Book Review: The Book Of Tea by Kakuzō Okakura: Where East Meets West

The Book Of Tea by Kakuzō Okakura is a very interesting book by a person in Japan whose main focus in life had been to develop arts in Japan and is a quite well known entity. He was born in 1863 and died in 1913. This non-fiction work by him has become a legendary book and is referred to at large, worldwide. He is also known for creating and developing the first fine arts academy in Japan in 1890 named as The Tokyo School of

Fine Arts. Years later, Kakuzō Okakura created the Japan Arts Institute. He was the first Asian to become the head of the Asian art division in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in the year 1910.

Apart from The Book Of Tea by Kakuzō Okakura, there is another book titled The Ideals of the East by the same author that became a big hit, the moment it was published in 1904. The Book of Tea is an artistic masterpiece in many aspects and that is why it is a pride factor for all tea lovers, sellers and tea focused restaurants to possess and showcase it. It is a must to have book to make your understanding about tea making, drinking and enjoying. Basically it tells you amazing facts about all the three arenas of tea. The book was published in 1906 in Boston. The book of Tea by Kakuzō Okakura has more in store for you beyond tea making, drinking and enjoying. It talks about Zen, Taoism, easter and western cultures, various traditions and aspects of tea, Japanese arts & culture; and to some extent it tries to amalgamate the various cultures across the globe. 

The book of Tea by Kakuzō Okakura focuses on tea industry, tea traditions, Japanese culture and about the simplicity factor found so widely in Japan. He wrote somewhere in the book about how tea induces simplicity and thereby impacts on the arts and culture of Japan. It is more that a century old book but still has a wide readership and admiration. The credit goes to the excellent style in which it has been presented by Kakuzō Okakura.