Tea was probably brought into Japan for the first time, when cultural relationships were established with China in the era of the T'ang dynasty. Till the 12th century, tea-drinking was only part of life at court, or of Buddhist ceremonies. Dogen, founder of the Soto branch of Zen-Buddhism, brought with himself several tools for Chinese tea ceremony, when he returned to Japan in 1227. At that time, tea drinking was not restricted to the court and the temples; it was also popular among warriors.

Tea drinking went through a long transformation process, influenced by several sources, such as the ceremonial tea drinking of the temples, the prodigal "social tea” of the aristocracy, and the prosperity of a new, wealthy, and influential merchant class in the 15th-16th century, as well as three important persons; Murata Shuko, Takeno Jo'o, and Sen no Rikyu.

The tea ceremony (茶の湯, cha-no-yu) takes place in the tea house, in Japanese sukiya (数寄屋). The size of the tea house is four tatami and a half. One tatami is about 90 cm by 180 cm.

The tea ceremony consists of the following steps (by Rikyu):

1. Invitation: The host told the tea master who are to be invited. It can be at least five, at most seven persons.
2. The guests arrive: The guests are waiting in the machiya (町家 or 町屋), and prepare themselves for the ceremony.
3. Entering the tea house: The beginning of the ceremony is announced by the tea master. The guests enter the tea house in a deep bow with silent tread. The low door of the tea house requires a deep bow anyway. The guests make a bow to the ikebana (生け花), then look around in the tea house, inspect the tokonoma (床の間), and finally settle at their dedicated place.
4. Having tea: Before having tea, a light cake is offered to the guests. First, the tea master sweeps the necessary amount of tea powder with a bamboo broom (matcha) into a cup, then spills hot water on it with a bamboo ladle. Then he stirs the tea powder with the broom. This way the tea master creates a cup of tea condensate. The tea master pours from this tea condensate into the guests' cups, and some more hot water is added.
5. Drinking tea: The Japanese do not season their tea. The rule is to take three slow sips of the tea, it is forbidden to mop it up. They might have more than one cup of tea, the quantity is not defined.
6. Conversation: After having finished their tea, the guests start a quiet conversation, usually about the tea house.
7. Leaving: The tea master gives the signal to finish the tea ceremony. The guests say the host goodbye, and leave with silent tread.

Source:

 1.Csadó  -  A tea japán útja   
The base of the translation is from Urasenke's webpage:www.urasenke.or.jp
2.http://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jap%C3%A1n_teaszertart%C3%A1s