The Book of Tea

by Kakuzo Okakura

The Book of Tea, written in English and published in New York in 1906, is Kakuzo Okakura's short account of the Japanese tea ceremony as a way of life. In seven chapters, The Cup of Humanity, The Schools of Tea, Taoism and Zennism, The Tea-Room, Art Appreciation, Flowers and Tea-Masters, he explains how a drink became a cult of simplicity and imperfection, describes the architecture of the tea room and the arrangement of flowers, and uses tea to explain Eastern aesthetics to Western readers while mocking the West's assumptions about Asia. Okakura, who had worked to preserve traditional Japanese art before joining the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, writes with wit, and his book has introduced generations of readers to Japanese culture. It is available to read online in your browser on Vinteuil, with the first chapter free.