Secondly, the Ways are distinguished from art forms of other countries by the intrinsic qualities and meaning with which they are imbued, for at the foundation of all the Ways are the values of Zen aesthetics, the preference for rusticity, for mannered compassion, for a selfless identification with nature, and an uncomplicated morality. It's been suggested that, in lieu of a strictly formal religion dominant in their society, the Japanese have adopted the Do as a substitute means of guiding personal conduct. Perhaps this is so; indeed, the reverence for the principles of the Do borders on the sacred. But if the various Ways have no unifying dogma or theology, there is unquestionably in their reliance upon Zen a non-secular ideal. It is Zen that instills the soul of the Ways.

Although the different Ways are diverse, adherents to them must undergo a similarly uniform and gradual process of apprenticeship that acts also as a series of challenges designed to weed out those who haven't a complete dedication to eventual mastery. For the novice calligrapher, shodo, the Way of the brush, begins with the simplest stroke, a single horizontal line that stands for hitotsu or ichi--"one." During the feudal age at calligraphy schools like the Jobokudo, which produced a number of artist-calligraphers, it was this stroke that was given the student for three full years of practice before his training progressed any further. It was not unusual for the pupil to repeat the character 500 times at a single session. Twentieth-century training in the art isn't much less severe. The shodo master requires his disciples to copy his examples exactly, with no room for personal interpretation. Because the paper is extremely porous and the brush always fully laden with ink, the slightest hesitation in the completion of the character will result in a blob or smear. The whole action, from the moment the brush is touched to the paper (kihitsu), through the stroke (sohitsu), until the finish (shuhitsu), must be spontaneous and perfectly coordinated. In addition, the student's calligraphy has to conform completely to the balance and spacing necessary. If his posture is incorrect, his grip on the brush too tight, his entire concentration not focused in the writing, the result cannot be considered a work of art, worthy of a follower of the Way.

The same goal motivates the student of the Way of tea, a complete commitment of mind and body connected in the smoothly functioning performance of a task. Chado was begun in the 15th century, and further developed under the guidance of Takeno Joo, a cultured aristocrat of samurai linkage who nonetheless had a deep admiration for wabi, the appreciation for the subdued and unaffected, and Sen Rikyu. It was Takeno who transformed elaborate tea parties of the wealthy classes into a more subtle and refined Way. Instead of expensive decorations in a extravagant setting, he formulated a Way of tea that featured the barest of essentials, reducing (and thereby elevating) beauty to a chaste abstract. The chashitsu, or tea house itself, represents the essence of this simplicity, a plain, tatami-matted room usually located in a traditional tea garden. Inside, a single blossom or flowering branch in a bamboo vase adorns an alcove buttressed by a log that may still have traces of the bark left on it.