FYSEMR 65R - Tea in Japan/America

Melissa McCormick

This first-year seminar examines the history, culture, and practice of the Japanese tea ceremony (chanoyu) and its reception in the United States and beyond. What began as a ritualized preparation of tea developed into a wide-ranging cultural practice, the study of which opens onto issues of Japanese aesthetics, social history, and philosophy. Common perceptions of chanoyu today, however, are often filtered through the lens of its first systematic presentation in the United States, Okakura Tenshin’s Book of Tea, written in Boston in 1906. The seminar introduces students to the rich resources in the Boston area that pertain to this early phase of “teaism” in America, while exploring modern and contemporary examples of tea related art and architecture in North America and around the world.

In addition to the seminar meeting, a required practicum in our campus tearoom will be led by a certified instructor every Friday. Over the course of the semester, students will learn how to prepare whisked green tea, keep a tea diary, and design a virtual tearoom. Training in chanoyu involves not only the preparation of tea, but physical and mental discipline incorporating movement, gesture, and aesthetic judgement. The goal of this somatic learning is to link forms of practice to critical and historical study, to challenge ingrained bodily and mental habits, and to reap the intellectual rewards of the collaborative environment of the tearoom. The seminar introduces students to a social practice that encourages focused attention, a heightened awareness of small moments, and interpersonal connection.