Publisher's Synopsis
The Book of Tea by Kakuzo Okakura is a short volume that explains the unique tradition of the Japanese tea ceremony, from utensils used at the ceremony to historical context.In the late-19th and early-20th centuries, Japan underwent a period of modernization. Some conservatives opposed such modernization and wished to preserve the old ways. One of these was this book's author, Okakura. He founded the Japanese Art Institution in Tokyo and later became a curator at the Boston Museum of Fine Art. He had an unparalleled knowledge of Oriental art, and it is because of men like Okakura that so much of Japanese heritage has been handed down. One aspect of this heritage is the tea ceremony.