Description: A Blog on Japanese International Politics and Paraphernalia
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy takes part in a tea ceremony.
In the same way that Sun Tzu’s classic Chinese military treatise , ‘The Art of War’, has come to be widely seen as a useful manual for a surprising range of non-military activities (everything ranging from business strategy to NFL football sports ), there are oriental traditions with followers who make similarly bold claims: namely, that their tradition has a usefulness far beyond the cultural niche that it has occupied for centuries. One such Japanese tradition is the Art of the Tea Ceremony, which is purp
Is this just a quirky claim made by an art which is eager to promote itself to a wider audience? Perhaps. Undeniably, it is difficult to take these pronouncements too literally or too seriously. But this topic can nevertheless be a useful jumping-off point for political analysis. At the very least, the history of the tea ceremony can be examined for clues as to why this art form might aspire to political relevance, and additionally, we can explore how it has fared in political circles in practice.