A link between the east and the west through the book of tea, by Kakuzo Okakura

• Grant number: 21/08038-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: May 01, 2022
• End date: October 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Philosophy
• Principal Investigator: Neide Hissae Nagae
• Grantee: Narumi Ito
• Supervisor: Kinya Sugiyama
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Kanazawa University, Japan
• Associated to the scholarship: 20/04146-3 - A study about art in reverencing nature in the work the book of tea, by Kakuzo Okakura, BP.MS

Abstract

The Book of Tea (1906) by the Japanese intellectual Kakuzo Okakura (1863-1913) was published during the Meiji Era (1868-1912), a time when Japanese ports were opened for modernization to reach the entire country, and at the same time a time of intense knowledge exchange with the West. In this context, near the end of the era, the essay book was inaugurated, awakening new visions from the West to the East. The Tea Book demonstrates many curiosities around the chanoyu (Japanese tea ceremony), brings explanations about the preparation of the environment, besides highlighting the influence of Taoism and Zen in the whole ritual, the importance of flowers, the appreciation of the tea masters and other lacquered ceramic, iron, and wooden utensils. The work is also significant in that it creates links and develops a bridge between Eastern and Western cultures, as it is able to explain, contextualize, and inform about various Japanese customs surrounding the art of tea. At the time Okakura wrote this book there were still many ideas that were part of the western imaginary full of preconceptions. In this way, the Japanese author questions in his work some stereotypes, such as: "When will the West understand the East? We Asians are often dismayed by the strange web of facts and fantasies that has been woven about us. We are described as beings that live on the perfume of the lotus, if not on rats and cockroaches" (OKAKURA, 2008, p. 32). At this time, the East was still seen based on various assumptions and not on real experiences, since the contact between the two peoples was still restricted. Thus, this research project seeks to understand the role of the Japanese intellectual Kakuzo Okakura and his contributions regarding the creation of a bridge of good coexistence between the East and the West. (AU)