Okakura Kakuzo & Liza Dalby 
Book of Tea 
Beauty, Simplicity and the Zen Aesthetic

Written over a century ago when Japan was abandoning its rich traditions to embrace the hysteria of colonization, this classic written by Okakura Kakuzo helped preserve the masterpieces of Japanese art and culture by illuminating the spirit of the Japanese Tea Masters.


The Book of Tea doesn’t focus on the Tea Ceremony itself, but the Zen Buddhist thought behind it known as the Way of Tea or
Chado.


Kakuzo teaches us to listen to the language of flowers as well as the language of art.


His considerable charm is as apparent today as it was one hundred years ago as he introduces us to the aesthetic and culture of Japan.


This edition has a new foreword by Andrew Juniper who runs the Wabi-Sabi Art Gallery in West Sussex, England and an introduction by Liza Dalby, the first American woman to be fully trained as a geisha in the 70’s.

About the author

Okakura Kakuzo was born near Tokyo and learned English in his infancy, refining his linguistic skills at the Institute for Foreign Studies in Tokyo. Later he went on to study Oriental Arts at the Tokyo Imperial University. Okakura lived in America for several years where he served as Curator of the Department of Chinese and Japanese art at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He was instrumental in the acquisition of much of that museum’s exemplary collection of Eastern art.

Foreword to the Original Edition by:

Elise Grilli lived and worked in Tokyo for many years. She was an art critic for the
Japan Times and published several books on Japanese art including
Golden Screen Paintings of Japan and
Japanese Picture Scrolls.

New Foreword by:

Andrew Juniper lives in West Sussex, England where he runs the Wabi-Sabi Art Gallery. He also works as a translator for UK and Japanese government bodies.

New Introduction by:

Liza Dalby is an author and anthropologist who, in the 1970s, became the first American woman to become fully trained as a geisha. Her publications include
Geisha and the novel
The Tale of Murasaki.