Murata Shuko

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In this Japanese name, the family name is Murata.

Murata Shuko (村田珠光; 1423 - 1502) was a Japanese tea ceremony practicer of Muromachi period. He proposed the importance of the spirit and mind in the ceremony from studying Zen Buddhism.

Leaving a temple at a young age for unknown reasons, he came to meet Noami, an advisor to Shogon Ashikaga Yoshimasa, and a priest Ikkyu from Daitokuji temple, who records show had knowledge of tea practices in China and Korea. Ikkyu hinted Shuko the similarity between the spirit in Zen training and the mastery of tea, and for the rest of life Shuko sought to apply the principle of this similarity to the practice of tea ceremony, which was rapidly developing at that time. In particular, he first proposed the need of the host of the tea house to make tea for guests.

Shuko saw the tea ceremony as something more than just an entertainment or medicine and temple ceremony; his idea was that preparing and drinking tea allows for the expression of Zen values, as enlightenment must be found in everyday activities.