>>123843857>>123844267well remember that anon who shared his experiences with the tea ceremony? he called it the "social battledrome" and that's exactly what the manga depicts for the most part, it was used for trade deals, politicking, alliance making, marriage proposals, treason, plotting, absolutely everything, the tea master character had immense influence on politics and the lords. there's also a more intimate side when the characters bond, or enjoy the experience. there's also a focus on the feasts the lords prepared for each other, which is where they could show their power or money, or even make political statements like in a chapter which the lord used a normal tea pot instead of a special one gifted from nobunaga, which meant he was already thinking of betrayal.
speaking of tea ware, they are shown to be very important in terms of displaying power and influence if you had a good collection of wares, one of the early plot points is about nobunaga acquiring three caddies that would signify he is the guy who will unite japan. but it also delves into the design and philosophy of the wares, like the tea master wanting everything in the tea ceremony to be "simple" so he makes pure black cups and stuff. there's a whole world of aesthetics shown, the aesthetes that know their stuff pay attention to every detail like the vases used, the clothes, the tatami mats, the cups, the mansions, the gardens, etc. it's not hard to think of the river rock in usagi the same way. the tea ceremony and aestheticism is shown to be of social, cultural and even spiritual importance
of course, the manga probably exaggerates stuff, but I think it did a good job in showing how important all of that was to the samurai and warlords of the sengoku era. plus it is very funny, I can't get enough of furuta overreacting for anything
