Rikyu wrote verses to explain the tea ceremony and wabi . Demand for the taste of the tea led the ceremony to secularization. The tea ceremony itself contains a mixture of both ancient Indian and Chinese cultures, as well as the Japanese culture that transformed and adapted the ceremony into the institution of that country. Although each tea master approaches the ceremony differently, little variation occurs in the essential elements. Any, or even all of these phases may be chosen by the host.
Teahouses reflect a deliberate form of architectural purity.
Teahouses need only consist mainly of a tearoom, however, more elaborate houses have many tearooms connected by corridors, a kitchen, and possibly a preparation room. The tearoom can have many different designs. Early tearooms, and modern ones, are sometimes areas of the home partitioned off with screens. The tearoom could also be separate from the home in a teahouse. One of the more common tearoom designs consists of four and a half mats, and has variations, but a commonly used plan was designed by Rikyu.