The history of "Tea" in Japan is supposed to have startedin the 10th century (Kamakura era) when a monk named
Eisai brought it from So of China. Since the effects of tea,
such as vitamins were first recognized in those days, it
was cultivated mostly at temples as a healthy beverage.
At around the 14th century, tea had become popular as
a luxury good with the Chinese high-class and gorgeous
"Cha-ki" (= tea-things) which are called "Karamono"
were made.
In the late 15th century, a monk named Juko Murata
connected "Zen" and "Cha" to introduce the concept of
incomplete beauty known as "Wabi" by using simple
Japanese tea-thins instead of gorgeous Karamono.
The person who had developed the concept and estab-
lished the root of contemporary "Cha" namely "Wabi-
cha" was a pupil of Juko named Rikyu.
Several schools have succeeded "Wabi-cha" after that
and "Omote Sen-ke" and "Ura Sen-ke" remain as the
main schools today.
Sen-no-Rikyu (1522~1591) was born in Sakai (a district of Osaka) as a son of a
merchant. At that time, the "Tea Ceremony" was overwhelmingly popular
among merchants. The reason why Rikyu became famous in the world of
"Cha" was that he was inaugurated as a "Cha-Gasira (Chief of Tea ceremony)
of Oda Nobunaga. After Nobunaga died, Rikyu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi
became intimate relations. Hideyoshi accompanied Rikyu at his tea
ceremonies and Rikyu helped Hideyoshi, which made Rikyu known
to the public.
However, the relationship did not last long. As time went by, a crack was made between Hideyoshi who was trying to create a luxurious and gorgeous world and Rikyu who was trying to carry through his own philosophy.
After that, though the truth is not sure, an incident involving a wooden statue of Rikyu was installed at Daitokuji, which has a close relationship to the tea ceremony making the situation worse Rikyu was requested to commit hara-kiri by Hideyoshi and ended his life at 70 years old.