The Book of Tea #231879

The long isolation of Japan from the rest of the world, so conducive to intro spection, has been highly favourable to the development of Teaism. Our home and habits, costume and cuisine, porce lain, lacquer, painting — our very liter ature — all have been subject to its in fluence. N 0 student of Japanese cul ture could ever ignore its presence. It has permeated the elegance of noble boudoirs, and entered the abode of the humble. Our peasants have learned to arrange flowers, our meanest labourer to offer his salutation to the rocks and waters. In our common parlance we speak of the man with no tea in him, when he is insusceptible to the serio comic interests of the personal drama. Again we stigmatise the untamed aes thete who, regardless of the mundane tragedy, runs riot in the springtide of emancipated emotions,as onewith too much tea in him.