Chanoyu is a Japanese ceremony ennobling tea’s centrality in the nation’s culture. The tea ceremony’s procedures effect an esteem for puritanism, emphasizing the simplicity of life. At the dawn of the 20th century, when western imperialism’s yoke jeopardized Japan’s identity, chanoyu emerged as the ballast between the nation’s history and modernity. Japanese nationalists such as Okakura Kakuzo invoked the tea ceremony as emblematic of Japan’s solidarity. It has persevered as a beacon for Japanese culture, epitomizing its propriety, longevity, doctrines, and the innumerable remainder of the nation’s identity. To this end, chanoyu has duly bound Japan’s citizenry through the crucibles posed by foreign interests. Such is chanoyu’s avail that it merits the admiration of both the Japanese for its cohesion and foreigners for its inspiration.
