Abstract

“I want to learn about the Way of Tea, but its formalities seem like too high a hurdle.”
“I want to understand the essence of the Way of Tea as part of a cultured education.”
“As a Japanese person, I want to know about traditional Japanese culture.”
“How can the Way of Tea be useful in business?”
“I’d like to be able to explain Japanese culture to people from other countries.”
“I want to soothe my tired spirit with a bowl of tea.”
If you have ever felt this way, I hope you will read this book.

The bestselling “The Way of Tea as Cultural Literacy” (over 41,000 copies) is now available in a Japanese-English bilingual edition!

Author’s Information

Rie Takeda
President & CEO, Chazen Co., Ltd.; Chair, International Traditional Culture Association; instructor of Japanese traditional culture and etiquette.

A global tea master who teaches Japanese traditional culture, the Way of Tea, and Japanese etiquette to business people who want to absorb Japanese culture and spirit and succeed on the world stage. Born in Kagurazaka, Tokyo, as a third-generation Edokko (a true native of Tokyo).
After graduating from the Faculty of Literature at Aoyama Gakuin University, Takeda joined IBM Japan. Wishing to share the beauty of Japanese traditional culture, Takeda later left the company and founded Chazen Co., Ltd., opening tea rooms in Ginza and Asakusa that offer authentic yet approachable tea experiences.
With 40 years of tea practice and 25 years of teaching experience, Takeda introduces Japanese traditional culture to people from 30 countries each year and has taught more than 30,000 students in total.
Takeda performed a tea ceremony at an event marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of the Sultan of Brunei, and has earned the trust of prime ministers, embassies, government agencies, VIPs, and major listed companies, hosting numerous tea gatherings for them.
Business training programs based on the teachings of Sen no Rikyu have drawn attention from executives and been adopted for corporate training. Takeda also has an extensive track record of providing tea-based education and cultural training at Harvard University and other institutions.
In recent years, Takeda has been widely recognized as a leading figure in spreading Japanese traditional culture and the spirit of tea abroad, in cities such as New York, Paris, London, and Milan.