The Book of Tea

The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo shows how Tea has affected nearly every aspect of Japanese culture thought and life. The book is accessible to Western audiences because though Kakuzo was born and raised Japanese he was trained from a young age to speak English. In this book he explains tea in the context of Zen and Taoism as well as the secular aspects of Tea and Japanese life. This book emphasizes how Teaism taught the Japanese many things; most importantly simplicity. Kakuzo argues that this tea-induced simplicity affected Japanese art and architecture. A clear guide to living a simple and fulfilling life.