Okakura Kakuzo was a Japanese writer and luminary (1862-1913) mostly celebrated in the west for his short, but brilliant work: The Book of Tea (1906). If I had not been a tea enthusiast, this little gem would have probably passed me by unnoticed. Whilst tea is indeed the central theme of the book, the exposition is by no means limited or technical; rather it celebrates culture, simplicity and humanity through tea, which makes "all its votaries aristocrats in taste". Here are some quotes that aim to give a taste of this delicious work, even though you will not find a hint of tea in them.
A tea shop in Sichuan, where visitors can experience the Chinese tea ritual. The lady opposite is presiding over the ceremony
Translation is always a treason, and as a Ming author observes, can at its best be only the reverse side of a brocade: all the threads are there, but not the subtlety of colour or design. But, after all, what great doctrine is there which easy to expound? The ancient sages never put their teachings in systematic form. They spoke in paradoxes, for they were afraid of uttering half-truths.
We have an old saying in Japan that a woman cannot love a man who is truly vain, for there is no crevice in his heart for love to enter and fill up. In art vanity is equally fatal to sympathetic feeling, whether on the part of the artist or the public.
People are not taught to be really virtuous, but to behave properly.
The primeval man in offering the first garland to his maiden thereby transcended the brute. He became human in thus rising above the crude necessities of nature. He entered the realm of art when he perceived the subtle use of the useless.
Alas! The only flower known to have wings is the butterfly; all others stand helpless before the destroyer.
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