Research Background

Problem Statement
• The tradition of every culture is ‘shattering’
• The modern lifestyle and thinking of the younger generation affects the continuing of cultural tradition.
• The perception of the young Japanese towards cultural tradition might influence the continuing of Japanese Tea
Ceremony.

Significance of Research
• Identify the perception of young Japanese towards Japanese
Tea Ceremony.
• Related parties will be able to take initiatives to ensure the continuing of Japanese Tea Ceremony.

Research Question

1. What is the history of Japanese Tea Ceremony?
2. What is the perception of young Japanese towards Japanese
Tea Ceremony?

Research Method

1. Literature Review
• The tea ceremony is deeply connected with the character of the Japanese people and their culture. – (j-tradition.com, 2016)
• Today the ceremonial tea is still actively studied by students of all ages. – (learn-about-tea.com, 2016)

• With time, Japanese Tea Ceremony is said to be an outdated tradition. Modern city life makes it difficult to find time and place for tea ceremony. – (japacolle.com, 2015)
• A full-length formal tea ceremony is not something that
Japanese do at home regularly for relaxation. (web-japan.org,
2016)

2. Articles
Japanese Tea Ceremony is:
• Known as Chanoyu, the Way of Tea
• Ritualized preparation of powdered green tea (Matcha)
• Served together with traditional Japanese sweets (Wagashi) to balance with the bitter taste of the tea
• Designed to bring aesthetic, intellectual, physical enjoyment and peace of mind to the guests

Japanese Tea Ceremony

JTC Room (Chashitsu)

The floor is covered with
Tatami mats

JTC Utensils (Dōgu)

History of Japanese Tea Ceremony:
Century
9th

The History
• Green tea leaves (Sencha) was taken from China to Japan by a
Monk named Eichu.

• Tea plantations began to be cultivated in the Kinki region of
Japan.
• However, the interest in tea in Japan faded after this.

12th

• Another monk, Eisai, who was the founder of Zen Buddhism introduced the idea of powdered green tea (Matcha).
• Monk Eisai taught people how to make Matcha by grinding the leaves finely and mixing the powder with hot water.
• Monk Eisai is the first person to grow tea not only for medicinal purposes but also for religious purposes.

Century
15th

The History
• This time is known as the age of ‘war in the provinces’.
• The Samurai nobles made it their hobby to organize tea ceremony.
• It is because Harmony and Respect are especially treasured in JTC and thus, it provides a brief escape from the incessant fighting among the samurai.

• Eventually, other people also started having small tea gatherings.

16th

• JTC was perfected by Sen no Rikyu, where acceptable tea ceremony behaviors and aesthetic expectations is defined.
• The principles underlying this art – harmony (wa), respect (kei), purity (sei), and tranquility (jaku) -- are still central to tea ceremony today.
• The art of tea ceremony was passed down the generations.

• The largest of all the tea schools today are Urasenke and
Omotesenke, founded by two of Rikyu’s great-grandsons.

3. Interview
Conduct interview with two Japanese students who are studying in Universiti Sains Malaysia.
• Respondent 1:
‾ Do not wish to have her details exposed
•
⁻
⁻
⁻

Respondent 2:
Sayaka-san
21 years old
University of Kyoto

• Below is the questions asked:
i.

Rate from 1-10, how well do you understand about the history of JTC? Where do you get the knowledge from?

ii.

Rate from 1-10, how well do you understand about the ceremonial preparation of JTC? Have you personally organized a JTC as the host of the ceremony?

iii. Have you been to any informal (Chakai, tea gathering) or formal (Chaji, tea event) JTC? Can you share me about the experience you have for JTC? iv. Does the elder generation often pass the knowledge to the younger generation of Japanese?
v.

Is it normal that the younger Japanese to have deep knowledge on the preparation of JTC?

Findings

Q1. Rate from 1-10, how well do you understand about the history of
JTC? Where do you get the knowledge from? Is it from elder generation or from school?
Level of understanding towards the history of Japanese Tea
Ceremony?

Respondent 2

Respondent 1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Respondent 1
Level of understanding towards the history of
Japanese Tea Ceremony?

Respondent 2

5

6

9

10

• Respondent 1 rated 5. She got the knowledge from the
Japanese Culture Club in her school and from elder generation.
Her mother and sister educated her on the proper way to make a tea in JTC.

• Respondent 2 rated 6. She got the knowledge from school. Her teacher introduced quite of lot of Japanese culture to the students. JTC is one of the famous Japanese cultures that intrigues her.

Q2. Rate from 1-10, how well do you understand about the ceremonial preparation of JTC? Have you personally organized a JTC as the host of the ceremony?
Level of understanding towards the ceremonial preparation of
Japanese Tea Ceremony?

Respondent 2

Respondent 1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Respondent 1
Level of understanding towards the ceremonial preparation of Japanese Tea
Ceremony?

Respondent 2

6

2

9

10

• Respondent 1 rated 6. She never hosts a JTC by herself.
However, as she was in Japanese Culture Club, she once involved in preparation of JTC event. Hence, she knows the flow of ceremonial preparation through observation.

• Respondent 2 rated 2. She has average theoretical knowledge on the flow of preparing a JTC. However, she never practically hosts a JTC. She only served by a woman who made her a tea.

Q3. Have you been to any informal (Chakai, tea gathering) or formal (Chaji, tea event) JTC? Can you share me about the experience you have for JTC.
• Respondent 1:
She went to only Chaji which organized by her school. The JTC was very time consuming but she enjoyed it.

• Respondent 2:
She went to only Chaji. The host served her the tea. She joined
Japanese Tea Ceremony last September in Penang. It was very fun.
However, JTC is kind of troublesome as there are many procedures and rules to follow to make a proper tea.

Q4. Does the elder generation often pass the knowledge to the younger generation of Japanese?
• Respondent 1:
She does not think JTC knowledge often passed down by elder generation to younger generation. If they are interested in JTC, they can get the necessary resources from school, university and internet.

• Respondent 2:
It depends, JTC knowledge might be passed down to younger generation but some of them are not interested in knowing this old culture anymore. In Japan, certain university or school has their own
Japanese Culture Club. Most of the young Japanese do not expect to get the knowledge from elder generation. Instead, they get the knowledge from the school.

Q5. Is it normal that the younger generation of Japanese to have deep knowledge on the preparation of JTC?
• Respondent 1:
She has no idea. She thinks that they might have the brief idea about
JTC but not many of them have the experience of organizing a real
JTC.

• Respondent 2:
She does not think the younger generation has deep knowledge on the preparation of JTC.

Conclusion

Based on the interview of the two Japanese students, they think that: 1. Most of the young Japanese have the knowledge about JTC, which they often gained from elder generation, school, university and internet. However, they have little experience in hosting a
JTC.

2. The perception of young Japanese towards JTC is time consuming and complicated as there are a lot of procedures and rules to follow in order to host a JTC. However, they enjoy participating in JTC, which they are served with tea.
3. Part of the young Japanese is no longer interested in this
Japanese culture.

Reference

• Building relationships with the tea ceremony: the meaning of â €œJapanese-style serviceâ . (2016). J-tradition.com. Retrieved 28
ۥ
March 2016, from http://j-tradition.com/en/tea/service.html
• Changing With Time - Japanese Tea Ceremony Nowadays. (2015).
Japacolle.com.
Retrieved
28
March
2016,
from http://www.japacolle.com/read/13705 • Japanese Tea Ceremony - Learn About this Beautiful Custom. (2016).
Learn-About-Tea.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016, from http://www.learn-about-tea.com/japanese-tea-ceremony.html • Japanese Tea Ceremony History. (2016). Japanese-tea-ceremony.net.
Retrieved
30
March
2016, from http://japanese-teaceremony.net/history.html
• So'oku's Childhood - Chado - Meet the Kids - Kids Web Japan - Web
Japan. (2016). Web-japan.org. Retrieved 28 March 2016, from http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/meet/chado/chado12.html • TEA CEREMONY HISTORY - Go Japan Go. (2016).
Gojapango.com.
Retrieved
30
March
2016,
from http://www.gojapango.com/culture/japanese_tea_ceremony_history.h tml
• web page template. (2016). Academic.mu.edu. Retrieved 30 March
2016,
from http://academic.mu.edu/meissnerd/halaska.html#Significance Thank You for Your
Attention 
For more detailed information, kindly visithttp://japanese-tea-ceremony.net/