An immersive moment of tea appreciation and life's simplicity

It is often said that the tea ceremony is a blend of Japanese art and spiritual discipline. Nowadays, the tea ceremony can take on a different meaning for everyone: an immersive exploration of Japanese culture, a spiritual and meditative practice, a social event, or simply a fun pastime. In the 16th century, tea master Sen No Rikyu refined the tea ceremony, which can now be practiced throughout one's life and incorporates architecture, calligraphy, floral arrangement, garden design, pottery, Japanese cuisine, charcoal, incense, kimono, and much more.

Since I am in Canada to represent Japan and its culture, I prefer to offer a more formal ceremony, called chaji, rather than the ordinary tea ceremony.

Chaji is a complete ceremony that can take up to four hours. It includes a light meal, sake, a charcoal performance, a tea ceremony with two types of matcha (koicha and usucha) and two types of dessert (higashi and omogashi). Guests can also admire a floral arrangement, calligraphy, and tea accessories each time they enter the tea room.

The tea ceremony varies according to the seasons, but also depending on the time of day, the tea harvest, holidays, etc. Here is our winter tea ceremony 'Yobanashi' which took place in Mexico a few years ago.

We use different utensils, flowers, calligraphy scrolls, and culinary ingredients in each ceremony. As a tea ceremony host, I always like to talk about some Zen concepts related to the tea ceremony and the Japanese approach to life in general. Ichigo ichie, which means "one time, one opportunity," is one of the most important concepts in Zen philosophy.

Every tea ceremony we offer is a unique moment that will never happen again. No two ceremonies are identical, and this is also true for everything in life. This is why every moment must be honored and appreciated, both in the tea ceremony and in life. Wabi-sabi is a concept found in many aspects of Japanese culture such as architecture, design, garden design, and pottery, but it is particularly evident in the tea ceremony.

The concept of wabi-sabi was popularized by Sen No Rikyu, who began using tea accessories with simple and natural designs rather than sumptuous ones (we can see Hideyoshi Toyotomi using luxurious decorations and accessories in the Netflix film Age of Samurai). In his tea ceremonies, Sen no Rikyu emphasized the idea of imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness, encompassed in the concept of wabi-sabi. Personally, I love the imperfection of oribe chawan!  

When we host a tea ceremony, we offer it to our guests in a spirit of Japanese hospitality, omotenashi, which I will discuss further in my next blog. At the same time, it is a meditative moment for me. The tranquility of the tea ceremony and the concentration required to prepare a good bowl of matcha for our guests calms my mind.

The chaji ceremony is a wonderful opportunity to share many aspects of Japanese art, culture, and philosophy that would not be present in a regular ceremony.