Tea ceremony manners for guests 1

Would you like to attend a Japanese tea ceremony?  As a guest of the ceremony all you have to do is simply enjoy the tea and spread. However, there are hundreds of etiquette one should know when in the ceremony.  Don’t worry.  I’ll lay down the five most basic rules that you should know for attending your first ceremony!

1.    Take off your watch and accessories.

2.    Do not seat at the first and the last seats.

3.    Enjoy your sweet before tea.

4.    Avoid drinking the tea from the front of tea bowl.

5.    Observe the bowl at a low position.

1.    Take off your watch and accessories.

The host might serve you the tea with his treasured tea bowl.  You do not want to damage it with your rings or with your accessories.  It is the well-known reason, but I also think that, in the tea room, there is no need for you to glam up or be bound by time.  Take off your watch and accessories before getting into the tea room.

2.    Do not seat at the first and the last seats.

The main (first) guest and the last guest have special roles to do during the ceremony.  So, it’s better to avoid sitting the first and the last position.  Usually, the nearest seat to the tokonoma alcove is the position for the main guest. 

As you can see, the rules are not so difficult.  I’ll talk about the rest in the next entry.