In Florentyna Leow¡¯s latest book, ¡°How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart,¡± she writes that ¡°tea ceremony¡± is not a good translation for ²èµÀ (²õ²¹»å¨­). She instead opts to render it in English as ¡°the way of tea.¡±

This is something that has really stuck with me. Not only because ²è (cha, sa) means ¡°tea¡± and µÀ (michi, »å¨­) means ¡°road¡± or ¡°way¡± but also because the act is not always ceremonious.

In the most traditional form of ²èµÀ, the idea of ºÍ¾´Çå¼Å (wakei seijaku, lit. harmony, respect, purity and tranquility) comes up a lot: