Chadō

The ‘way of tea’ is a ritual experience that embodies the natural world with all its imperfections.

A mizusashi jar created during the Azuchi-Momoyama period in the Saga Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan, 16-17th century.
A mizusashi jar created during the Azuchi-Momoyama period in the Saga Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan, 16-17th century © Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution/Gift of Charles Lang Freer/Bridgeman Images.

Few things are more quintessentially Japanese than the traditional tea ceremony or chadō, meaning ‘the way of tea’. It is a cultural experience that has been considered representative of the essential spirit of Japan, kami.

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