Anna Berliner wrote the first book about the Japanese tea ceremony (sadô 茶道) in German, “Der Teekult in Japan” (The tea cult in Japan), published 1930 in Leipzig. Actually, it was one of the first books ever written by a non-Japanese about this topic and until today, it is one of the most elaborated books about sadô in German, with 369 pages and 23 pages glossary. The book consists of three parts divided in 27 chapters:

• Part One: The Material Fundamentals;
• Part Two: Rules of Behavior;
• Part Three: What is the tea ceremony and what does it mean?

Attached to the last page is a very detailed fold-out chart of all historical tea masters.

There are various reasons why this book is remarkable: First, Anna Berliner describes in every detail the tea utensils and the architecture of the teahouse – this has never been done to this extend by a non-Japanese. Second, the description of the tea gathering shows that she, in fact, studied the tea ceremony herself and was not only an observer. Third, the last part about “What is the tea ceremony and what does it mean” is an analysis of the tea ceremony not only as a living tradition but also as a cultural practice that defines the human behavior.

The Japanese tea ceremony, or better: Way of Tea (literal translation of sadô), developed in the medieval ages and is said to have matured as an art with Sen no Rikyû 千利休 (1522-1591). The art of tea is a communicative form of drinking tea in a regulated setting, where every movement is trained. The theory of ichigo ichie 一期一会 (one time, one meeting; every meeting is unique) states that every tea gathering has to be arranged according to the occasion, to the people attending and to the season of the year. Often referred as a Gesamtkunstwerk, a synthesis of the arts, sadô incorporates architecture, the art of flowers, garden architecture, pottery, and calligraphy, just to name a few. In this setting the attendants can break free from their everyday lives and immerse themselves into the world of tea, connecting to other people, the nature and the aesthetic. This experience will stay with the attendants afterwards, in their everyday routine.

The biggest and best-known tea schools, the three Senke schools, trace their roots to Sen no Rikyû: Omotesenke, Urasenke and Mushanokôjisenke. Anna Berliner studied three years, from 1921 to 1925, with a teacher of the Omotesenke school. This in itself is remarkable for a foreigner in Japan, but due to her language skills Berliner was able to study sadô with a Japanese teacher and other students in Japanese. Therefore, she studied sadô in the most direct way and not through translations, which would always only give a selected interpretation of the art of tea. For her book she consulted literature on tea in Japanese and did a remarkable research in the utensils used in the Way of Tea – the book includes 64 pictures of various jars, bowls etc. and some sketches for the systematics of different forms of utensils.

Anna Berliner states in the first sentence:

“If one wants to get to know an alien nation, you have to participate in all their activities.” (p.1)

That is exactly what she did, but she was not only an observer or a passive participant, but rather conducted detailed research in the history and practice of the Way of Tea as well as learning the practice with a Japanese teacher. Being able to speak and read Japanese was definitely an advantage in her research; a very rare knowledge among Germans living in Japan (at that time). In the first two parts, Berliner explains in great details the practice of sadô. Of great interest is the last part, where she analyses her observation and experiences according to the philosophy of tea. She states:

“As soon as I come to the tea room, I am far from all which troubles me usually, through the new environment detached from time and space. Pleasantly a consistent mood takes possession on me, vanishing all inner conflict.” (p. 259)

Though even Japanese today have trouble sitting in seiza 正座 (literally “proper sitting”; sitting on one’s knees), Berliner writes:

“I like sitting the Japanese way.” (p. 259)

She then again emphasizes the possibility of becoming someone new in the tea room, not concerned by the outer world, but just being oneself. She writes:

“Consciously, the Way of Tea turns away from civilization. Like in Taoism, it goes back to the simple, the natural.” (p. 267)

Due to her own research background, Anna Berliner is able to put her experiences into a broader context. She writes:

“In tea the [aesthetics] demand raises as far as the individual itself becomes a piece of art in terms of calmness and overcoming physical demands.” (p. 269)

Anna Berliner refuses clearly to judge the tradition of sadô in terms of European standards:

“It would be wrong to deny the Way of Tea all deeper meaning, because it forgoes conceptional explanation and limits itself to emotion. The tea cult is not a European scientific demonstration, which needs conceptional clarity. The self-evident requirement for logical clearance cannot be extended to something, which lays outside the European scientific knowledge.” (p. 270)

To understand the Japanese tradition of tea one cannot apply western logic or western scientific rules to it.

However, coming from a European country, Anna Berliner did just that – applying a Western approach to a non-Western phenomenon. But she emphasized that one has to be aware of one’s own origin and socialization. For doing proper research on the Japanese culture one must adjust Western cultural theory accordingly. In this understanding, Anna Berliner was quiet ahead in cultural science of her times.