The Book of Tea

Written in English by a Japanese scholar in 1906, this book has become a classic. With clarity and elegance, the author, Kakuzo Okakura, defines the allure, the humanity, the evolution, the spirituality, the symbolism, and the related arts of tea.

Japanese scholar, writer and art curator Kakuzo Okakura (1862-1913), who spent years writing about Japanese art and culture, was one of the principal founders of the first Japanese fine arts academy. He traveled to Boston in the early 1900's, where he became the first head of the Asian Arts Division at the Museum of Fine Arts. He was friends with influential figures of the day, including art collector Isabella Stewart Gardner, poet Ezra Pound, and philosopher Martin Heidegger.