The Book of Tea (1906) by Kakuzo Okakura is a graceful meditation on the Japanese tea ceremony and the philosophy of life and art that surrounds it. Written in English for a Western audience, it presents ‘Teaism’ as a cult of beauty and simplicity, and uses the ritual of tea to introduce readers to Taoism, Zen, flower arranging, and the aesthetics of the tea room.
Elegant and aphoristic, the book became a beloved classic of cross-cultural understanding and of writing on aesthetics. It remains an essential short introduction to the Japanese sense of beauty. This free EPUB download is cleanly formatted for any e-reader.