VII. Tea-Masters


In religion the Future is behind us. In art the present is the eternal.
The tea-masters held that real appreciation of art is only possible
to those who make of it a living influence. Thus they sought to
regulate their daily life by the high standard of refinement which
obtained in the tea-room. In all circumstances serenity of mind
should be maintained, and conversation should be conducted as
never to mar the harmony of the surroundings. The cut and
color of the dress, the poise of the body, and the manner of
walking could all be made expressions of artistic personality.
These were matters not to be lightly ignored, for until one has
made himself beautiful he has no right to approach beauty.
Thus the tea-master strove to be something more than the
artist,--art itself. It was the Zen of aestheticism. Perfection is
everywhere if we only choose to recognise it. Rikiu loved to
quote an old poem which says: "To those who long only for
flowers, fain would I show the full-blown spring which abides
in the toiling buds of snow-covered hills."

Manifold indeed have been the contributions of the tea-masters
to art. They completely revolutionised the classical architecture
and interior decorations, and established the new style which we
have described in the chapter of the tea-room, a style to whose
influence even the palaces and monasteries built after the sixteenth
century have all been subject. The many-sided Kobori-Enshiu has
left notable examples of his genius in the Imperial villa of Katsura,
the castles of Nagoya and Nijo, and the monastery of Kohoan.
All the celebrated gardens of Japan were laid out by the tea-masters.