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Zen and Tea Learning

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It may be that the newly risen samurai class loved tea ritual more for the access it provided than its spiritual benefits.

A two a three quarter mat tea room. A small hearth with a wooden frame is cut in the floor. The area where tea is made is divided from the area where the guest will sit by a 1/2 wall which is plastered on the top but open at the bottom. The edge of the wall near the hearth is formed by a an irregular tree branch. In the area where tea is made, there a small window open to the garden. It may be covered by sliding shoji, wood window frames covered with white Japanese paper. The guests' side of the room has two windows open to the garden and a small wooden door about three feet square. The guests's side of the room is covered with blue paper to a height of about 25 inches.

Tea Room called Shoko-ken attributed to feudal lord Hosokawa Sansai located at Kotoin Temple

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Lecture Notes

Hereditary lords (daimyo), samurai, merchants, and priests could meet in the tea room and be confident that they shared a common knowledge of the etiquette. It also provided a graceful way to curry favor and grant rewards. The samurai hired merchant tea masters to teach them how to make tea and take care of their utensils. The heads of many of today's "tea schools" are descended from medieval tea masters such as Sen Rikyu.