The Appeal of Traditional Japanese Culture for Western Visitors in Pre-modern Japan: The Chanoyu Perspective

Most traditional Japanese art forms require rigid adherence to etiquette, subtle and unspoken rules, as well as strict bodily and mental discipline.Learners who embark on these art forms commit to following a lifetime path of practice with no promise of mastery or completion.Chanoyu (also known as Chado) , the art form that surrounds the preparation and service of powdered green tea, is not only one of the most time intensive, it has historically demanded such a tremendous financial outlay that it was reserved for the ruling warrior class.The first visitors to Japan, the Europeans, had no knowledge of Chanoyu, and hundreds of years later in Meiji, information about the art form was still very scarce.With these obvious disadvantages, why did foreigners in Japan actively participate in traditional culture, particularly the world of Chanoyu?This paper uses empirical research to explore the allure of Chanoyu, from the viewpoint of western visitors in pre-modern Japan.This report shows that the appeal of Chanoyu has been fluid since its introduction to a western audience, European missionaries, in the mid-16 th century.These early visitors practiced the art form, invested in utensils and created detailed documents and journals that served to introduce Chanoyu to their homeland.In the 1800s, the Meiji Restoration brought fresh visitors whose interest in Japan was escalated by its self-imposed isolation for centuries.Japanese traditional culture got major exposure through fairs and expositions that introduced the culture in a controlled atmosphere to large, eager audiences around the world.The first of these expositions was held in Japan in 1872 and became the catalyst for re-introducing Japanese culture to a western audience.However, the appeal of Chanoyu in Meiji bore little resemblance to its earlier appeal for the Jesuits in the 1600s.This paper starts by reviewing the general dynamics behind the allure of traditional Japanese culture and how the way Japan was 'sold' overseas affected its appeal.This framework is then narrowed to focus on chanoyu and the elements central to its appeal to western visitors in Japan prior to its self-isolation and during the years of restoration that followed.