Reviews for Chado, The Way of Tea: A Japanese Tea Master's Almanac

The average rating for Chado, The Way of Tea: A Japanese Tea Master's Almanac based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-12-30 00:00:00 Mark Pozsgai This book is a wonderful resource for any tea lover. At first, I thought it would only be useful for practitioners of chanoyu, but I now believe it's a great reference book for anyone that practices tea in Japan. Sanmi-san did an epic job aggregating all the customs, foods, flowers, kigos and important days that are related to the tea world in Japan. In truth, it's an impressive book to understand Japanese culture. Tea, like calligraphy, sits at the center of Japanese culture. As you explore month after month of different seasonal peculiarities observed by tea people, you quickly realize that tea people and Japanese people are one and the same. Beyond the tea-related details, the attention to detail to every subtle change in nature recorded in the book is astonishing. It provides a beautiful example of how deep Japan is connected with nature and how thoroughly detailed they are. It makes you appreciate the effort behind many of their customs and it's even inspirational. Definitely a must-have for anyone serious about tea.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-10-16 00:00:00 Andrew Galindo The hard cover is beginning to separate from the spine of this battered and well-loved copy that made its way to me all the way from San Jose State University. This detail seems important to me because the rarity of it makes it an even more magical object, and makes me love it more. Reading about the seasonal words and foods and flowers for October, I feel that rush of cold autumn wind and a sense of peace. Everything about this glossary: the way it's organized, the translations, the inclusion of the Japanese sayings and haikus, the sweetness of the translators, who say so humbly, "Did we bite off more than we could chew? perhaps...We know that our work is imperfect." Makes this a most wonderful read and reference. And coming in at 742 pages, an amazing feat by Iwasaki Satoko and Shaun McCabe