Murata Shukō

In this Japanese name, the family name is "Murata".

Murata Shukō (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 Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, and a priest Ikkyu from Daitoku temple, who records show had knowledge of tea practices in Chinese tea classics. Ikkyu hinted to Shukō the similarity between the spirit in Zen training and the mastery of tea and, for the rest of his life, Shukō 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.

Shukō 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.

References

• Tradition of Tea: History
• History of Tea: Japan

Persondata
Name	Murata, Shuko
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1423
Place of birth
Date of death	1502
Place of death