It saddens me to say that today is the last episode of my Japanese Tea Ceremony series (see "Tea Ceremony" category to the right of this webpage). I have truly enjoyed this beginning to my hopefully long journey of learning about this art form. My interest towards this topic was sparked when I wrote a paper on the legendary tea ceremony master Sen Rikyu, for my Japanese Religion class. If you are interested, check out some of these particularly helpful sources (special shout out to Kim, my partner for this assignment):
- Anderson, Jennifer L. An Introduction to Japanese Tea Ritual. Way of Tea
- "CHANOYU- Japanese Tea Ceremony." The Diplomatic Insight
- Harris, Phyllis L. "Chado: The Way of Tea: A Japanese Tea Master's Almanac." Asian Pages:
- Okakura, Kakuzo. The Book of Tea
I started taking classes because my family friend happens to have studied Japanese Tea Ceremony for a long time, and was willing to teach me. While this was a pretty special circumstance, there are so many opportunities available out there to learn about cultures that interest you. I recommend anyone with the means to actively learn about traditional culture, because doing so really takes you back to the culture's roots.
Today's lesson was like the final performance after many a rehearsal. I brought my mother and sister, and my classmate brought a friend, for whom we made a bowl of tea each. If you'd like to see me perform the tea ceremony, check out my video at: http://youtu.be/BBn7mdV7-tQ! Please like and subscribe :)
We started out with a light meal called kaiseki. "Kaiseki" can be translated to "stone in the robe," and refers to the simplistic meal of rice, soup, and meat/vegetables that Zen Buddhist monks consume before tea. The concept comes from the fact that these monks do not live with Air Conditioning or heating, so they would put heated stones in their robes on cold winter days. It has connotations of this simple, humble lifestyle, which is important in tea ceremony. There are no specific types of foods included in kaiseki; it would depend on the host what comes onto the plate.
Next, we started on our okashi of the day: matcha mame. Literally, this means "matcha beans," and tasted like a peanut enveloped in a crispy biscuit, with a layer of matcha chocolate on the outside. See the picture below:
We started out with a light meal called kaiseki. "Kaiseki" can be translated to "stone in the robe," and refers to the simplistic meal of rice, soup, and meat/vegetables that Zen Buddhist monks consume before tea. The concept comes from the fact that these monks do not live with Air Conditioning or heating, so they would put heated stones in their robes on cold winter days. It has connotations of this simple, humble lifestyle, which is important in tea ceremony. There are no specific types of foods included in kaiseki; it would depend on the host what comes onto the plate.
Next, we started on our okashi of the day: matcha mame. Literally, this means "matcha beans," and tasted like a peanut enveloped in a crispy biscuit, with a layer of matcha chocolate on the outside. See the picture below:
Then, as mentioned beforehand, we performed the ceremony for family and friends. After this, our teacher made koicha for all of us, which is different from the usucha (diluted tea) that my classmate and I make. It is thicker, and more saturated with matcha powder. In the tea ceremony we learned, bonryaku temae, we make a separate bowl of tea for each guest. In koicha, we pass around one bowl of tea: firstly, because it relates to one of the main concepts of Japanese tea ceremony "wa" (harmony), and secondly because the stuff is really really really strong.
This is how thick our koicha was, almost like paint. It could be even thicker, to the point of having the consistency of toothpaste. Our teacher thought it might be better to make it a bit more diluted for all of our sakes. :D In usucha, there is 2 scoops per bowl. In koicha, there is 3 scoops per person in one bowl-- in this case, 15 scoops.
We are all given a chakin ( a cloth with which to wipe the tea bowl), Because we are all sharing the bowl, we each will wipe the lip of the bowl after taking our share, like so:
Below is a better look at just how beautiful the haiken, or "view," in the bowl is. This tea bowl is black, so you can clearly see the patterns the emerald-green tea has made.
There is a bit of unspoken pressure on the last person to drink the rest of the tea, which happened to be my sister this time around. If one has never tasted this before, it can be a bit much, so in the end we were unable to finish the whole bowl. To be clear, it's not that it tastes bad, it's just very heavy and bitter. However, matcha is extremely good for the health, filled with vitamins and antioxidants.
Special thank you to my Japanese Tea Ceremony teacher, Minako-san, and my wonderful classmate, Christina, for making this all such a wonderful experience.
Please stay tuned for more videos and posts on this topic, and I hope you enjoyed this summer segment!
Until next time,
justajae
Please stay tuned for more videos and posts on this topic, and I hope you enjoyed this summer segment!
Until next time,
justajae