Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, plus the preface is great
Review: I recommend this book to any Western dilettante who, like myself, is intrigued by anything called "a Japanese tradition" but prefers the comfortably exotic world of the tea ceremony and "Memoirs of a Geisha" to the disorienting and totally unfathomable features of current Japanese pop culture. It's as much a look at the ceremony itself as a portrait of a certain romanticizing interpretation of Japanese culture, written by a scholar who was straddling both worlds and sought to explain one to the other. The introduction is immensely readable, not to mention informative - many amusing turns of phrase in there which I wish I remembered for occasional use (need to reread the thing!). A treat rarely offered at this price, even if you read it only once.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, plus the preface is great
Review: I recommend this book to any Western dilettante who, like myself, is intrigued by anything called "a Japanese tradition" but prefers the comfortably exotic world of the tea ceremony and "Memoirs of a Geisha" to the disorienting and totally unfathomable features of current Japanese pop culture. It's as much a look at the ceremony itself as a portrait of a certain romanticizing interpretation of Japanese culture, written by a scholar who was straddling both worlds and sought to explain one to the other. The introduction is immensely readable, not to mention informative - many amusing turns of phrase in there which I wish I remembered for occasional use (need to reread the thing!). A treat rarely offered at this price, even if you read it only once.
Rating: 
Summary: A sad exploitation of an author who lost his copyright.
Review: Kakuzo Okakura would turn over in his grave if he saw the ridiculous treatment his fine essay has been given. Tuttle's previous restrained and decorous editions fit with the content. This new edition is a travesty. Shame on Tuttle (the publisher) and their hired help for this marketing folly.
Rating: 
Summary: So much more than tea
Review: On the surface, this is a book about history - the history of tea, and art, and religion. But this is really a book about so much more - it compares the culture and way of thinking of the East and West, the past and the present. It makes the reader think about and reassess what is important in life, what is really beautiful, what is worth keeping or fighting for. What is dignity. This essay, which wends its way between the discovery of tea, flower arranging, architecture and Taoism along with other enticing subjects, is truly an enlightening and thrilling book, in a quiet and gentle way (is that possible?) Whether you are interested in East Asian culture, Tea, or would just like a compass to help you re-orientate your priorities, you will probably gain something from this ode to the importance and influence of Tea.
Rating:
Summary: Unique, innocent and true
Review: the articulation is so enchanting that prejudice aside it is hard to say that any other work of literature expresses more clearly what the east is all about. magnificent
Rating:
Summary: A modern classic
Review: This book is a delightful oddity. It's about 100 years old now. It was written by a Japanese expatriate, in English, for an English-speaking audience. I mean the term "audience" in the most audible way, since this text was meant to be read aloud to the highest of the Boston Brahmins. (That attention to sound is probably a big part of why this reads so smoothly.)
Kakuzo explains the Japanese tea ceremony to a non-Japanese audience. Oddly, he does not describe the ceremony. Instead, he lays out the history of tea and the history of the Zen esthetic in which cha-do ("the way of tea") makes sense. He describes the place in which the ceremony is held, and some of the tools used in that ceremony. He does not, however, spell out the mechanics of the service. Perhaps it's just as well. As Kakuzo describes, it is not the tea that matters. It is the effect that the ritual has on the people who perform it.
This book is laid out simply and elegantly, as befits its topic. The primary font is a little unusual - a long-waisted serif that connotes the warm feeling of the text itself. Page layouts are airy, and have a distinctive swaying gait from as they step from chapter to chapter. The few photos that illustrate this book are atmospheric, and printed in a subdued color scheme. It doesn't equal the old slip-case edition, but it's still a pleasing and instructive sample of book design.
This is a pleasant book, and a short one. The reading is over much too quickly. It is also a delightful contrast to another Japanese author writing for an English audience at very nearly the same time. Nitobe's unfortunate "Bushido" tries much too hard to explain itself in Western terms. Kakuzo, instead, expresses his home culture in its own terms, the only ones that make sense, and in much more readable language.
//wiredweird
PS: This edition has a new intro by Liza Dalby, the first and possibly only American woman to complete training as a geisha.
Rating:
Summary: The real thing
Review: This classic exploration of Japanese culture, done at a time when there was great Oriental interest among cultured westerners, outshines all the trendy "let's have tea" books of today, in that it exposes the wonderful relationship between "Teaism" and Taoism, among other cultural traditions. Woodcut illustrations help set a peaceful mood. I urge people to get the nice hardcover edition if available, that has endpapers the color of real green tea.
|
