Chanoyu, The Japanese Culture of Tea

5 credits

This class traces the evolution of tea drinking in Japan from a monastic ritual introduced from China to an amusement for the samurai class and thence to its culmination as an aesthetic and ethical discipline that has greatly influenced various forms of cultural production through the "wabi" ideal of beauty and the spirit of Zen. Prerequisite: any 100-level, 200-level, 300-level, or 400-level JAPAN course (any of which may be taken concurrently). Offered: ASpS.