| Rediscovering Rikyu: And the Beginnings of the Japanese Tea Ceremony Contributor(s): Plutschow, Herbert (Author) |
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ISBN: 1901903354 ISBN-13: 9781901903355 Publisher: Brill OUR PRICE: $67.45 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: May 2003 Annotation: The Japanese approach to Tea and the Tea Ceremony itself has always fascinated Westerners and although there are several key historic works on the subject (including the celebrated Book of Tea and more recently, Chado: The Way of Tea) this is the first study to look at how the culture and politics of Tea in Japan actually began with Rikyu, the famous sixteenth-century master of tea. Although the author is leading US scholar in Japanese Studies, the book is sensitively written to appeal to a wider audience. Illustrated. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Asia - Japan - Social Science | Customs & Traditions - History | Social History |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 2004381491 |
| Series: Rediscovering |
| Physical Information: 0.94" H x 6.28" W x 8.58" (0.94 lbs) 232 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Japanese |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: For the first time, Rikyu's tea is considered as a profoundly important political as well as a socio-religious ritual in response to the dramatic changes taking place in the country at large: the hundred-year civil war (Sengoku) period was finally coming to an end and the process of political unification under the strong military leadership of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi had begun. An important focus in the book is the author's research into why Rikyu's tragic suicide, enforced by Hideyoshi, was a necessary outcome of the emerging conflict between ritual, art and politics. In addition, the study highlights the tensions and struggles between individual artists who were led by a sense of artistic identity and inspiration, together with the political leaders who imposed their artistic taste on the nation. Plutschow also provides new insights into the sixteenth-century Japanese perception of beauty - commonly called wabi - a simple, often austere beauty displayed in tea in order to unite host and guests as equals. This book will be of considerable interest in research connected with politics, Zen Buddhism and art history as well as the central issues regarding the history and development of tea in Japan. |