The tea-ceremony is, perhaps, the strictest and most complicated of all the ceremonies with which the cultured Japanese used to surround himself. The ceremony, when carried out in full, is very intricate; but it may be briefly described as follows:—First, the guests who arrive on the appointed day are shown into the waiting-room and when they are all assembled, they are conducted into the tea-room. This room should properly be a building by itself, and the commonest size is nine feet square, that is, one of four mats and a half, the half mat being in the centre. The maximum number of guests is five, four of whom sit in a row and the fifth at right angles to the rest. The host faces the row; he brings in the tea-utensils and sets them in order. The guests are first regaled with a slight repast; and when it is over, they are requested to retire into the waiting-room, while the host puts away the trays and plates and sweeps the room. They are then called in again. A small quantity of powdered tea is put into the tea-bowl which is used on these occasions, and hot water is poured into it and stirred with a bamboo-whisk until it is quite frothy. The bowl is handed to the guest at the head of the row; he takes three sips and a half, the fourth sip being called half a sip as it is much slighter than the first three, and after wiping the brim carefully, he passes it on to his neighbour, who also sips and hands the bowl to the third guest, and so on to the fifth guest, who returns it empty to the host. After this loving-cup, the host stirs a bowl for each of his guests, that is, he makes tea in the bowl for the first guest, who drains it in three sips and a half and returns it to the host, who then washes it and makes a fresh bowl of tea for the second guest, and so on until the last guest is served. As this process takes a long time on account of the formalities which have to be observed in making, serving, and drinking the beverage, sometimes two bowls are used so that while one guest is drinking and admiring a bowl, the host can be making the other for the next. The tea in the loving-cup is stronger than that in the others. The bare procedure is simple; but the complexity lies in the hard and fast rules to be observed in the arrangement of the room, and respecting the utensils to be used, the manner in which they should be handled in making tea, the way in which the tea should be drunk, the number and style of bows and salutations to be made in offering, receiving, and returning the bowls, and also in the instructions as to when and how the bowls and other articles in the room are to be taken up and admired, and the manner of expressing such admiration and of replying thereto. The formalities are as strict as court ceremony and are often irksome to the beginner who is nervous and afraid of exposing himself at every step.