茶神物語と茶経

－江戸文学と中国文学との関係－

抄録

　Akinari Ueda (1734-1810)， distinguished man of letters in the Yedo Period， was also well known as a master of the Sencha-do (one of the tea ceremony schools in Japan). He published， in the evening of his life， a book entitled “Chashin-Monogatari ” (A Tale of Tea-Seed Spirit).

　This is the story of a Buddhist priest who is haunted， when he is wandering in the mountains， by a man who turns out to be the spirit of tea. And this is one of the best known writings about tea and tea cult in Japan.

　In China， there was a book entitled “Ch’a-ching ” (Chakyo, the Book of Tea) by Luyü (Rikuu)， founder of the tea ceremony à la chinoise in the time of the Tang Dynasty. This is a history as well as an encyclopedia of tea， and is believed to be the oldest book in the world on tea.

　In this article which is a comparative study of these two works， the writer has tried to delineate the influence of the culture and literature of China on those of the Yedo Period in Japan.