cruel sense of the ,white ,disaster4 ,you may laugh at us for having too much tea1 but may we not suspect that you of the ,west have no tea in your constitution8 ,let us stop the continents from hurling epigrams at each other1 and be sadder if not wiser by the mutual gain of half a hemisphere4 ,we have developed along different lines1 but there is no reason why one should not supplement the other4 ,you have gained expansion at the cost of restlessness2 we have created a harmony which is weak against aggression4 ,will you believe it8--the ,east is better off in some respects than the ,west6 ,strangely enough humanity has so far met in the tea-cup4 ,it is the only ,asiatic ceremonial which commands universal esteem4 ,the white man has scoffed at our religion and our morals1 but has accepted the brown beverage without hesitation4 ,the afternoon tea is now an important function in ,western society4 ,in the delicate clatter of trays and saucers1 in the soft rustle of feminine hospitality1 in the common catechism about cream and sugar1 we know that the ,worship of ,tea is established beyond question4 ,the philosophic resignation of the guest to the fate awaiting him in the dubious decoction proclaims that in this single instance the ,oriental spirit reigns supreme4 ,the earliest record of tea in ,european writing is said to be found in the statement of an ,arabian traveller1 that after the year #hgi the main sources of revenue in ,canton were the duties on salt and tea4 ,marco ,polo records the deposition of a ,chinese minister of finance in #abhe for his arbitrary augmentation of the tea-taxes4 ,it was at the period of the great discoveries that the ,european people began to know more about the extreme ,orient4 ,at the end of the sixteenth century the ,hollanders brought the news that a pleasant drink was made in the ,east from the leaves of a bush4 ,the travellers ,giovanni ,batista ,ramusio 7#aeei71 ,l4 ,almeida 7#aegf71 ,maffeno 7#aehh71 ,tareira 7#afaj71 also mentioned tea4 ,in the last-named year ships of the ,dutch ,east ,india ,company brought the first tea into ,europe4 ,it was known in ,france in #afcf1 and reached ,russia in #afch4 ,england welcomed it in #afej and spoke of it as ,that excellent and by all physicians approved ,china drink1 called by the ,chineans ,tcha1 and by other nations ,tay1 alias ,tee4 ,like all good things of the world1 the propaganda of ,tea met with opposition4 ,heretics like ,henry ,saville 7#afgh7 denounced drinking it as a filthy custom4 ,jonas ,hanway 7,essay on ,tea1 #agef7 said that men seemed to lose their stature and comeliness1 women their beauty through the use of tea4 ,its cost at the start 7about fifteen or sixteen shillings a pound7 forbade popular consumption1 and made it regalia for high treatments and entertainments1 presents being made thereof to princes and grandees4 ,yet in spite of such drawbacks tea-drinking spread with marvelous rapidity4 ,the coffee-houses of ,london in the early half of the eighteenth century became1 in fact1 tea-houses1 the resort of wits like ,addison and ,steele1 who beguiled themselves over their dish of tea4 ,the beverage soon became a necessity of life--a taxable matter4 ,we are reminded in this connection what an important part it plays in modern history4 ,colonial ,america resigned herself to oppression until human endurance gave way before the heavy duties laid on ,tea4 ,american independence dates from the throwing of tea-chests into ,boston harbour4 ,there is a subtle charm in the taste of tea which makes it irresistible and capable of idealisation4 ,western humourists were not slow to mingle the fragrance of their thought with its aroma4 ,it has not the arrogance of wine1 the self-consciousness of coffee1 nor the simpering innocence of cocoa4 ,already in #agaa1 says the ,spectator3 ,i would therefore in a particular manner recommend these my speculations to all well-regulated families that set apart an hour every morning for tea1 bread and butter2 and would earnestly advise them for their good to order this paper to be punctually served up and to be looked upon as a part of the tea-equipage4 ,samuel ,johnson draws his own portrait as a hardened and shameless tea drinker1 who for twenty years diluted his meals with only the infusion of the fascinating plant2 who with tea amused the evening1 with tea solaced the midnight1 and with tea welcomed the morning4 ,charles ,lamb1 a professed devotee1 sounded the true note of ,teaism when he wrote that the greatest pleasure he knew was to do a good action by stealth1 and to have it found out by accident4 ,for ,teaism is the art of concealing beauty that you may discover it1 of suggesting what you dare not reveal4 ,it is the noble secret of laughing at yourself1 calmly yet thoroughly1 and is thus humour itself1--the smile of philosophy4 ,all genuine humourists may in this sense be called tea-philosophers1 ,thackeray1 for instance1 and of course1 ,shakespeare4 ,the poets of the ,decadence 7when was not the world in decadence871 in their protests against materialism1 have1 to a certain extent1 also opened the way to ,teaism4 ,perhaps nowadays it is our demure contemplation of the ,imperfect that the ,west and the ,east can meet in mutual consolation4 ,the ,taoists relate that at the great beginning of the ,no-,beginning1 ,spirit and ,matter met in mortal combat4 ,at last the ,yellow ,emperor1 the ,sun of ,heaven1 triumphed over ,shuhyung1 the demon of darkness and earth4 ,the ,titan1 in his death agony1 struck his head against the solar vault and shivered the blue dome of jade into fragments4 ,the stars lost their nests1 the moon wandered aimlessly among the wild chasms of the night4 ,in despair the ,yellow ,emperor sought far and wide for the repairer of the ,heavens4 ,he had not to search in vain4 ,out of the ,eastern sea rose a queen1 the divine ,niuka1 horn-crowned and dragon-tailed1 resplendent in her armor of fire4 ,she welded the five-coloured rainbow in her magic cauldron and rebuilt the ,chinese sky4 ,but it is told that ,niuka forgot to fill two tiny crevices in the blue firmament4 ,thus began the dualism of love--two souls rolling through space and never at rest until they join together to complete the universe4 ,everyone has to build anew his sky of hope and peace4 ,the heaven of modern humanity is indeed shattered in the ,cyclopean struggle for wealth and power4 ,the world is groping in the shadow of egotism and vulgarity4 ,knowledge is bought through a bad conscience1 benevolence practiced for the sake of utility4 ,the ,east and the ,west1 like two dragons tossed in a sea of ferment1 in vain strive to regain the jewel of life4 ,we need a ,niuka again to repair the grand devastation2 we await the great ,avatar4 ,meanwhile1 let us have a sip of tea4 ,the afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos1 the fountains are bubbling with delight1 the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle4 ,let us dream of evanescence1 and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things4 ,,ii4 ,the ,schools of ,tea4 ,tea is a work of art and needs a master hand to bring out its noblest qualities4 ,we have good and bad tea1 as we have good and bad paintings--generally the latter4 ,there is no single recipe for making the perfect tea1 as there are no rules for producing a ,titian or a ,sesson4 ,each preparation of the leaves has its individuality1 its special affinity with water and heat1 its own method of telling a story4 ,the truly beautiful must always be in it4 ,how much do we not suffer through the constant failure of society to recognise this simple and fundamental law of art and life2 ,lichilai1 a ,sung poet1 has sadly remarked that there were three most deplorable things in the world3 the spoiling of fine youths through false education1 the degradation of fine art through vulgar admiration1 and the utter waste of fine tea through incompetent manipulation4 ,like ,art1 ,tea has its periods and its schools4 ,its evolution may be roughly divided into three main stages3 the ,boiled ,tea1 the ,whipped ,tea1 and the ,steeped ,tea4 ,we moderns belong to the last school4 ,these several methods of appreciating the beverage are indicative of the spirit of the age in which they prevailed4 ,for life is an expression1 our unconscious actions the constant betrayal of our innermost thought4 ,confucius said that man hideth not4 ,perhaps we reveal ourselves too much in small things because we have so little of the great to conceal4 ,the tiny incidents of daily routine are as much a commentary of racial ideals as the highest flight of philosophy or poetry4 ,even as the difference in favorite vintage marks the separate idiosyncrasies of different periods and nationalities of ,europe1 so the ,tea-ideals characterise the various moods of ,oriental culture4 ,the ,cake-tea which was boiled1 the ,powdered-tea which was whipped1 the ,leaf-tea which was steeped1 mark the distinct emotional impulses of the ,tang1 the ,sung1 and the ,ming dynasties of ,china4 ,if we were inclined to borrow the much-abused terminology of art-classification1 we might designate them respectively1 the ,classic1 the ,romantic1 and the ,naturalistic schools of ,tea4 ,the tea-plant1 a native of southern ,china1 was known from very early times to ,chinese botany and medicine4 ,it is alluded to in the classics under the various names of ,tou1 ,tseh1 ,chung1 ,kha1 and ,ming1 and was highly prized for possessing the virtues of relieving fatigue1 delighting the soul1 strengthening the will1 and repairing the eyesight4 ,it was not only administered as an internal dose1 but often applied externally in form of paste to alleviate rheumatic pains4 ,the ,taoists claimed it as an important ingredient of the elixir of immortality4 ,the ,buddhists used it extensively to prevent drowsiness during their long hours of meditation4 ,by the fourth and fifth centuries ,tea became a favourite beverage among the inhabitants of the ,yangtse-,kiang valley4 ,it was about this time that modern ideograph ,cha was coined1 evidently a corruption of the classic ,tou4 ,the poets of the southern dynasties have left some fragments of their fervent adoration of the froth of the liquid jade4 ,then emperors used to bestow some rare preparation of the leaves on their high ministers as a reward for eminent services4 ,yet the method of drinking tea at this stage was primitive in the extreme4 ,the leaves were steamed1 crushed in a mortar1 made into a cake1 and boiled together with rice1 ginger1 salt1 orange peel1 spices1 milk1 and sometimes with onions6 ,the custom obtains at the present day among the ,thibetans and various ,mongolian tribes1 who make a curious syrup of these ingredients4 ,the use of lemon slices by the ,russians1 who learned to take tea from the ,chinese caravansaries1 points to the survival of the ancient method4 ,it needed the genius of the ,tang dynasty to emancipate ,tea from its crude state and lead to its final idealization4 ,with ,luwuh in the middle of the eighth century we have our first apostle of tea4 ,he was born in an age when ,buddhism1 ,taoism1 and ,confucianism were seeking mutual synthesis4 ,the pantheistic symbolism of the time was urging one to mirror the ,universal in the ,particular4 ,luwuh1 a poet1 saw in the ,tea-service the same harmony and order which reigned through all things4 ,in his celebrated work1 the ,chaking 7,the ,holy ,scripture of ,tea7 he formulated the ,code of ,tea4 ,he has since been worshipped as the tutelary god of the ,chinese tea merchants4 ,the ,chaking consists of three volumes and ten chapters4 ,in the first chapter ,luwuh treats of the nature of the tea-plant1 in the second of the implements for gathering the leaves1 in the third of the selection of the leaves4 ,according to him the best quality of the leaves must have creases like the leathern boot of ,tartar horsemen1 curl like the dewlap of a mighty bullock1 unfold like a mist rising out of a ravine1 gleam like a lake touched by a zephyr1 and be wet and soft like fine earth newly swept by rain4 ,the fourth chapter is devoted to the enumeration and description of the twenty-four members of the tea-equipage1 beginning with the tripod brazier and ending with the bamboo cabinet for containing all these utensils4 ,here we notice ,luwuh's predilection for ,taoist symbolism4 ,also it is interesting to observe in this connection the influence of tea on ,chinese ceramics4 ,the ,celestial porcelain1 as is well known1 had its origin in an attempt to reproduce the exquisite shade of jade1 resulting1 in the ,tang dynasty1 in the blue glaze of the south1 and the white glaze of the north4 ,luwuh considered the blue as the ideal colour for the tea-cup1 as it lent additional greenness to the beverage1 whereas the white made it look pinkish and distasteful4 ,it was because he used cake-tea4 ,later on1 when the tea masters of ,sung took to the powdered tea1 they preferred heavy bowls of blue-black and dark brown4 ,the ,mings1 with their steeped tea1 rejoiced in light ware of white porcelain4 ,in the fifth chapter ,luwuh describes the method of making tea4 ,he eliminates all ingredients except salt4 ,he dwells also on the much-discussed question of the choice of water and the degree of boiling it4 ,according to him1 the mountain spring is the best1 the river water and the spring water come next in the order of excellence4 ,there are three stages of boiling3 the first boil is when the little bubbles like the eye of fishes swim on the surface2 the second boil is when the bubbles are like crystal beads rolling in a fountain2 the third boil is when the billows surge wildly in the kettle4 ,the ,cake-tea is roasted before the fire until it becomes soft like a baby's arm and is shredded into powder between pieces of fine paper4 ,salt is put in the first boil1 the tea in the second4 ,at the third boil1 a dipperful of cold water is poured into the kettle to settle the tea and revive the youth of the water4 ,then the beverage was poured into cups and drunk4 ,o nectar6 ,the filmy leaflet hung like scaly clouds in a serene sky or floated like waterlilies on emerald streams4 ,it was of such a beverage that ,lotung1 a ,tang poet1 wrote3 ,the first cup moistens my lips and throat1 the second cup breaks my loneliness1 the third cup searches my barren entrail but to find therein some five thousand volumes of odd ideographs4 ,the fourth cup raises a slight perspiration1--all the wrong of life passes away through my pores4 ,at the fifth cup ,i am purified2 the sixth cup calls me to the realms of the immortals4 ,the seventh cup--ah1 but ,i could take no more6 ,i only feel the breath of cool wind that rises in my sleeves4 ,where is ,horaisan8 ,let me ride on this sweet breeze and waft away thither4 ,the remaining chapters of the ,chaking treat of the vulgarity of the ordinary methods of tea-drinking1 a historical summary of illustrious tea-drinkers1 the famous tea plantations of ,china1 the possible variations of the tea-service and illustrations of the tea-utensils4 ,the last is unfortunately lost4 ,the appearance of the ,chaking must have created considerable sensation at the time4 ,luwuh was befriended by the ,emperor ,taisung 7#gfc-ggi71 and his fame attracted many followers4 ,some exquisites were said to have been able to detect the tea made by ,luwuh from that of his disciples4 ,one mandarin has his name immortalised by his failure to appreciate the tea of this great master4 ,in the ,sung dynasty the whipped tea came into fashion and created the second school of ,tea4 ,the leaves were ground to fine powder in a small stone mill1 and the preparation was whipped in hot water by a delicate whisk made of split bamboo4 ,the new process led to some change in the tea-equipage of ,luwuh1 as well as in the choice of leaves4 ,salt was discarded forever4 ,the enthusiasm of the ,sung people for tea knew no bounds4 ,epicures vied with each other in discovering new varieties1 and regular tournaments were held to decide their superiority4 ,the ,emperor ,kiasung 7#aaja-aabd71 who was too great an artist to be a well-behaved monarch1 lavished his treasures on the attainment of rare species4 ,he himself wrote a dissertation on the twenty kinds of tea1 among which he prizes the white tea as of the rarest and finest quality4 ,the tea-ideal of the ,sungs differed from the ,tangs even as their notion of life differed4 ,they sought to actualize what their predecessors tried to symbolise4 ,to the ,neo-,confucian mind the cosmic law was not reflected in the phenomenal world1 but the phenomenal world was the cosmic law itself4 ,aeons were but moments--,nirvana always within grasp4 ,the ,taoist conception that immortality lay in the eternal change permeated all their modes of thought4 ,it was the process1 not the deed1 which was interesting4 ,it was the completing1 not the completion1 which was really vital4 ,man came thus at once face to face with nature4 ,a new meaning grew into the art of life4 ,the tea began to be not a poetical pastime1 but one of the methods of self-realisation4 ,wangyucheng eulogised tea as flooding his soul like a direct appeal1 that its delicate bitterness reminded him of the aftertaste of a good counsel4 ,sotumpa wrote of the strength of the immaculate purity in tea which defied corruption as a truly virtuous man4 ,among the ,buddhists1 the southern ,zen sect1 which incorporated so much of ,taoist doctrines1 formulated an elaborate ritual of tea4 ,the monks gathered before the image of ,bodhi ,dharma and drank tea out of a single bowl with the profound formality of a holy sacrament4 ,it was this ,zen ritual which finally developed into the ,tea-ceremony of ,japan in the fifteenth century4 ,unfortunately the sudden outburst of the ,mongol tribes in the thirteenth century which resulted in the devastation and conquest of ,china under the barbaric rule of the ,yuen ,emperors1 destroyed all the fruits of ,sung culture4 ,the native dynasty of the ,mings which attempted re-nationalisation in the middle of the fifteenth century was harassed by internal troubles1 and ,china again fell under the alien rule of the ,manchus in the seventeenth century4 ,manners and customs changed to leave no vestige of the former times4 ,the powdered tea is entirely forgotten4 ,we find a ,ming commentator at loss to recall the shape of the tea whisk mentioned in one of the ,sung classics4 ,tea is now taken by steeping the leaves in hot water in a bowl or cup4 ,the reason why the ,western world is innocent of the older method of drinking tea is explained by the fact that ,europe knew it only at the close of the ,ming dynasty4 ,to the latter-day ,chinese tea is a delicious beverage1 but not an ideal4 ,the long woes of his country have robbed him of the zest for the meaning of life4 ,he has become modern1 that is to say1 old and disenchanted4 ,he has lost that sublime faith in illusions which constitutes the eternal youth and vigour of the poets and ancients4 ,he is an eclectic and politely accepts the traditions of the universe4 ,he toys with ,nature1 but does not condescend to conquer or worship her4 ,his ,leaf-tea is often wonderful with its flower-like aroma1 but the romance of the ,tang and ,sung ceremonials are not to be found in his cup4 ,japan1 which followed closely on the footsteps of ,chinese civilisation1 has known the tea in all its three stages4 ,as early as the year #gbi we read of the ,emperor ,shomu giving tea to one hundred monks at his palace in ,nara4 ,the leaves were probably imported by our ambassadors to the ,tang ,court and prepared in the way then in fashion4 ,in #hja the monk ,saicho brought back some seeds and planted them in ,yeisan4 ,many tea-gardens are heard of in succeeding centuries1 as well as the delight of the aristocracy and priesthood in the beverage4 ,the ,sung tea reached us in #aaia with the return of ,yeisai-zenji1 who went there to study the southern ,zen school4 ,the new seeds which he carried home were successfully planted in three places1 one of which1 the ,uji district near ,kioto1 bears still the name of producing the best tea in the world4 ,the southern ,zen spread with marvelous rapidity1 and with it the tea-ritual and the tea-ideal of the ,sung4 ,by the fifteenth century1 under the patronage of the ,shogun1 ,ashikaga-,voshinasa1 the tea ceremony is fully constituted and made into an independent and secular performance4 ,since then ,teaism is fully established in ,japan4 ,the use of the steeped tea of the later ,china is comparatively recent among us1 being only known since the middle of the seventeenth century4 ,it has replaced the powdered tea in ordinary consumption1 though the latter still continues to hold its place as the tea of teas4 ,it is in the ,japanese tea ceremony that we see the culmination of tea-ideals4 ,our successful resistance of the ,mongol invasion in #abha had enabled us to carry on the ,sung movement so disastrously cut off in ,china itself through the nomadic inroad4 ,tea with us became more than an idealisation of the form of drinking2 it is a religion of the art of life4 ,the beverage grew to be an excuse for the worship of purity and refinement1 a sacred function at which the host and guest joined to produce for that occasion the utmost beatitude of the mundane4 ,the tea-room was an oasis in the dreary waste of existence where weary travellers could meet to drink from the common spring of art-appreciation4 ,the ceremony was an improvised drama whose plot was woven about the tea1 the flowers1 and the paintings4 ,not a colour to disturb the tone of the room1 not a sound to mar the rhythm of things1 not a gesture to obtrude on the harmony1 not a word to break the unity of the surroundings1 all movements to be performed simply and naturally--such were the aims of the tea-ceremony4 ,and strangely enough it was often successful4 ,a subtle philosophy lay behind it all4 ,teaism was ,taoism in disguise4 ,,iii4 ,taoism and ,zennism ,the connection of ,zennism with tea is proverbial4 ,we have already remarked that the tea-ceremony was a development of the ,zen ritual4 ,the name of ,laotse1 the founder of ,taoism1 is also intimately associated with the history of tea4 ,it is written in the ,chinese school manual concerning the origin of habits and customs that the ceremony of offering tea to a guest began with ,kwanyin1 a well-known disciple of ,laotse1 who first at the gate of the ,han ,pass presented to the ,old ,philosopher a cup of the golden elixir4 ,we shall not stop to discuss the authenticity of such tales1 which are valuable1 however1 as confirming the early use of the beverage by the ,taoists4 ,our interest in ,taoism and ,zennism here lies mainly in those ideas regarding life and art which are so embodied in what we call ,teaism4 ,it is to be regretted that as yet there appears to be no adequate presentation of the ,taoists and ,zen doctrines in any foreign language1 though we have had several laudable attempts4 ,translation is always a treason1 and as a ,ming author observes1 can at its best be only the reverse side of a brocade1--all the threads are there1 but not the subtlety of colour or design4 ,but1 after all1 what great doctrine is there which is easy to expound8 ,the ancient sages never put their teachings in systematic form4 ,they spoke in paradoxes1 for they were afraid of uttering half-truths4 ,they began by talking like fools and ended by making their hearers wise4 ,laotse himself1 with his quaint humour1 says1 ,if people of inferior intelligence hear of the ,tao1 they laugh immensely4 ,it would not be the ,tao unless they laughed at it4 ,the ,tao literally means a ,path4 ,it has been severally translated as the ,way1 the ,absolute1 the ,law1 ,nature1 ,supreme ,reason1 the ,mode4 ,these renderings are not incorrect1 for the use of the term by the ,taoists differs according to the subject-matter of the inquiry4 ,laotse himself spoke of it thus3 ,there is a thing which is all-containing1 which was born before the existence of ,heaven and ,earth4 ,how silent6 ,how solitary6 ,it stands alone and changes not4 ,it revolves without danger to itself and is the mother of the universe4 ,i do not know its name and so call it the ,path4 ,with reluctance ,i call it the ,infinite4 ,infinity is the ,fleeting1 the ,fleeting is the ,vanishing1 the ,vanishing is the ,reverting4 ,the ,tao is in the ,passage rather than the ,path4 ,it is the spirit of ,cosmic ,change1--the eternal growth which returns upon itself to produce new forms4 ,it recoils upon itself like the dragon1 the beloved symbol of the ,taoists4 ,it folds and unfolds as do the clouds4 ,the ,tao might be spoken of as the ,great ,transition4 ,subjectively it is the ,mood of the ,universe4 ,its ,absolute is the ,relative4 ,it should be remembered in the first place that ,taoism1 like its legitimate successor ,zennism1 represents the individualistic trend of the ,southern ,chinese mind in contra-distinction to the communism of ,northern ,china which expressed itself in ,confucianism4 ,the ,middle ,kingdom is as vast as ,europe and has a differentiation of idiosyncrasies marked by the two great river systems which traverse it4 ,the ,yangtse-,kiang and ,hoang-,ho are respectively the ,mediterranean and the ,baltic4 ,even to-day1 in spite of centuries of unification1 the ,southern ,celestial differs in his thoughts and beliefs from his ,northern brother as a member of the ,latin race differs from the ,teuton4 ,in ancient days1 when communication was even more difficult than at present1 and especially during the feudal period1 this difference in thought was most pronounced4 ,the art and poetry of the one breathes an atmosphere entirely distinct from that of the other4 ,in ,laotse and his followers and in ,kutsugen1 the forerunner of the ,yangtse-,kiang nature-poets1 we find an idealism quite inconsistent with the prosaic ethical notions of their contemporary northern writers4 ,laotse lived five centuries before the ,christian ,era4 ,the germ of ,taoist speculation may be found long before the advent of ,laotse1 surnamed the ,long-,eared4 ,the archaic records of ,china1 especially the ,book of ,changes1 foreshadow his thought4 ,but the great respect paid to the laws and customs of that classic period of ,chinese civilisation which culminated with the establishment of the ,chow dynasty in the sixteenth century ,b4,c41 kept the development of individualism in check for a long while1 so that it was not until after the disintegration of the ,chow dynasty and the establishment of innumerable independent kingdoms that it was able to blossom forth in the luxuriance of free-thought4 ,laotse and ,soshi 7,chuangtse7 were both ,southerners and the greatest exponents of the ,new ,school4 ,on the other hand1 ,confucius with his numerous disciples aimed at retaining ancestral conventions4 ,taoism cannot be understood without some knowledge of ,confucianism and vice versa4 ,we have said that the ,taoist ,absolute was the ,relative4 ,in ethics the ,taoist railed at the laws and the moral codes of society1 for to them right and wrong were but relative terms4 ,definition is always limitation--the fixed and unchangeless are but terms expressive of a stoppage of growth4 ,said ,kuzugen1--,the ,sages move the world4 ,our standards of morality are begotten of the past needs of society1 but is society to remain always the same8 ,the observance of communal traditions involves a constant sacrifice of the individual to the state4 ,education1 in order to keep up the mighty delusion1 encourages a species of ignorance4 ,people are not taught to be really virtuous1 but to behave properly4 ,we are wicked because we are frightfully self-conscious4 ,we nurse a conscience because we are afraid to tell the truth to others2 we take refuge in pride because we are afraid to tell the truth to ourselves4 ,how can one be serious with the world when the world itself is so ridiculous6 ,the spirit of barter is everywhere4 ,honour and ,chastity6 ,behold the complacent salesman retailing the ,good and ,true4 ,one can even buy a so-called ,religion1 which is really but common morality sanctified with flowers and music4 ,rob the ,church of her accessories and what remains behind8 ,yet the trusts thrive marvelously1 for the prices are absurdly cheap1--a prayer for a ticket to heaven1 a diploma for an honourable citizenship4 ,hide yourself under a bushel quickly1 for if your real usefulness were known to the world you would soon be knocked down to the highest bidder by the public auctioneer4 ,why do men and women like to advertise themselves so much8 ,is it not but an instinct derived from the days of slavery8 ,the virility of the idea lies not less in its power of breaking through contemporary thought than in its capacity for dominating subsequent movements4 ,taoism was an active power during the ,shin dynasty1 that epoch of ,chinese unification from which we derive the name ,china4 ,it would be interesting had we time to note its influence on contemporary thinkers1 the mathematicians1 writers on law and war1 the mystics and alchemists and the later nature-poets of the ,yangtse-,kiang4 ,we should not even ignore those speculators on ,reality who doubted whether a white horse was real because he was white1 or because he was solid1 nor the ,conversationalists of the ,six dynasties who1 like the ,zen philosophers1 revelled in discussions concerning the ,pure and the ,abstract4 ,above all we should pay homage to ,taoism for what it has done toward the formation of the ,celestial character1 giving to it a certain capacity for reserve and refinement as warm as jade4 ,chinese history is full of instances in which the votaries of ,taoism1 princes and hermits alike1 followed with varied and interesting results the teachings of their creed4 ,the tale will not be without its quota of instruction and amusement4 ,it will be rich in anecdotes1 allegories1 and aphorisms4 ,we would fain be on speaking terms with the delightful emperor who never died because he had never lived4 ,we may ride the wind with ,liehtse and find it absolutely quiet because we ourselves are the wind1 or dwell in mid-air with the ,aged one of the ,hoang-,ho1 who lived betwixt ,heaven and ,earth because he was subject to neither the one nor the other4 ,even in that grotesque apology for ,taoism which we find in ,china at the present day1 we can revel in a wealth of imagery impossible to find in any other cult4 ,but the chief contribution of ,taoism to ,asiatic life has been in the realm of aesthetics4 ,chinese historians have always spoken of ,taoism as the art of being in the world1 for it deals with the present--ourselves4 ,it is in us that ,god meets with ,nature1 and yesterday parts from to-morrow4 ,the ,present is the moving ,infinity1 the legitimate sphere of the ,relative4 ,relativity seeks ,adjustment2 ,adjustment is ,art4 ,the art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings4 ,taoism accepts the mundane as it is and1 unlike the ,confucians or the ,buddhists1 tries to find beauty in our world of woe and worry4 ,the ,sung allegory of the ,three ,vinegar ,tasters explains admirably the trend of the three doctrines4 ,sakyamuni1 ,confucius1 and ,laotse once stood before a jar of vinegar--the emblem of life--and each dipped in his finger to taste the brew4 ,the matter-of-fact ,confucius found it sour1 the ,buddha called it bitter1 and ,laotse pronounced it sweet4 ,the ,taoists claimed that the comedy of life could be made more interesting if everyone would preserve the unities4 ,to keep the proportion of things and give place to others without losing one's own position was the secret of success in the mundane drama4 ,we must know the whole play in order to properly act our parts2 the conception of totality must never be lost in that of the individual4 ,this ,laotse illustrates by his favourite metaphor of the ,vacuum4 ,he claimed that only in vacuum lay the truly essential4 ,the reality of a room1 for instance1 was to be found in the vacant space enclosed by the roof and the walls1 not in the roof and walls themselves4 ,the usefulness of a water pitcher dwelt in the emptiness where water might be put1 not in the form of the pitcher or the material of which it was made4 ,vacuum is all potent because all containing4 ,in vacuum alone motion becomes possible4 ,one who could make of himself a vacuum into which others might freely enter would become master of all situations4 ,the whole can always dominate the part4 ,these ,taoists' ideas have greatly influenced all our theories of action1 even to those of fencing and wrestling4 ,jiu-jitsu1 the ,japanese art of self-defence1 owes its name to a passage in the ,tao-teking4 ,in jiu-jitsu one seeks to draw out and exhaust the enemy's strength by non-resistance1 vacuum1 while conserving one's own strength for victory in the final struggle4 ,in art the importance of the same principle is illustrated by the value of suggestion4 ,in leaving something unsaid the beholder is given a chance to complete the idea and thus a great masterpiece irresistibly rivets your attention until you seem to become actually a part of it4 ,a vacuum is there for you to enter and fill up the full measure of your aesthetic emotion4 ,he who had made himself master of the art of living was the ,real man of the ,taoist4 ,at birth he enters the realm of dreams only to awaken to reality at death4 ,he tempers his own brightness in order to merge himself into the obscurity of others4 ,he is reluctant1 as one who crosses a stream in winter2 hesitating as one who fears the neighbourhood2 respectful1 like a guest2 trembling1 like ice that is about to melt2 unassuming1 like a piece of wood not yet carved2 vacant1 like a valley2 formless1 like troubled waters4 ,to him the three jewels of life were ,pity1 ,economy1 and ,modesty4 ,if now we turn our attention to ,zennism we shall find that it emphasises the teachings of ,taoism4 ,zen is a name derived from the ,sanscrit word ,dhyana1 which signifies meditation4 ,it claims that through consecrated meditation may be attained supreme self-realisation4 ,meditation is one of the six ways through which ,buddhahood may be reached1 and the ,zen sectarians affirm that ,sakyamuni laid special stress on this method in his later teachings1 handing down the rules to his chief disciple ,kashiapa4 ,according to their tradition ,kashiapa1 the first ,zen patriarch1 imparted the secret to ,ananda1 who in turn passed it on to successive patriarchs until it reached ,bodhi-,dharma1 the twenty-eighth4 ,bodhi-,dharma came to ,northern ,china in the early half of the sixth century and was the first patriarch of ,chinese ,zen4 ,there is much uncertainty about the history of these patriarchs and their doctrines4 ,in its philosophical aspect early ,zennism seems to have affinity on one hand to the ,indian ,negativism of ,nagarjuna and on the other to the ,gnan philosophy formulated by ,sancharacharya4 ,the first teaching of ,zen as we know it at the present day must be attributed to the sixth ,chinese patriarch ,yeno7#fcg-gac71 founder of ,southern ,zen1 so-called from the fact of its predominance in ,southern ,china4 ,he is closely followed by the great ,baso7died #ghh7 who made of ,zen a living influence in ,celestial life4 ,hiakujo7#gai-had7 the pupil of ,baso1 first instituted the ,zen monastery and established a ritual and regulations for its government4 ,in the discussions of the ,zen school after the time of ,baso we find the play of the ,yangtse-,kiang mind causing an accession of native modes of thought in contrast to the former ,indian idealism4 ,whatever sectarian pride may assert to the contrary one cannot help being impressed by the similarity of ,southern ,zen to the teachings of ,laotse and the ,taoist ,conversationalists4 ,in the ,tao-teking we already find allusions to the importance of self-concentration and the need of properly regulating the breath--essential points in the practice of ,zen meditation4 ,some of the best commentaries on the ,book of ,laotse have been written by ,zen scholars4 ,zennism1 like ,taoism1 is the worship of ,relativity4 ,one master defines ,zen as the art of feeling the polar star in the southern sky4 ,truth can be reached only through the comprehension of opposites4 ,again1 ,zennism1 like ,taoism1 is a strong advocate of individualism4 ,nothing is real except that which concerns the working of our own minds4 ,yeno1 the sixth patriarch1 once saw two monks watching the flag of a pagoda fluttering in the wind4 ,one said ,it is the wind that moves1 the other said ,it is the flag that moves2 but ,yeno explained to them that the real movement was neither of the wind nor the flag1 but of something within their own minds4 ,hiakujo was walking in the forest with a disciple when a hare scurried off at their approach4 ,why does the hare fly from you8 asked ,hiakujo4 ,because he is afraid of me1 was the answer4 ,no1 said the master1 it is because you have murderous instinct4 ,the dialogue recalls that of ,soshi 7,chaungtse71 the ,taoist4 ,one day ,soshi was walking on the bank of a river with a friend4 ,how delightfully the fishes are enjoying themselves in the water6 exclaimed ,soshi4 ,his friend spake to him thus3 ,you are not a fish2 how do you know that the fishes are enjoying themselves8 ,you are not myself1 returned ,soshi2 how do you know that ,i do not know that the fishes are enjoying themselves8 ,zen was often opposed to the precepts of orthodox ,buddhism even as ,taoism was opposed to ,confucianism4 ,to the transcendental insight of the ,zen1 words were but an incumbrance to thought2 the whole sway of ,buddhist scriptures only commentaries on personal speculation4 ,the followers of ,zen aimed at direct communion with the inner nature of things1 regarding their outward accessories only as impediments to a clear perception of ,truth4 ,it was this love of the ,abstract that led the ,zen to prefer black and white sketches to the elaborately coloured paintings of the classic ,buddhist ,school4 ,some of the ,zen even became iconoclastic as a result of their endeavor to recognise the ,buddha in themselves rather than through images and symbolism4 ,we find ,tankawosho breaking up a wooden statue of ,buddha on a wintry day to make a fire4 ,what sacrilege6 said the horror-stricken bystander4 ,i wish to get the ,shali out of the ashes1 calmly rejoined the ,zen4 ,but you certainly will not get ,shali from this image6 was the angry retort1 to which ,tanka replied1 ,if ,i do not1 this is certainly not a ,buddha and ,i am committing no sacrilege4 ,then he turned to warm himself over the kindling fire4 ,a special contribution of ,zen to ,eastern thought was its recognition of the mundane as of equal importance with the spiritual4 ,it held that in the great relation of things there was no distinction of small and great1 an atom possessing equal possibilities with the universe4 ,the seeker for perfection must discover in his own life the reflection of the inner light4 ,the organisation of the ,zen monastery was very significant of this point of view4 ,to every member1 except the abbot1 was assigned some special work in the caretaking of the monastery1 and curiously enough1 to the novices was committed the lighter duties1 while to the most respected and advanced monks were given the more irksome and menial tasks4 ,such services formed a part of the ,zen discipline and every least action must be done absolutely perfectly4 ,thus many a weighty discussion ensued while weeding the garden1 paring a turnip1 or serving tea4 ,the whole ideal of ,teaism is a result of this ,zen conception of greatness in the smallest incidents of life4 ,taoism furnished the basis for aesthetic ideals1 ,zennism made them practical4 ,,iv4 ,the ,tea-,room ,to ,european architects brought up on the traditions of stone and brick construction1 our ,japanese method of building with wood and bamboo seems scarcely worthy to be ranked as architecture4 ,it is but quite recently that a competent student of ,western architecture has recognised and paid tribute to the remarkable perfection of our great temples4 ,such being the case as regards our classic architecture1 we could hardly expect the outsider to appreciate the subtle beauty of the tea-room1 its principles of construction and decoration being entirely different from those of the ,west4 ,the tea-room 7the ,sukiya7 does not pretend to be other than a mere cottage--a straw hut1 as we call it4 ,the original ideographs for ,sukiya mean the ,abode of ,fancy4 ,latterly the various tea-masters substituted various ,chinese characters according to their conception of the tea-room1 and the term ,sukiya may signify the ,abode of ,vacancy or the ,abode of the ,unsymmetrical4 ,it is an ,abode of ,fancy inasmuch as it is an ephemeral structure built to house a poetic impulse4 ,it is an ,abode of ,vacancy inasmuch as it is devoid of ornamentation except for what may be placed in it to satisfy some aesthetic need of the moment4 ,it is an ,abode of the ,unsymmetrical inasmuch as it is consecrated to the worship of the ,imperfect1 purposely leaving some thing unfinished for the play of the imagination to complete4 ,the ideals of ,teaism have since the sixteenth century influenced our architecture to such degree that the ordinary ,japanese interior of the present day1 on account of the extreme simplicity and chasteness of its scheme of decoration1 appears to foreigners almost barren4 ,the first independent tea-room was the creation of ,senno-,soyeki1 commonly known by his later name of ,rikiu1 the greatest of all tea-masters1 who1 in the sixteenth century1 under the patronage of ,taiko-,hideyoshi1 instituted and brought to a high state of perfection the formalities of the ,tea-ceremony4 ,the proportions of the tea-room had been previously determined by ,jowo--a famous tea-master of the fifteenth century4 ,the early tea-room consisted merely of a portion of the ordinary drawing-room partitioned off by screens for the purpose of the tea-gathering4 ,the portion partitioned off was called the ,kakoi 7enclosure71 a name still applied to those tea-rooms which are built into a house and are not independent constructions4 ,the ,sukiya consists of the tea-room proper1 designed to accommodate not more than five persons1 a number suggestive of the saying more than the ,graces and less than the ,muses1 an anteroom 7midsuya7 where the tea utensils are washed and arranged before being brought in1 a portico 7machiai7 in which the guests wait until they receive the summons to enter the tea-room1 and a garden path 7the roji7 which connects the machiai with the tea-room4 ,the tea-room is unimpressive in appearance4 ,it is smaller than the smallest of ,japanese houses1 while the materials used in its construction are intended to give the suggestion of refined poverty4 ,yet we must remember that all this is the result of profound artistic forethought1 and that the details have been worked out with care perhaps even greater than that expended on the building of the richest palaces and temples4 ,a good tea-room is more costly than an ordinary mansion1 for the selection of its materials1 as well as its workmanship1 requires immense care and precision4 ,indeed1 the carpenters employed by the tea-masters form a distinct and highly honoured class among artisans1 their work being no less delicate than that of the makers of lacquer cabinets4 ,the tea-room is not only different from any production of ,western architecture1 but also contrasts strongly with the classical architecture of ,japan itself4 ,our ancient noble edifices1 whether secular or ecclesiastical1 were not to be despised even as regards their mere size4 ,the few that have been spared in the disastrous conflagrations of centuries are still capable of aweing us by the grandeur and richness of their decoration4 ,huge pillars of wood from two to three feet in diameter and from thirty to forty feet high1 supported1 by a complicated network of brackets1 the enormous beams which groaned under the weight of the tile-covered roofs4 ,the material and mode of construction1 though weak against fire1 proved itself strong against earthquakes1 and was well suited to the climatic conditions of the country4 ,in the ,golden ,hall of ,horiuji and the ,pagoda of ,yakushiji1 we have noteworthy examples of the durability of our wooden architecture4 ,these buildings have practically stood intact for nearly twelve centuries4 ,the interior of the old temples and palaces was profusely decorated4 ,in the ,hoodo temple at ,uji1 dating from the tenth century1 we can still see the elaborate canopy and gilded baldachinos1 many-coloured and inlaid with mirrors and mother-of-pearl1 as well as remains of the paintings and sculpture which formerly covered the walls4 ,later1 at ,nikko and in the ,nijo castle in ,kyoto1 we see structural beauty sacrificed to a wealth of ornamentation which in colour and exquisite detail equals the utmost gorgeousness of ,arabian or ,moorish effort4 ,the simplicity and purism of the tea-room resulted from emulation of the ,zen monastery4 ,a ,zen monastery differs from those of other ,buddhist sects inasmuch as it is meant only to be a dwelling place for the monks4 ,its chapel is not a place of worship or pilgrimage1 but a college room where the students congregate for discussion and the practice of meditation4 ,the room is bare except for a central alcove in which1 behind the altar1 is a statue of ,bodhi ,dharma1 the founder of the sect1 or of ,sakyamuni attended by ,kashiapa and ,ananda1 the two earliest ,zen patriarchs4 ,on the altar1 flowers and incense are offered up in the memory of the great contributions which these sages made to ,zen4 ,we have already said that it was the ritual instituted by the ,zen monks of successively drinking tea out of a bowl before the image of ,bodhi ,dharma1 which laid the foundations of the tea-ceremony4 ,we might add here that the altar of the ,zen chapel was the prototype of the ,tokonoma1--the place of honour in a ,japanese room where paintings and flowers are placed for the edification of the guests4 ,all our great tea-masters were students of ,zen and attempted to introduce the spirit of ,zennism into the actualities of life4 ,thus the room1 like the other equipments of the tea-ceremony1 reflects many of the ,zen doctrines4 ,the size of the orthodox tea-room1 which is four mats and a half1 or ten feet square1 is determined by a passage in the ,sutra of ,vikramadytia4 ,in that interesting work1 ,vikramadytia welcomes the ,saint ,manjushiri and eighty-four thousand disciples of ,buddha in a room of this size1--an allegory based on the theory of the non-existence of space to the truly enlightened4 ,again the roji1 the garden path which leads from the machiai to the tea-room1 signified the first stage of meditation1--the passage into self-illumination4 ,the roji was intended to break connection with the outside world1 and produce a fresh sensation conducive to the full enjoyment of aestheticism in the tea-room itself4 ,one who has trodden this garden path cannot fail to remember how his spirit1 as he walked in the twilight of evergreens over the regular irregularities of the stepping stones1 beneath which lay dried pine needles1 and passed beside the moss-covered granite lanterns1 became uplifted above ordinary thoughts4 ,one may be in the midst of a city1 and yet feel as if he were in the forest far away from the dust and din of civilisation4 ,great was the ingenuity displayed by the tea-masters in producing these effects of serenity and purity4 ,the nature of the sensations to be aroused in passing through the roji differed with different tea-masters4 ,some1 like ,rikiu1 aimed at utter loneliness1 and claimed the secret of making a roji was contained in the ancient ditty3 ,i look beyond2 ,flowers are not1 ,nor tinted leaves4 ,on the sea beach ,a solitary cottage stands ,in the waning light ,of an autumn eve4 ,others1 like ,kobori-,enshiu1 sought for a different effect4 ,enshiu said the idea of the garden path was to be found in the following verses3 ,a cluster of summer trees1 ,a bit of the sea1 ,a pale evening moon4 ,it is not difficult to gather his meaning4 ,he wished to create the attitude of a newly awakened soul still lingering amid shadowy dreams of the past1 yet bathing in the sweet unconsciousness of a mellow spiritual light1 and yearning for the freedom that lay in the expanse beyond4 ,thus prepared the guest will silently approach the sanctuary1 and1 if a samurai1 will leave his sword on the rack beneath the eaves1 the tea-room being preeminently the house of peace4 ,then he will bend low and creep into the room through a small door not more than three feet in height4 ,this proceeding was incumbent on all guests1--high and low alike1--and was intended to inculcate humility4 ,the order of precedence having been mutually agreed upon while resting in the machiai1 the guests one by one will enter noiselessly and take their seats1 first making obeisance to the picture or flower arrangement on the tokonoma4 ,the host will not enter the room until all the guests have seated themselves and quiet reigns with nothing to break the silence save the note of the boiling water in the iron kettle4 ,the kettle sings well1 for pieces of iron are so arranged in the bottom as to produce a peculiar melody in which one may hear the echoes of a cataract muffled by clouds1 of a distant sea breaking among the rocks1 a rainstorm sweeping through a bamboo forest1 or of the soughing of pines on some faraway hill4 ,even in the daytime the light in the room is subdued1 for the low eaves of the slanting roof admit but few of the sun's rays4 ,everything is sober in tint from the ceiling to the floor2 the guests themselves have carefully chosen garments of unobtrusive colors4 ,the mellowness of age is over all1 everything suggestive of recent acquirement being tabooed save only the one note of contrast furnished by the bamboo dipper and the linen napkin1 both immaculately white and new4 ,however faded the tea-room and the tea-equipage may seem1 everything is absolutely clean4 ,not a particle of dust will be found in the darkest corner1 for if any exists the host is not a tea-master4 ,one of the first requisites of a tea-master is the knowledge of how to sweep1 clean1 and wash1 for there is an art in cleaning and dusting4 ,a piece of antique metal work must not be attacked with the unscrupulous zeal of the ,dutch housewife4 ,dripping water from a flower vase need not be wiped away1 for it may be suggestive of dew and coolness4 ,in this connection there is a story of ,rikiu which well illustrates the ideas of cleanliness entertained by the tea-masters4 ,rikiu was watching his son ,shoan as he swept and watered the garden path4 ,not clean enough1 said ,rikiu1 when ,shoan had finished his task1 and bade him try again4 ,after a weary hour the son turned to ,rikiu3 ,father1 there is nothing more to be done4 ,the steps have been washed for the third time1 the stone lanterns and the trees are well sprinkled with water1 moss and lichens are shining with a fresh verdure2 not a twig1 not a leaf have ,i left on the ground4 ,young fool1 chided the tea-master1 that is not the way a garden path should be swept4 ,saying this1 ,rikiu stepped into the garden1 shook a tree and scattered over the garden gold and crimson leaves1 scraps of the brocade of autumn6 ,what ,rikiu demanded was not cleanliness alone1 but the beautiful and the natural also4 ,the name1 ,abode of ,fancy1 implies a structure created to meet some individual artistic requirement4 ,the tea-room is made for the tea master1 not the tea-master for the tea-room4 ,it is not intended for posterity and is therefore ephemeral4 ,the idea that everyone should have a house of his own is based on an ancient custom of the ,japanese race1 ,shinto superstition ordaining that every dwelling should be evacuated on the death of its chief occupant4 ,perhaps there may have been some unrealized sanitary reason for this practice4 ,another early custom was that a newly built house should be provided for each couple that married4 ,it is on account of such customs that we find the ,imperial capitals so frequently removed from one site to another in ancient days4 ,the rebuilding1 every twenty years1 of ,ise ,temple1 the supreme shrine of the ,sun-,goddess1 is an example of one of these ancient rites which still obtain at the present day4 ,the observance of these customs was only possible with some form of construction as that furnished by our system of wooden architecture1 easily pulled down1 easily built up4 ,a more lasting style1 employing brick and stone1 would have rendered migrations impracticable1 as indeed they became when the more stable and massive wooden construction of ,china was adopted by us after the ,nara period4 ,with the predominance of ,zen individualism in the fifteenth century1 however1 the old idea became imbued with a deeper significance as conceived in connection with the tea-room4 ,zennism1 with the ,buddhist theory of evanescence and its demands for the mastery of spirit over matter1 recognized the house only as a temporary refuge for the body4 ,the body itself was but as a hut in the wilderness1 a flimsy shelter made by tying together the grasses that grew around1--when these ceased to be bound together they again became resolved into the original waste4 ,in the tea-room fugitiveness is suggested in the thatched roof1 frailty in the slender pillars1 lightness in the bamboo support1 apparent carelessness in the use of commonplace materials4 ,the eternal is to be found only in the spirit which1 embodied in these simple surroundings1 beautifies them with the subtle light of its refinement4 ,that the tea-room should be built to suit some individual taste is an enforcement of the principle of vitality in art4 ,art1 to be fully appreciated1 must be true to contemporaneous life4 ,it is not that we should ignore the claims of posterity1 but that we should seek to enjoy the present more4 ,it is not that we should disregard the creations of the past1 but that we should try to assimilate them into our consciousness4 ,slavish conformity to traditions and formulas fetters the expression of individuality in architecture4 ,we can but weep over the senseless imitations of ,european buildings which one beholds in modern ,japan4 ,we marvel why1 among the most progressive ,western nations1 architecture should be so devoid of originality1 so replete with repetitions of obsolete styles4 ,perhaps we are passing through an age of democratisation in art1 while awaiting the rise of some princely master who shall establish a new dynasty4 ,would that we loved the ancients more and copied them less6 ,it has been said that the ,greeks were great because they never drew from the antique4 ,the term1 ,abode of ,vacancy1 besides conveying the ,taoist theory of the all-containing1 involves the conception of a continued need of change in decorative motives4 ,the tea-room is absolutely empty1 except for what may be placed there temporarily to satisfy some aesthetic mood4 ,some special art object is brought in for the occasion1 and everything else is selected and arranged to enhance the beauty of the principal theme4 ,one cannot listen to different pieces of music at the same time1 a real comprehension of the beautiful being possible only through concentration upon some central motive4 ,thus it will be seen that the system of decoration in our tea-rooms is opposed to that which obtains in the ,west1 where the interior of a house is often converted into a museum4 ,to a ,japanese1 accustomed to simplicity of ornamentation and frequent change of decorative method1 a ,western interior permanently filled with a vast array of pictures1 statuary1 and bric-a-brac gives the impression of mere vulgar display of riches4 ,it calls for a mighty wealth of appreciation to enjoy the constant sight of even a masterpiece1 and limitless indeed must be the capacity for artistic feeling in those who can exist day after day in the midst of such confusion of color and form as is to be often seen in the homes of ,europe and ,america4 ,the ,abode of the ,unsymmetrical suggests another phase of our decorative scheme4 ,the absence of symmetry in ,japanese art objects has been often commented on by ,western critics4 ,this1 also1 is a result of a working out through ,zennism of ,taoist ideals4 ,confucianism1 with its deep-seated idea of dualism1 and ,northern ,buddhism with its worship of a trinity1 were in no way opposed to the expression of symmetry4 ,as a matter of fact1 if we study the ancient bronzes of ,china or the religious arts of the ,tang dynasty and the ,nara period1 we shall recognize a constant striving after symmetry4 ,the decoration of our classical interiors was decidedly regular in its arrangement4 ,the ,taoist and ,zen conception of perfection1 however1 was different4 ,the dynamic nature of their philosophy laid more stress upon the process through which perfection was sought than upon perfection itself4 ,true beauty could be discovered only by one who mentally completed the incomplete4 ,the virility of life and art lay in its possibilities for growth4 ,in the tea-room it is left for each guest in imagination to complete the total effect in relation to himself4 ,since ,zennism has become the prevailing mode of thought1 the art of the extreme ,orient has purposefully avoided the symmetrical as expressing not only completion1 but repetition4 ,uniformity of design was considered fatal to the freshness of imagination4 ,thus1 landscapes1 birds1 and flowers became the favorite subjects for depiction rather than the human figure1 the latter being present in the person of the beholder himself4 ,we are often too much in evidence as it is1 and in spite of our vanity even self-regard is apt to become monotonous4 ,in the tea-room the fear of repetition is a constant presence4 ,the various objects for the decoration of a room should be so selected that no colour or design shall be repeated4 ,if you have a living flower1 a painting of flowers is not allowable4 ,if you are using a round kettle1 the water pitcher should be angular4 ,a cup with a black glaze should not be associated with a tea-caddy of black lacquer4 ,in placing a vase of an incense burner on the tokonoma1 care should be taken not to put it in the exact centre1 lest it divide the space into equal halves4 ,the pillar of the tokonoma should be of a different kind of wood from the other pillars1 in order to break any suggestion of monotony in the room4 ,here again the ,japanese method of interior decoration differs from that of the ,occident1 where we see objects arrayed symmetrically on mantelpieces and elsewhere4 ,in ,western houses we are often confronted with what appears to us useless reiteration4 ,we find it trying to talk to a man while his full-length portrait stares at us from behind his back4 ,we wonder which is real1 he of the picture or he who talks1 and feel a curious conviction that one of them must be fraud4 ,many a time have we sat at a festive board contemplating1 with a secret shock to our digestion1 the representation of abundance on the dining-room walls4 ,why these pictured victims of chase and sport1 the elaborate carvings of fishes and fruit8 ,why the display of family plates1 reminding us of those who have dined and are dead8 ,the simplicity of the tea-room and its freedom from vulgarity make it truly a sanctuary from the vexations of the outer world4 ,there and there alone one can consecrate himself to undisturbed adoration of the beautiful4 ,in the sixteenth century the tea-room afforded a welcome respite from labour to the fierce warriors and statesmen engaged in the unification and reconstruction of ,japan4 ,in the seventeenth century1 after the strict formalism of the ,tokugawa rule had been developed1 it offered the only opportunity possible for the free communion of artistic spirits4 ,before a great work of art there was no distinction between daimyo1 samurai1 and commoner4 ,nowadays industrialism is making true refinement more and more difficult all the world over4 ,do we not need the tea-room more than ever8 ,v4 ,art ,appreciation ,have you heard the ,taoist tale of the ,taming of the ,harp8 ,once in the hoary ages in the ,ravine of ,lungmen stood a ,kiri tree1 a veritable king of the forest4 ,it reared its head to talk to the stars2 its roots struck deep into the earth1 mingling their bronzed coils with those of the silver dragon that slept beneath4 ,and it came to pass that a mighty wizard made of this tree a wondrous harp1 whose stubborn spirit should be tamed but by the greatest of musicians4 ,for long the instrument was treasured by the ,emperor of ,china1 but all in vain were the efforts of those who in turn tried to draw melody from its strings4 ,in response to their utmost strivings there came from the harp but harsh notes of disdain1 ill-according with the songs they fain would sing4 ,the harp refused to recognise a master4 ,at last came ,peiwoh1 the prince of harpists4 ,with tender hand he caressed the harp as one might seek to soothe an unruly horse1 and softly touched the chords4 ,he sang of nature and the seasons1 of high mountains and flowing waters1 and all the memories of the tree awoke6 ,once more the sweet breath of spring played amidst its branches4 ,the young cataracts1 as they danced down the ravine1 laughed to the budding flowers4 ,anon were heard the dreamy voices of summer with its myriad insects1 the gentle pattering of rain1 the wail of the cuckoo4 ,hark6 a tiger roars1--the valley answers again4 ,it is autumn2 in the desert night1 sharp like a sword gleams the moon upon the frosted grass4 ,now winter reigns1 and through the snow-filled air swirl flocks of swans and rattling hailstones beat upon the boughs with fierce delight4 ,then ,peiwoh changed the key and sang of love4 ,the forest swayed like an ardent swain deep lost in thought4 ,on high1 like a haughty maiden1 swept a cloud bright and fair2 but passing1 trailed long shadows on the ground1 black like despair4 ,again the mode was changed2 ,peiwoh sang of war1 of clashing steel and trampling steeds4 ,and in the harp arose the tempest of ,lungmen1 the dragon rode the lightning1 the thundering avalanche crashed through the hills4 ,in ecstasy the ,celestial monarch asked ,peiwoh wherein lay the secret of his victory4 ,sire1 he replied1 others have failed because they sang but of themselves4 ,i left the harp to choose its theme1 and knew not truly whether the harp had been ,peiwoh or ,peiwoh were the harp4 ,this story well illustrates the mystery of art appreciation4 ,the masterpiece is a symphony played upon our finest feelings4 ,true art is ,peiwoh1 and we the harp of ,lungmen4 ,at the magic touch of the beautiful the secret chords of our being are awakened1 we vibrate and thrill in response to its call4 ,mind speaks to mind4 ,we listen to the unspoken1 we gaze upon the unseen4 ,the master calls forth notes we know not of4 ,memories long forgotten all come back to us with a new significance4 ,hopes stifled by fear1 yearnings that we dare not recognise1 stand forth in new glory4 ,our mind is the canvas on which the artists lay their colour2 their pigments are our emotions2 their chiaroscuro the light of joy1 the shadow of sadness4 ,the masterpiece is of ourselves1 as we are of the masterpiece4 ,the sympathetic communion of minds necessary for art appreciation must be based on mutual concession4 ,the spectator must cultivate the proper attitude for receiving the message1 as the artist must know how to impart it4 ,the tea-master1 ,kobori-,enshiu1 himself a daimyo1 has left to us these memorable words3 ,approach a great painting as thou wouldst approach a great prince4 ,in order to understand a masterpiece1 you must lay yourself low before it and await with bated breath its least utterance4 ,an eminent ,sung critic once made a charming confession4 ,said he3 ,in my young days ,i praised the master whose pictures ,i liked1 but as my judgement matured ,i praised myself for liking what the masters had chosen to have me like4 ,it is to be deplored that so few of us really take pains to study the moods of the masters4 ,in our stubborn ignorance we refuse to render them this simple courtesy1 and thus often miss the rich repast of beauty spread before our very eyes4 ,a master has always something to offer1 while we go hungry solely because of our own lack of appreciation4 ,to the sympathetic a masterpiece becomes a living reality towards which we feel drawn in bonds of comradeship4 ,the masters are immortal1 for their loves and fears live in us over and over again4 ,it is rather the soul than the hand1 the man than the technique1 which appeals to us1--the more human the call the deeper is our response4 ,it is because of this secret understanding between the master and ourselves that in poetry or romance we suffer and rejoice with the hero and heroine4 ,chikamatsu1 our ,japanese ,shakespeare1 has laid down as one of the first principles of dramatic composition the importance of taking the audience into the confidence of the author4 ,several of his pupils submitted plays for his approval1 but only one of the pieces appealed to him4 ,it was a play somewhat resembling the ,comedy of ,errors1 in which twin brethren suffer through mistaken identity4 ,this1 said ,chikamatsu1 has the proper spirit of the drama1 for it takes the audience into consideration4 ,the public is permitted to know more than the actors4 ,it knows where the mistake lies1 and pities the poor figures on the board who innocently rush to their fate4 ,the great masters both of the ,east and the ,west never forgot the value of suggestion as a means for taking the spectator into their confidence4 ,who can contemplate a masterpiece without being awed by the immense vista of thought presented to our consideration8 ,how familiar and sympathetic are they all2 how cold in contrast the modern commonplaces6 ,in the former we feel the warm outpouring of a man's heart2 in the latter only a formal salute4 ,engrossed in his technique1 the modern rarely rises above himself4 ,like the musicians who vainly invoked the ,lungmen harp1 he sings only of himself4 ,his works may be nearer science1 but are further from humanity4 ,we have an old saying in ,japan that a woman cannot love a man who is truly vain1 for their is no crevice in his heart for love to enter and fill up4 ,in art vanity is equally fatal to sympathetic feeling1 whether on the part of the artist or the public4 ,nothing is more hallowing than the union of kindred spirits in art4 ,at the moment of meeting1 the art lover transcends himself4 ,at once he is and is not4 ,he catches a glimpse of ,infinity1 but words cannot voice his delight1 for the eye has no tongue4 ,freed from the fetters of matter1 his spirit moves in the rhythm of things4 ,it is thus that art becomes akin to religion and ennobles mankind4 ,it is this which makes a masterpiece something sacred4 ,in the old days the veneration in which the ,japanese held the work of the great artist was intense4 ,the tea-masters guarded their treasures with religious secrecy1 and it was often necessary to open a whole series of boxes1 one within another1 before reaching the shrine itself--the silken wrapping within whose soft folds lay the holy of holies4 ,rarely was the object exposed to view1 and then only to the initiated4 ,at the time when ,teaism was in the ascendency the ,taiko's generals would be better satisfied with the present of a rare work of art than a large grant of territory as a reward of victory4 ,many of our favourite dramas are based on the loss and recovery of a noted masterpiece4 ,for instance1 in one play the palace of ,lord ,hosokawa1 in which was preserved the celebrated painting of ,dharuma by ,sesson1 suddenly takes fire through the negligence of the samurai in charge4 ,resolved at all hazards to rescue the precious painting1 he rushes into the burning building and seizes the kakemono1 only to find all means of exit cut off by the flames4 ,thinking only of the picture1 he slashes open his body with his sword1 wraps his torn sleeve about the ,sesson and plunges it into the gaping wound4 ,the fire is at last extinguished4 ,among the smoking embers is found a half-consumed corpse1 within which reposes the treasure uninjured by the fire4 ,horrible as such tales are1 they illustrate the great value that we set upon a masterpiece1 as well as the devotion of a trusted samurai4 ,we must remember1 however1 that art is of value only to the extent that it speaks to us4 ,it might be a universal language if we ourselves were universal in our sympathies4 ,our finite nature1 the power of tradition and conventionality1 as well as our hereditary instincts1 restrict the scope of our capacity for artistic enjoyment4 ,our very individuality establishes in one sense a limit to our understanding2 and our aesthetic personality seeks its own affinities in the creations of the past4 ,it is true that with cultivation our sense of art appreciation broadens1 and we become able to enjoy many hitherto unrecognised expressions of beauty4 ,but1 after all1 we see only our own image in the universe1--our particular idiosyncracies dictate the mode of our perceptions4 ,the tea-masters collected only objects which fell strictly within the measure of their individual appreciation4 ,one is reminded in this connection of a story concerning ,kobori-,enshiu4 ,enshiu was complimented by his disciples on the admirable taste he had displayed in the choice of his collection4 ,said they1 ,each piece is such that no one could help admiring4 ,it shows that you had better taste than had ,rikiu1 for his collection could only be appreciated by one beholder in a thousand4 ,sorrowfully ,enshiu replied3 ,this only proves how commonplace ,i am4 ,the great ,rikiu dared to love only those objects which personally appealed to him1 whereas ,i unconsciously cater to the taste of the majority4 ,verily1 ,rikiu was one in a thousand among tea-masters4 ,it is much to be regretted that so much of the apparent enthusiasm for art at the present day has no foundation in real feeling4 ,in this democratic age of ours men clamour for what is popularly considered the best1 regardless of their feelings4 ,they want the costly1 not the refined2 the fashionable1 not the beautiful4 ,to the masses1 contemplation of illustrated periodicals1 the worthy product of their own industrialism1 would give more digestible food for artistic enjoyment than the early ,italians or the ,ashikaga masters1 whom they pretend to admire4 ,the name of the artist is more important to them than the quality of the work4 ,as a ,chinese critic complained many centuries ago1 ,people criticise a picture by their ear4 ,it is this lack of genuine appreciation that is responsible for the pseudo-classic horrors that to-day greet us wherever we turn4 ,another common mistake is that of confusing art with archaeology4 ,the veneration born of antiquity is one of the best traits in the human character1 and fain would we have it cultivated to a greater extent4 ,the old masters are rightly to be honoured for opening the path to future enlightenment4 ,the mere fact that they have passed unscathed through centuries of criticism and come down to us still covered with glory commands our respect4 ,but we should be foolish indeed if we valued their achievement simply on the score of age4 ,yet we allow our historical sympathy to override our aesthetic discrimination4 ,we offer flowers of approbation when the artist is safely laid in his grave4 ,the nineteenth century1 pregnant with the theory of evolution1 has moreover created in us the habit of losing sight of the individual in the species4 ,a collector is anxious to acquire specimens to illustrate a period or a school1 and forgets that a single masterpiece can teach us more than any number of the mediocre products of a given period or school4 ,we classify too much and enjoy too little4 ,the sacrifice of the aesthetic to the so-called scientific method of exhibition has been the bane of many museums4 ,the claims of contemporary art cannot be ignored in any vital scheme of life4 ,the art of to-day is that which really belongs to us3 it is our own reflection4 ,in condemning it we but condemn ourselves4 ,we say that the present age possesses no art3--who is responsible for this8 ,it is indeed a shame that despite all our rhapsodies about the ancients we pay so little attention to our own possibilities4 ,struggling artists1 weary souls lingering in the shadow of cold disdain6 ,in our self-centered century1 what inspiration do we offer them8 ,the past may well look with pity at the poverty of our civilisation2 the future will laugh at the barrenness of our art4 ,we are destroying the beautiful in life4 ,would that some great wizard might from the stem of society shape a mighty harp whose strings would resound to the touch of genius4 ,,vi4 ,flowers ,in the trembling grey of a spring dawn1 when the birds were whispering in mysterious cadence among the trees1 have you not felt that they were talking to their mates about the flowers8 ,surely with mankind the appreciation of flowers must have been coeval with the poetry of love4 ,where better than in a flower1 sweet in its unconsciousness1 fragrant because of its silence1 can we image the unfolding of a virgin soul8 ,the primeval man in offering the first garland to his maiden thereby transcended the brute4 ,he became human in thus rising above the crude necessities of nature4 ,he entered the realm of art when he perceived the subtle use of the useless4 ,in joy or sadness1 flowers are our constant friends4 ,we eat1 drink1 sing1 dance1 and flirt with them4 ,we wed and christen with flowers4 ,we dare not die without them4 ,we have worshipped with the lily1 we have meditated with the lotus1 we have charged in battle array with the rose and the chrysanthemum4 ,we have even attempted to speak in the language of flowers4 ,how could we live without them8 ,it frightens one to conceive of a world bereft of their presence4 ,what solace do they not bring to the bedside of the sick1 what a light of bliss to the darkness of weary spirits8 ,their serene tenderness restores to us our waning confidence in the universe even as the intent gaze of a beautiful child recalls our lost hopes4 ,when we are laid low in the dust it is they who linger in sorrow over our graves4 ,sad as it is1 we cannot conceal the fact that in spite of our companionship with flowers we have not risen very far above the brute4 ,scratch the sheepskin and the wolf within us will soon show his teeth4 ,it has been said that a man at ten is an animal1 at twenty a lunatic1 at thirty a failure1 at forty a fraud1 and at fifty a criminal4 ,perhaps he becomes a criminal because he has never ceased to be an animal4 ,nothing is real to us but hunger1 nothing sacred except our own desires4 ,shrine after shrine has crumbled before our eyes2 but one altar is forever preserved1 that whereon we burn incense to the supreme idol1--ourselves4 ,our god is great1 and money is his ,prophet6 ,we devastate nature in order to make sacrifice to him4 ,we boast that we have conquered ,matter and forget that it is ,matter that has enslaved us4 ,what atrocities do we not perpetrate in the name of culture and refinement6 ,tell me1 gentle flowers1 teardrops of the stars1 standing in the garden1 nodding your heads to the bees as they sing of the dews and the sunbeams1 are you aware of the fearful doom that awaits you8 ,dream on1 sway and frolic while you may in the gentle breezes of summer4 ,to-morrow a ruthless hand will close around your throats4 ,you will be wrenched1 torn asunder limb by limb1 and borne away from your quiet homes4 ,the wretch1 she may be passing fair4 ,she may say how lovely you are while her fingers are still moist with your blood4 ,tell me1 will this be kindness8 ,it may be your fate to be imprisoned in the hair of one whom you know to be heartless or to be thrust into the buttonhole of one who would not dare to look you in the face were you a man4 ,it may even be your lot to be confined in some narrow vessel with only stagnant water to quench the maddening thirst that warns of ebbing life4 ,flowers1 if you were in the land of the ,mikado1 you might some time meet a dread personage armed with scissors and a tiny saw4 ,he would call himself a ,master of ,flowers4 ,he would claim the rights of a doctor and you would instinctively hate him1 for you know a doctor always seeks to prolong the troubles of his victims4 ,he would cut1 bend1 and twist you into those impossible positions which he thinks it proper that you should assume4 ,he would contort your muscles and dislocate your bones like any osteopath4 ,he would burn you with red-hot coals to stop your bleeding1 and thrust wires into you to assist your circulation4 ,he would diet you with salt1 vinegar1 alum1 and sometimes1 vitriol4 ,boiling water would be poured on your feet when you seemed ready to faint4 ,it would be his boast that he could keep life within you for two or more weeks longer than would have been possible without his treatment4 ,would you not have preferred to have been killed at once when you were first captured8 ,what were the crimes you must have committed during your past incarnation to warrant such punishment in this8 ,the wanton waste of flowers among ,western communities is even more appalling than the way they are treated by ,eastern ,flower ,masters4 ,the number of flowers cut daily to adorn the ballrooms and banquet-tables of ,europe and ,america1 to be thrown away on the morrow1 must be something enormous2 if strung together they might garland a continent4 ,beside this utter carelessness of life1 the guilt of the ,flower-,master becomes insignificant4 ,he1 at least1 respects the economy of nature1 selects his victims with careful foresight1 and after death does honour to their remains4 ,in the ,west the display of flowers seems to be a part of the pageantry of wealth1--the fancy of a moment4 ,whither do they all go1 these flowers1 when the revelry is over8 ,nothing is more pitiful than to see a faded flower remorselessly flung upon a dung heap4 ,why were the flowers born so beautiful and yet so hapless8 ,insects can sting1 and even the meekest of beasts will fight when brought to bay4 ,the birds whose plumage is sought to deck some bonnet can fly from its pursuer1 the furred animal whose coat you covet for your own may hide at your approach4 ,alas6 ,the only flower known to have wings is the butterfly2 all others stand helpless before the destroyer4 ,if they shriek in their death agony their cry never reaches our hardened ears4 ,we are ever brutal to those who love and serve us in silence1 but the time may come when1 for our cruelty1 we shall be deserted by these best friends of ours4 ,have you not noticed that the wild flowers are becoming scarcer every year8 ,it may be that their wise men have told them to depart till man becomes more human4 ,perhaps they have migrated to heaven4 ,much may be said in favor of him who cultivates plants4 ,the man of the pot is far more humane than he of the scissors4 ,we watch with delight his concern about water and sunshine1 his feuds with parasites1 his horror of frosts1 his anxiety when the buds come slowly1 his rapture when the leaves attain their lustre4 ,in the ,east the art of floriculture is a very ancient one1 and the loves of a poet and his favorite plant have often been recorded in story and song4 ,with the development of ceramics during the ,tang and ,sung dynasties we hear of wonderful receptacles made to hold plants1 not pots1 but jewelled palaces4 ,a special attendant was detailed to wait upon each flower and to wash its leaves with soft brushes made of rabbit hair4 ,it has been written ,pingtse1 by ,yuenchunlang that the peony should be bathed by a handsome maiden in full costume1 that a winter-plum should be watered by a pale1 slender monk4 ,in ,japan1 one of the most popular of the ,no-dances1 the ,hachinoki1 composed during the ,ashikaga period1 is based upon the story of an impoverished knight1 who1 on a freezing night1 in lack of fuel for a fire1 cuts his cherished plants in order to entertain a wandering friar4 ,the friar is in reality no other than ,hojo-,tokiyori1 the ,haroun-,al-,raschid of our tales1 and the sacrifice is not without its reward4 ,this opera never fails to draw tears from a ,tokio audience even to-day4 ,great precautions were taken for the preservation of delicate blossoms4 ,emperor ,huensung1 of the ,tang ,dynasty1 hung tiny golden bells on the branches in his garden to keep off the birds4 ,he it was who went off in the springtime with his court musicians to gladden the flowers with soft music4 ,a quaint tablet1 which tradition ascribes to ,yoshitsune1 the hero of our ,arthurian legends1 is still extant in one of the ,japanese monasteries ,sumadera1 near ,kobe4 ,it is a notice put up for the protection of a certain wonderful plum-tree1 and appeals to us with the grim humour of a warlike age4 ,after referring to the beauty of the blossoms1 the inscription says3 ,whoever cuts a single branch of this tree shall forfeit a finger therefor4 ,would that such laws could be enforced nowadays against those who wantonly destroy flowers and mutilate objects of art6 ,yet even in the case of pot flowers we are inclined to suspect the selfishness of man4 ,why take the plants from their homes and ask them to bloom mid strange surroundings8 ,is it not like asking the birds to sing and mate cooped up in cages8 ,who knows but that the orchids feel stifled by the artificial heat in your conservatories and hopelessly long for a glimpse of their own ,southern skies8 ,the ideal lover of flowers is he who visits them in their native haunts1 like ,taoyuenming all celebrated ,chinese poets and philosophers1 who sat before a broken bamboo fence in converse with the wild chrysanthemum1 or ,linwosing1 losing himself amid mysterious fragrance as he wandered in the twilight among the plum-blossoms of the ,western ,lake4 ',tis said that ,chowmushih slept in a boat so that his dreams might mingle with those of the lotus4 ,it was the same spirit which moved the ,empress ,komio1 one of our most renowned ,nara sovereigns1 as she sang3 ,if ,i pluck thee1 my hand will defile thee1 ,o flower6 ,standing in the meadows as thou art1 ,i offer thee to the ,buddhas of the past1 of the present1 of the future4 ,however1 let us not be too sentimental4 ,let us be less luxurious but more magnificent4 ,said ,laotse3 ,heaven and earth are pitiless4 ,said ,kobodaishi3 ,flow1 flow1 flow1 flow1 the current of life is ever onward4 ,die1 die1 die1 die1 death comes to all4 ,destruction faces us wherever we turn4 ,destruction below and above1 destruction behind and before4 ,change is the only ,eternal1--why not as welcome ,death as ,life8 ,they are but counterparts one of the other1--,the ,night and ,day of ,brahma4 ,through the disintegration of the old1 re-creation becomes possible4 ,we have worshipped ,death1 the relentless goddess of mercy1 under many different names4 ,it was the shadow of the ,all-devouring that the ,gheburs greeted in the fire4 ,it is the icy purism of the sword-soul before which ,shinto-,japan prostrates herself even to-day4 ,the mystic fire consumes our weakness1 the sacred sword cleaves the bondage of desire4 ,from our ashes springs the phoenix of celestial hope1 out of the freedom comes a higher realisation of manhood4 ,why not destroy flowers if thereby we can evolve new forms ennobling the world idea8 ,we only ask them to join in our sacrifice to the beautiful4 ,we shall atone for the deed by consecrating ourselves to ,purity and ,simplicity4 ,thus reasoned the tea-masters when they established the ,cult of ,flowers4 ,anyone acquainted with the ways of our tea- and flower-masters must have noticed the religious veneration with which they regard flowers4 ,they do not cull at random1 but carefully select each branch or spray with an eye to the artistic composition they have in mind4 ,they would be ashamed should they chance to cut more than were absolutely necessary4 ,it may be remarked in this connection that they always associate the leaves1 if there be any1 with the flower1 for the object is to present the whole beauty of plant life4 ,in this respect1 as in many others1 their method differs from that pursued in ,western countries4 ,here we are apt to see only the flower stems1 heads as it were1 without body1 stuck promiscuously into a vase4 ,when a tea-master has arranged a flower to his satisfaction he will place it on the tokonoma1 the place of honour in a ,japanese room4 ,nothing else will be placed near it which might interfere with its effect1 not even a painting1 unless there be some special aesthetic reason for the combination4 ,it rests there like an enthroned prince1 and the guests or disciples on entering the room will salute it with a profound bow before making their addresses to the host4 ,drawings from masterpieces are made and published for the edification of amateurs4 ,the amount of literature on the subject is quite voluminous4 ,when the flower fades1 the master tenderly consigns it to the river or carefully buries it in the ground4 ,monuments are sometimes erected to their memory4 ,the birth of the ,art of ,flower ,arrangement seems to be simultaneous with that of ,teaism in the fifteenth century4 ,our legends ascribe the first flower arrangement to those early ,buddhist saints who gathered the flowers strewn by the storm and1 in their infinite solicitude for all living things1 placed them in vessels of water4 ,it is said that ,soami1 the great painter and connoisseur of the court of ,ashikaga-,yoshimasa1 was one of the earliest adepts at it4 ,juko1 the tea-master1 was one of his pupils1 as was also ,senno1 the founder of the house of ,ikenobo1 a family as illustrious in the annals of flowers as was that of the ,kanos in painting4 ,with the perfecting of the tea-ritual under ,rikiu1 in the latter part of the sixteenth century1 flower arrangement also attains its full growth4 ,rikiu and his successors1 the celebrated ,oda-wuraka1 ,furuka-,oribe1 ,koyetsu1 ,kobori-,enshiu1 ,katagiri-,sekishiu1 vied with each other in forming new combinations4 ,we must remember1 however1 that the flower-worship of the tea-masters formed only a part of their aesthetic ritual1 and was not a distinct religion by itself4 ,a flower arrangement1 like the other works of art in the tea-room1 was subordinated to the total scheme of decoration4 ,thus ,sekishiu ordained that white plum blossoms should not be made use of when snow lay in the garden4 ,noisy flowers were relentlessly banished from the tea-room4 ,a flower arrangement by a tea-master loses its significance if removed from the place for which it was originally intended1 for its lines and proportions have been specially worked out with a view to its surroundings4 ,the adoration of the flower for its own sake begins with the rise of ,flower-,masters1 toward the middle of the seventeenth century4 ,it now becomes independent of the tea-room and knows no law save that the vase imposes on it4 ,new conceptions and methods of execution now become possible1 and many were the principles and schools resulting therefrom4 ,a writer in the middle of the last century said he could count over one hundred different schools of flower arrangement4 ,broadly speaking1 these divide themselves into two main branches1 the ,formalistic and the ,naturalesque4 ,the ,formalistic schools1 led by the ,ikenobos1 aimed at a classic idealism corresponding to that of the ,kano-academicians4 ,we possess records of arrangements by the early masters of the school which almost reproduce the flower paintings of ,sansetsu and ,tsunenobu4 ,the ,naturalesque school1 on the other hand1 accepted nature as its model1 only imposing such modifications of form as conduced to the expression of artistic unity4 ,thus we recognise in its works the same impulses which formed the ,ukiyoe and ,shijo schools of painting4 ,it would be interesting1 had we time1 to enter more fully than it is now possible into the laws of composition and detail formulated by the various flower-masters of this period1 showing1 as they would1 the fundamental theories which governed ,tokugawa decoration4 ,we find them referring to the ,leading ,principle 7,heaven71 the ,subordinate ,principle 7,earth71 the ,reconciling ,principle 7,man71 and any flower arrangement which did not embody these principles was considered barren and dead4 ,they also dwelt much on the importance of treating a flower in its three different aspects1 the ,formal1 the ,semi-,formal1 and the ,informal4 ,the first might be said to represent flowers in the stately costume of the ballroom1 the second in the easy elegance of afternoon dress1 the third in the charming deshabille of the boudoir4 ,our personal sympathies are with the flower-arrangements of the tea-master rather than with those of the flower-master4 ,the former is art in its proper setting and appeals to us on account of its true intimacy with life4 ,we should like to call this school the ,natural in contradistinction to the ,naturalesque and ,formalistic schools4 ,the tea-master deems his duty ended with the selection of the flowers1 and leaves them to tell their own story4 ,entering a tea-room in late winter1 you may see a slender spray of wild cherries in combination with a budding camellia2 it is an echo of departing winter coupled with the prophecy of spring4 ,again1 if you go into a noon-tea on some irritatingly hot summer day1 you may discover in the darkened coolness of the tokonoma a single lily in a hanging vase2 dripping with dew1 it seems to smile at the foolishness of life4 ,a solo of flowers is interesting1 but in a concerto with painting and sculpture the combination becomes entrancing4 ,sekishiu once placed some water-plants in a flat receptacle to suggest the vegetation of lakes and marshes1 and on the wall above he hung a painting by ,soami of wild ducks flying in the air4 ,shoha1 another tea-master1 combined a poem on the ,beauty of ,solitude by the ,sea with a bronze incense burner in the form of a fisherman's hut and some wild flowers of the beach4 ,one of the guests has recorded that he felt in the whole composition the breath of waning autumn4 ,flower stories are endless4 ,we shall recount but one more4 ,in the sixteenth century the morning-glory was as yet a rare plant with us4 ,rikiu had an entire garden planted with it1 which he cultivated with assiduous care4 ,the fame of his convulvuli reached the ear of the ,taiko1 and he expressed a desire to see them1 in consequence of which ,rikiu invited him to a morning tea at his house4 ,on the appointed day ,taiko walked through the garden1 but nowhere could he see any vestige of the convulvulus4 ,the ground had been leveled and strewn with fine pebbles and sand4 ,with sullen anger the despot entered the tea-room1 but a sight waited him there which completely restored his humour4 ,on the tokonoma1 in a rare bronze of ,sung workmanship1 lay a single morning-glory--the queen of the whole garden6 ,in such instances we see the full significance of the ,flower ,sacrifice4 ,perhaps the flowers appreciate the full significance of it4 ,they are not cowards1 like men4 ,some flowers glory in death--certainly the ,japanese cherry blossoms do1 as they freely surrender themselves to the winds4 ,anyone who has stood before the fragrant avalanche at ,yoshino or ,arashiyama must have realized this4 ,for a moment they hover like bejewelled clouds and dance above the crystal streams2 then1 as they sail away on the laughing waters1 they seem to say3 ,farewell1 ,o ,spring6 ,we are on to eternity4 ,,vii4 ,tea-,masters ,in religion the ,future is behind us4 ,in art the present is the eternal4 ,the tea-masters held that real appreciation of art is only possible to those who make of it a living influence4 ,thus they sought to regulate their daily life by the high standard of refinement which obtained in the tea-room4 ,in all circumstances serenity of mind should be maintained1 and conversation should be conducted as never to mar the harmony of the surroundings4 ,the cut and color of the dress1 the poise of the body1 and the manner of walking could all be made expressions of artistic personality4 ,these were matters not to be lightly ignored1 for until one has made himself beautiful he has no right to approach beauty4 ,thus the tea-master strove to be something more than the artist1--art itself4 ,it was the ,zen of aestheticism4 ,perfection is everywhere if we only choose to recognise it4 ,rikiu loved to quote an old poem which says3 ,to those who long only for flowers1 fain would ,i show the full-blown spring which abides in the toiling buds of snow-covered hills4 ,manifold indeed have been the contributions of the tea-masters to art4 ,they completely revolutionised the classical architecture and interior decorations1 and established the new style which we have described in the chapter of the tea-room1 a style to whose influence even the palaces and monasteries built after the sixteenth century have all been subject4 ,the many-sided ,kobori-,enshiu has left notable examples of his genius in the ,imperial villa of ,katsura1 the castles of ,nagoya and ,nijo1 and the monastery of ,kohoan4 ,all the celebrated gardens of ,japan were laid out by the tea-masters4 ,our pottery would probably never have attained its high quality of excellence if the tea-masters had not lent it to their inspiration1 the manufacture of the utensils used in the tea-ceremony calling forth the utmost expenditure of ingenuity on the parts of our ceramists4 ,the ,seven ,kilns of ,enshiu are well known to all students of ,japanese pottery4 ,many of our textile fabrics bear the names of tea-masters who conceived their color or design4 ,it is impossible1 indeed1 to find any department of art in which the tea-masters have not left marks of their genius4 ,in painting and lacquer it seems almost superfluous to mention the immense services they have rendered4 ,one of the greatest schools of painting owes its origin to the tea-master ,honnami-,koyetsu1 famed also as a lacquer artist and potter4 ,beside his works1 the splendid creation of his grandson1 ,koho1 and of his grand-nephews1 ,korin and ,kenzan1 almost fall into the shade4 ,the whole ,korin school1 as it is generally designated1 is an expression of ,teaism4 ,in the broad lines of this school we seem to find the vitality of nature herself4 ,great as has been the influence of the tea-masters in the field of art1 it is as nothing compared to that which they have exerted on the conduct of life4 ,not only in the usages of polite society1 but also in the arrangement of all our domestic details1 do we feel the presence of the tea-masters4 ,many of our delicate dishes1 as well as our way of serving food1 are their inventions4 ,they have taught us to dress only in garments of sober colors4 ,they have instructed us in the proper spirit in which to approach flowers4 ,they have given emphasis to our natural love of simplicity1 and shown us the beauty of humility4 ,in fact1 through their teachings tea has entered the life of the people4 ,those of us who know not the secret of properly regulating our own existence on this tumultuous sea of foolish troubles which we call life are constantly in a state of misery while vainly trying to appear happy and contented4 ,we stagger in the attempt to keep our moral equilibrium1 and see forerunners of the tempest in every cloud that floats on the horizon4 ,yet there is joy and beauty in the roll of billows as they sweep outward toward eternity4 ,why not enter into their spirit1 or1 like ,liehtse1 ride upon the hurricane itself8 ,he only who has lived with the beautiful can die beautifully4 ,the last moments of the great tea-masters were as full of exquisite refinement as had been their lives4 ,seeking always to be in harmony with the great rhythm of the universe1 they were ever prepared to enter the unknown4 ,the ,last ,tea of ,rikiu will stand forth forever as the acme of tragic grandeur4 ,long had been the friendship between ,rikiu and the ,taiko-,hideyoshi1 and high the estimation in which the great warrior held the tea-master4 ,but the friendship of a despot is ever a dangerous honour4 ,it was an age rife with treachery1 and men trusted not even their nearest kin4 ,rikiu was no servile courtier1 and had often dared to differ in argument with his fierce patron4 ,taking advantage of the coldness which had for some time existed between the ,taiko and ,rikiu1 the enemies of the latter accused him of being implicated in a conspiracy to poison the despot4 ,it was whispered to ,hideyoshi that the fatal potion was to be administered to him with a cup of the green beverage prepared by the tea-master4 ,with ,hideyoshi suspicion was sufficient ground for instant execution1 and there was no appeal from the will of the angry ruler4 ,one privilege alone was granted to the condemned--the honor of dying by his own hand4 ,on the day destined for his self-immolation1 ,rikiu invited his chief disciples to a last tea-ceremony4 ,mournfully at the appointed time the guests met at the portico4 ,as they look into the garden path the trees seem to shudder1 and in the rustling of their leaves are heard the whispers of homeless ghosts4 ,like solemn sentinels before the gates of ,hades stand the grey stone lanterns4 ,a wave of rare incense is wafted from the tea-room2 it is the summons which bids the guests to enter4 ,one by one they advance and take their places4 ,in the tokonoma hangs a kakemon1--a wonderful writing by an ancient monk dealing with the evanescence of all earthly things4 ,the singing kettle1 as it boils over the brazier1 sounds like some cicada pouring forth his woes to departing summer4 ,soon the host enters the room4 ,each in turn is served with tea1 and each in turn silently drains his cup1 the host last of all4 ,according to established etiquette1 the chief guest now asks permission to examine the tea-equipage4 ,rikiu places the various articles before them1 with the kakemono4 ,after all have expressed admiration of their beauty1 ,rikiu presents one of them to each of the assembled company as a souvenir4 ,the bowl alone he keeps4 ,never again shall this cup1 polluted by the lips of misfortune1 be used by man4 ,he speaks1 and breaks the vessel into fragments4 ,the ceremony is over2 the guests with difficulty restraining their tears1 take their last farewell and leave the room4 ,one only1 the nearest and dearest1 is requested to remain and witness the end4 ,rikiu then removes his tea-gown and carefully folds it upon the mat1 thereby disclosing the immaculate white death robe which it had hitherto concealed4 ,tenderly he gazes on the shining blade of the fatal dagger1 and in exquisite verse thus addresses it3 ,welcome to thee1 ,o sword of eternity6 ,through ,buddha ,and through ,dharuma alike ,thou hast cleft thy way4 ,with a smile upon his face ,rikiu passed forth into the unknown4