My name is Rei Sandy, and I’m an Intern at FindJPN.
On April 2nd, I went to see a tea ceremony held in Ginza hosted for two of our customers Alison and Kavin. All the people at the tea ceremony, including the teacher, were great so I want to tell you about them as well as the ceremony itself.
https://findjpn.com/tokyo/tea-ceremony/57
Around 8:45am that day, after going up four flights of stairs up an office building, I was in front of the tea ceremony room.
I opened the door to a breeze of incense, into a dimly lit space separated into two rooms. I was half-expecting a strict conservative person to greet me, but I was wrong. I was pleasantly surprised as a beautiful, gentle lady greeted me - her slick black hair tied up in a knot, dressed in beige “kimono” and equipped with an infectious smile and laugh. Her name is Fumi Kojima, a tea ceremony teacher who has been practicing tea since she was nine years old.
Shortly after I got there, Kavin and Alison arrived. Alison, a pre-school teacher from Australia, has long blond hair and a warm smile that breaks out between her talking. Kavin, a gold miner, is a well-built man who fashions a clean-cut beard and a chuckle that like Fumi, spreads infectiously. Before beginning the tea ceremony, Fumi had told me she was nervous/anxious as she had been away from English for so long. But as she quietly sat the two travelers down on the “tatami” mat, I sensed her confidence and her ease at showing “the way of tea”.
She then prepared three cups, or I should say bowls, of hot cherry blossom tea – one for myself as well – each bowl containing one cherry blossom petal. Alison, alarmed by the petal’s saltiness, cringed her nose, making a face of both delight and confusion. Kavin chuckled.
After a brief explanation of the tea ceremony’s history and process, Kavin, Alison, and Fumi moved into the tea-room located behind the “tatami” mat near the entrance. The tea-room had “tatami” as well and was staked out by semi-transparent white drapes with small lanterns at each corner. In the middle of the room was a square opening – a hole – for putting the charcoal in and then boiling the water. Still intrigued by the design and aura of the room, Kevin and Alison were asked to sit – Alison in the “seiza”* posture and Kavin in the “agura” * posture. Kavin and Alison almost looked pensive as they silently waited for their next instructions.
* “Seiza” posture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seiza
“Agura” posture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agura
Under the dim light, Fumi proceeded to prepare the charcoal in the opening amongst the tatami. We all peered in the square hole, listening to the charcoal hiss and crackle, watching the water vapor fill the room as we again silently waited for Fumi to finish.
After what felt like a few long but soothing minutes later, the tea was served in a small bowl. Alison and Kevin each in turns, as taught, took their tea bowls above their heads as a token of appreciation before tasting the tea.
“Hmm…bitter”, Alison remarked. Fumi laughs,
“Yes, the tea is bitter but good right?”
Both Alison and Kavin laugh in agreement.
Next, it was time for the visitors to prepare the tea. With some help, they repeated Fumi’s process of tea preparation: Boil the water, mix it with tea powder, stir the tea, and approach the receiver of tea with peace. Sitting upright, and in “seiza”, Fumi attentively watched their every move.
“Alison, you prepare tea better than my students!” Fumi says.
Alison continued to serve the tea to Kavin – wearing a huge grin. Kavin proved diligent as he prepared his tea for Alison too.
Before we knew it, the hour and a half tea ceremony was coming to an end.
Fumi wrote the kanji “一如”(Ichinyo) onto two separate sheets of paper shaped like hand fans for them to take back. “一如”means to bring separate minds/souls together and to concentrate – exactly what Alison and Kevin accomplished. With these fine papers in hand, together they left with even finer smiles as they took the four flights of stairs back down into the streets of Tokyo.
- Rei Sandy
Comments from Alison and Kavin after the Tea Ceremony…
Alison: “The detail and intricate movements involved [in the tea ceremony] are fascinating and Fumi was the perfect teacher to help me understand more about it.”
Kavin: “The pace of the whole event was perfect and never felt rushed. Thank you again Fumi!”
You can experience this activity here: “Tea Ceremony : feel the way of Japan”
Written by admin
Topics: FindJPN Contents