In the twelfth century, renewed relations between Japan and China resulted in a resurgence of Japanese interest in drinking tea. The man largely responsible for this was a Buddhist monk named Eisai Myo-an. Eisai studied with monks of the
southern Zen school in China, learning about matters of spirit—and matters of taste, in the form of tea. Although Eisai is probably best known for introducing Rinzai Zen Buddhism to Japan at the end of the twelfth century, he is also well known (and much appreciated) for bringing the knowledge of whipped,
powdered tea from China. The Japanese believed, just as the Chinese did, that the taste of whipped tea was far more pleasing and flavorful than that of tea made from ground tea brick. Tea, prepared in this manner, became enormously popular in Japan.
New converts to Zen Buddhism quickly learned to appreciate tea as well. It was valued initially as an aid to meditation, then later for the taste itself. Eisai was a strong believer in the benefits of drinking tea, and among his prolific writings is the Kissa Yojoki, which is variously translated as Book of Tea
Sanitation, Drinking Tea for Health, or Tea Drinking for the Cultivation of Life . This work describes tea as a “divine remedy and a supreme gift of heaven”
essential for preserving life. Eisai recommends it as a cure for five diseases: loss of appetite, illnesses caused by poor drinking water, paralysis, boils, and
beriberi. He concludes with the claim that tea is beneficial for almost all disorders.
“In the great country of China,” he states, “they drink tea, as a result of which there is no heart trouble and people live long lives. Our country is full of sickly looking skinny persons, and this is simply because we do not drink tea.
When the whole body feels weak, devitalized and depressed, it is a sign that the heart is ailing. Drink lots of tea, and one’s energy and spirits will be restored to full strength.”
The Kissa Yojoki goes on to explain not only the effect of tea on each of the human organs but also the psychospiritual results of drinking tea, setting the stage for the formation of the Japanese tea ceremony. Eisai associated drinking tea with elements of Zen, of being fully and completely present, making
something as simple as preparing and drinking tea into a spiritual experience.
Eisai’s disciple Dogen (1200–1253) is most famous as the patriarch of the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism in Japan, but he also shared his teacher’s fervor for tea. He, too, studied in China, and when he returned to Japan in 1227, he brought with him many utensils used for the preparation and serving of tea in China.
During this period, tea was only enjoyed by monks, members of the court, warriors, and high-ranking families. Within the monasteries, taking tea together became an important daily ritual. Tea was served at the first gathering of the monks in the morning. Soon, monks ritualized this gathering by introducing rules for preparing and serving tea, a tradition that eventually became known as sarei, the etiquette of making tea. Thus, another step was taken toward the development of the formal tea ceremony, as monks in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries gathered each morning to ceremoniously begin their day with a bowl of whipped green tea.
Although the early years of fourteenth-century Japan were full of political and social upheaval, it was a time of rich cultural expression, and one during which the country continued to develop a national identity. Japanese artists cultivated unique styles in poetry, theater, garden design, ink paintings, and floral designs—and the preparation and serving of tea flourished as well.
The popularity of tea continued to rise during this time for two different reasons. The first was that it was still such an important and valued part of monastery life, and the second was that many more people learned about tea, as it was carried from one place to another by travelers.
From the time that Eisai introduced it as an aid to meditation, tea became an essential part of a monk’s life. At this time, tea was grown and processed only at the monasteries, and the monks were the first tea masters in Japan. As a result, the association between Zen and tea continued to solidify. As more and more people visited the Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, merchants set up carts and wagons to sell local tea to the travelers. In this way, word of the taste of tea spread quickly throughout the country. When travelers returned to their homes
and villages, they spoke of the new beverage from China, and demand for tea began to rise. Tea was soon being grown in places other than the monasteries, and tea gardens were planted in many places throughout Japan. Honyama, in the prefecture of Shizuoka, quickly became the center of the Japanese tea trade, and remains today one of the most important tea-producing regions in Japan.
And so, from its popularity within the religious communities, tea found its way into the hearts, minds, and mouths of people of all classes throughout Japan.
The monks took meticulous care in processing and serving the tea, and this same attention to detail quickly came to be important when sharing a bowl of tea, wherever people came together in the countryside or in the villages.
The sharing of tea with friends, even in these early years, was a
manifestation of traditional Japanese values, which placed great importance on close family and community ties. Shared tea meant shared friendships as well.