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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Rikyu was a tea master serving his patron lord ____________.

2. The art of flower arrangement began with whom?

3. For whom is the tea room designed?

4. Okakura relates what Taoist tale?

5. Okakura laments that the flower was born how?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is non-symmetry and non-repetition important?

2. How did Rikyu's life come to an end?

3. How are art masters immortal?

4. Describe the inside of a tea room.

5. Describe early tea rooms and how they changed with the innovations of Rikyu.

6. Who was Rikyu? What problem existed between him and Hideyoshi?

7. How did tea-masters think of art?

8. Why might it be difficult for Westerners to appreciate Japanese architecture?

9. How do the Japanese show that art is important to them?

10. What story does Okakura tell? What is the problem with the instrument in the book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Tea began as a medicine and only gradually grew into a beverage.

Part 1) Describe the medicinal uses of tea. How did this gradually lead to tea being a beverage? How did this beverage then spread throughout the world?

Part 2) What are the three main tea eras? How did each begin? How is each era unique? What commonalities exist between these eras? What influenced how tea was made and how it was served? How important is the tea room in the tea service? How does the tea room reflect the tea master and the tea that is being served?

Part 3) How has the U.S. been affected by the spread of the popularity of tea? How is tea a part of our culture today? How does U.S. tea culture compare to the Japanese tea culture described in the book? Is one tea culture superior? If so, how? If not, why not?

Essay Topic 2

Zennism influenced tea rooms.

Part 1) Describe Zennism. How did Zennism influence tea rooms? What else has influenced tea room design and ritual?

Part 2) How do these tea rooms compare to other Japanese structures? What are the reasons for any differences? What does this reveal about the tea room?

Part 3) How has Zennism and other aspects of Japanese culture influenced Western culture? What does this reveal about Western culture?

Essay Topic 3

Zennism is Taoism's successor.

Part 1) Describe Zennism. How did Zennism become Taoism's successor? How did Zennism affect tea rituals?

Part 2) How are the various religions and philosophies tied to the three tea eras? How is all of this then tied to the culture?

Part 3) How could Americans benefit from both Taoist and Zennist beliefs? How might it change our society for the better?

(see the answer keys)

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