Tea drinking is today synonymous with the culture of Japan but tea as it is did not originate in Japan. In fact,
today's
Japanese tea was introduced into Japan from China by the Buddhist monk Eichu, and ever since the cultivation of tea in Japan has not stopped. Chinese author Lu Yu's treatises on tea drinking in China had heavily influenced the culture of tea drinking in Japan too. It was, in fact, his ideas which influenced the Japanese to start their own
tea drinking ceremony which is very popular today throughout Japan.
The tea ceremony, however, found firm establishment in Japan with the emergence of the 12 th century when matcha a new form of green tea then was introduced into Japan by Buddhist monk Eisai. This green tea in its powdered form found instant popularity among the Japanese who preferred it to the black tea. This form of tea became popular as a religious ritual in Zen-Chan Buddhist monasteries. The samurai's were even more instrumental in spreading the popularity of this tea since they were the ones who took to drinking it in the pursuit of adopting Zen-Chan Buddhism.
With the passing centuries the tea drinking ceremony gathered some aesthetic characteristics. Gradually with time the ceremony became sober and a form of restraint coupled with mellow beauty found place within the tea drinking ritual. It is widely believed that Ikkyu who was also responsible for reviving Zen Buddhism in the 15 th century brought this wide change within the tea drinking ceremony. Today the whole tea drinking ceremony in Japan involves no less than 7 traditions among which the Senke, the Omotesenke and Urasenke are the most popular of the traditions. Most of these traditions date back to the Edo period in Japanese history.
