Tea Ceremony

The tea ceremony, Sado, is a ritual way of preparing and drinking powdered green tea called matcha. The ceremony usually takes place in a tea house called chashitsu. The guests enter through a kneeling entrance. The tea ceremony consists of the host bringing tea utensils into the room, offering the guests special sweets, and then preparing and serving tea which involves meticulous and intricate movements by the host and guests. Ritual tea drinking originated in China; the current Japanese tea ceremony is strongly influenced by Zen Buddhism with the intention of purifying the soul and becoming one with nature.