Reading Responses Women and Tea Culture in Edo and Meiji Japan

Name:
Date:
Citation:
BIBLIOGRAPHY Rebecca, Corbett. 2018. "Women and Tea Culture in Edo and Meiji Japan." In Cultivating Femininity. University of Hawai'i Press. /stable/j.ctv3zp062.5.
Observation

Location

Interpretation

The display of the tea utensils was used in the Japanese culture to get the host and the visitor into a conversation. The host would begin inquiring on the origin of the utensils and this would get them into a conversation where they would get to know each other more.

‘The practice of displaying utensils during a tea gathering after the preparation of tea allows for the guest to view them up close (haiken) and enter into a conversation with the host about them’(27)[BIBLIOGRAPHY Rebecca, Corbett. 2018. "Women and Tea Culture in Edo and Meiji Japan." In Cultivating Femininity. University of Hawai'i Press. /stable/j.ctv3zp062.5.]

The author uses this statement to explain the significance of the tea utensils concerning the culture of the Japanese. Tea culture was part of the Japanese culture, and it is through the tea culture that people interacted and got to know each other. It was part of their life.

Tea culture was reserved only for a few people in the society. These few people were referred to as the elites and they were well-off financially. It was difficult for the common people to access tea culture in Japan at the time.

‘The practice of tea was one of a number of “polite arts” or “arts of play” (yūgei) that formed part of both the elite and popular cultures of the Edo period.’(31)[ibid p. ...