0137 Tea Ceremony

Cha, or tea, has a long and splendid history in Japan. Imported by a monk in the 8th Century, introduced to the samurai in the 12th, embraced by the common people in the 14th, ritualized in the chado, the way of tea, ceremony in the 16th and, finally, deployed by a young mother in the 21st. A woman in Tokyo recently saved herself and her six-month old baby from a knife-wielding attacker by serving tea. The man barged into her apartment demanding money. She made him a cup of tea over which he told her the story of his life. She then gave him 10,000 yen and ran outside to call the police who failed to apprehend him. And so, to chado’s traditional four core ideas of harmony, respect, purity and tranquility a fifth more contemporary one has now been added: self-defense. #ceas #hacker #japan