粉末にしたお茶を、茶筅で撹拌して飲むのが抹茶です。この飲み方が完成したのは、中国の宋時代でした。この時代を代表する茶書に、『大観茶論』があります。その筆者は、北宋王朝最後の皇帝である徽宗と伝えられています。「大観」とは、徽宗の統治した時代を表す元号です。徽宗は芸術を尊んだ皇帝であり、美術史では水墨画を発達させたことで知られます。本当に徽宗が書いたのかはわかりませんが、納得のいく伝承です。

The method of making tea by beating powered tea with a tea whisk is called Matcha in Japanese. This method was perfected during the Song dynasty (960 – 1279) in China.

One of the important tea books written in this period is Daikan Sa-ron, Great Knowledge of Tea. Emperor Huizong (1082 – 1135), the eighth emperor of the Song dynasty, has been said to be the author of this book.

Daikan is the imperial era name for his reign.  Emperor Huizong was known for his promotion of the arts and encouraging the development of ink brush painting. There is no conclusive evidence that he wrote the book, but it seems plausible.