# Simplicity and Humility in The Book of Tea

> Theme guide for The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzō.

The tea ceremony and Teaism promote simplicity, refined poverty, and humility as virtues, seen in the tearoom's design, the garden path (roji), and the requirement for guests to bow and enter through a low door.

## Where it surfaces

- [The Schools of Tea](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_tea_se/chapters/ii-the-schools-of-tea): The tea ceremony aims for movements performed simply and naturally, with no color, sound, gesture, or word to disturb the harmony.
- [Taoism and Zennism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_tea_se/chapters/iii-taoism-and-zennism): Zen discipline assigns menial tasks to advanced monks, emphasizing greatness in the smallest incidents of life, a core Teaism ideal.
- [The Tearoom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_tea_se/chapters/iv-the-tearoom): The tearoom's thatched roof, slender pillars, and commonplace materials suggest fugitiveness and frailty; the low door forces all guests to bend and creep in, inculcating humility.
- [Flowers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_tea_se/chapters/vi-flowers): Tea-masters select flowers with care, avoid excess, and place a single bloom in the tokonoma, reflecting simplicity and humility in their aesthetic.
- [Tea-Masters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_tea_se/chapters/vii-tea-masters): Tea-masters taught the beauty of humility and simplicity, influencing dress, food, flower arrangement, and domestic life, emphasizing that one must become beautiful before approaching beauty.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_tea_se/themes/simplicity_and_humility
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_tea_se/themes