Chanoyu Etiquette – Japanese Tea

They were all society people, but they found that Japanese etiquette differed very materially from their own social functions. They studied the slips of paper given them until they knew that the bits of cake given them were to be eaten first, and the bowl of tea to be taken in the right hand and placed on the left palm and so held, no matter how warm the tea, until the first guest had sipped his tea in three gulps and a half when the rest of the company were at liberty to drink the steaming beverage, each bowl being drained in succession. The guests, meanwhile, watching each other with great interest to know what would be expected of them when their turn came. 

San Francisco, California – Do you know what a “chanoyu” is? Well, it is simply a Japanese ceremonial tea. The dainty little Geisha, Mme. Yucca and some members of the company, which, by-the-way, is the only real Japanese troupe ever in this country, who performed recently at the California theater, gave a chanoyu in the Maple room of the Palace Hotel that was a decidedly novel and interesting affair. The decorations were in keeping with the event, all Japanese, of course, with Japanese lanterns and richly embroidered screens which formed a back-ground to the tea-drinking room. The affair was invitational, and to each guest was presented little slips of paper describing etiquette of a Japanese ceremonial tea. 

They were all society people, but they found that Japanese etiquette differed very materially from their own social functions. They studied the slips of paper given them until they knew that the bits of cake given them were to be eaten first, and the bowl of tea to be taken in the right hand and placed on the left palm and so held, no matter how warm the tea, until the first guest had sipped his tea in three gulps and a half when the rest of the company were at liberty to drink the steaming beverage, each bowl being drained in succession. The guests, meanwhile, watching each other with great interest to know what would be expected of them when their turn came. 

Mme. Yucca brewed the tea with her own tiny hands on a raised dais, using a special blend, costing a fabulous sum per pound, and a tiny maid, Miss Otsuru by name, passed the refreshments, making a graceful and profound bow to each guest. One of the features of the evening was a geisha dance by Mme. Butterfly, 300 years old, the dance, not the dancer, bearing the ancient record. It was full of life and grace, combining all of the best movements of the Delsarte system. – Polly Larkin, 1899

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia