Learn from a genuine ceremony

At the tea ceremony I attended on the last weekend, what I was most looking forward to was the tea room.  It is an authentic small room.  I crawled into the space from the small doorway.  The room was filled with bright but soft light from the paper screen windows.  Even though, the six guests sat closely with each other on a small space, the comfortable brightness brought a sense of release.  I found the room quite cozy.  Some of the guests looked nervous, some looked calm, and I assume that I looked excited, haha.  The host was friendly and skillful handling the ceremony.  In a feeling of tense but with delightful atmospheres, the ceremony went on and I shared a bowl of koicha, thick tea with the guest next to me. 

View from the nijiriguchi, the crawl in door way

The actual ceremony doesn’t sometimes go as the same way as how I learned in my tea school.  You have to behave flexibly.  In this ceremony, I actually missed the timing to bow to the next guest before taking my sweets.  I also had some other wonders that I didn’t know how I should have acted.  They are my assignment to bring back and ask my teacher.  It is good to attend a genuine ceremony.  There is always something to learn.

After the ceremony when the sun was about setting down

Purifying your hands and mouth

 I put the traditional sandals on.  I stepped into the tea garden that was partially covered with snow from the night before.  I have had a lot of chances to attend tea ceremonies lately, and this was already my third ceremony this year.  It was a tea ceremony work shop for us, the Japanese Tea Instructors and Advisers. 

The people lined up and practiced how to purify their hands at the stone basin and how to get into the tea room from the small crawl-in doorway.  You, as a guest, purify your hands and mouth with water before getting into the tearoom.  You crouch down in front of tsukubai, or the stone basin.  You use two scoops of water.

*** Steps ***

The first scoop:

1.    Scoop the water with the ladle using your right hand and pour the half of the water onto your left hand to purify

2.    Then switch the ladle from your right hand to your left, and pour the rest onto your right hand

The second scoop

3.    Scoop the water again with the ladle in your right hand.  Pour and receive the half of the water with your left hand palm.  Dab the water in the left hand on your lips

4.    Let the rest of the water trickle down the shaft of the ladle to purify it as it stands.  Then you return the ladle to the basin

Now you can carry onto the tea room.  Did you know how to do these steps?  You might have a chance to purify your hands during your trip to Japan.  You will find the purifying spot at many shrines.  Even some Japanese don’t know this proper way of purifying hands.  Remember these steps and impress people!

Practicing entering the room from the crawl-in doorway

Bend your back and slid into with your kneads

Meeting a new tea

The host who appeared into the tea room was not wearing kimono.  I was a bit surprised.  What she was dressed in was a school uniform.  One of the ceremonies that I attended this weekend was held by high school students. 

Despite of a strained look on the young lady’s face, she prepared the tea smoothly and flawlessly.  Once the tea for the main guest was served, some assistants, also students brought the bowls of tea for other guests prepared at the back.  They moved carefully not to bump into each other in the small room.  The assistants then, depending on the number of guests and the situation, pass the bowl around as they see fit.  I could tell that they have practiced well for this ceremony.

I wish I could show you the photos of the active students in the tea room, but taking photo during a ceremony is not considered polite.  This is the flower from one of the ceremonies on the day.

Even though I was preoccupied with their splendid performance, my forces shifted to the taste of tea once I sipped it.  At this kind of local tea ceremony, the tea is often from a local tea shop.  I noticed that the flavor of the served tea was not something I was familiar with.  It may not be from one of the local shops.  It was as good as my favorite matcha, but it was much clearer in flavor.  The rounded green sweetness grew on my palate.  This could be a pure flavor of matcha that it should be.  I loved this matcha.  I asked one of the staff the name and the maker of the tea.  It is Shoun-no-mukashi from Hekien.   

I searched on the internet about Hekien, but I didn’t find a satisfying site.  It could be a small shop that doesn’t have a webpage.  But, there seem to be a shop in Toyota-shi called Hekien.  It could be the one.  I want to visit there when I have chance to be in Toyota.  Meeting a new tea is always delightful.  

Sencha review, Asamiya Asatsuyu

I’ve loved the super premium senchas that I’ve tried on the trip to Asamiya.  They were impressive.  So, I bought reasonable one to see how the average Asamiya tea taste like.  The sencha I got is Asatsuyu breed, which was 1000yen or 1200yen for 100grams.

The dried leaf doesn’t have the luster that premium ones have, but it still have a fine profound color and looks quite good considering the price.  I prepared this tea with my standard recipe.  The water color was not perfectly beautiful because it was slightly reddish.  The first impression of this Asatsuyu was weak.  The bitterness stood out in my mouth and I was not able to find satisfying umami there.  Comprehensively, I felt short on the flavor.  But, I didn’t miss the potential, the mild creamy sweetness behind the bitterness.

I tried another way of brewing to bring out the charm of this tea.  It is the method to make premium tea using plenty of the leaf (4g) and steeping it with a small amount (50ml/1.7oz) of lukewarm water (60C/140F).  Two minutes after, I've tried to check the aroma on the teapot.  It was filled with a pleasing sweet aroma like corn.   My assumption was correct!  The tea came out superb.  It still has earthy bitterness but also the rounded flavor of umami filled into my mouth.  It was very tasty.  As the super premium Asamiya teas I’ve tried, I find the bitterness delicious with this reasonable tea as well.  This is not as crisp or clear as the premium ones, but still its bitterness are very flavorful when it is blended with the corn like sweetness. 

I can say that this tea is quite distinctive so some people may not like it but some may love it.  I, personally very much like the Asamiya tea.

Hatsugama, the first tea ceremony in 2013

The first tea ceremony of the year is called hatsugama.  We had one at our tea school last Sunday.  It is special and formal than usual.  For instance, at ordinary lessons, most students do not wear kimono or we don’t practice on purifying our hand before getting into the tea room, but we did them at hatsugama.    I’m always excited about it.

There is one thing very special about hatsugama that I look forward to the most.  It is that hatsugama is the only chance for me to see my teacher’s performance.  My teacher serves tea for us.  I took that opportunity and observed her performance closely.  I wanted to learn something out of it.  The served tea, koicha by her was excellent.  It had a perfect blend with profound flavor.  Even more than the taste of the tea, I was impressed with her movement.  Her gesture purifying the tea whisk was so graceful.  For purifying, you move the whisk in the tea bowl with water.  She lightly moved the whisk that it looked like dancing in the water. 

This is a picture of one of student, not my teacher

I realized that my movement is still stiff when comparing with her gentle and smooth gesture.  Maybe, I am too conscious that I want to move beautifully, and it makes my movement tense.  I think I need to move without thinking and without the ulterior motive, haha.  For the natural movement, I need to practice the simple movements over and over again.  That’s the only way.  

How barbaric I am

We, Japanese usually take a bath at night.  On these cold days, I often feel like having a cup of hot green tea after the bath.  Just one cup.  Cooling water when preparing or cleaning the teapot after use are not a big deal usually, but at this relaxing time, I find them troublesome just for one cup. 

I don’t want to go through the proper steps for preparing, but I want to drink tea.  I know this is something not to be proud of … but I found out other alternative!! 

I just put a few tea leaves directly into a glass and add boiling water.  That’s it.  The amount of leaves is only one third of regular recipe.  If you gently take sips from the surface, you won’t get much leaves coming into your mouth.  The taste is not perfect but it’s still fine.  Of course at the end, when you drink the bottom part, the tea gets stronger and a few leaves might slip into your mouth.  But, it’s okay and I’m happy as far as I can have a cup of tea after bath.

I think I should be ashamed of myself as a qualified Japanese Tea Adviser to have tea with this barbaric preparation.  I know you may want to advice me to use a tea strainer if I don’t want to wash the teapot.  But, I don’t even want to wash the strainer either.  I’m genius on thinking excuses, hahaha.  

Home tea ceremony

What is a Japanese tea ceremony?  Some of you might have difficulty picturing it.  What do you actually do in the ceremony?   What do you enjoy?  Why do you find it yourself difficult of making it formal?  You might have many questions.  I haven’t been able to tell you what really the tea ceremony is like.

Does the taste of matcha served in the ceremony differ from the one at casual tea?  I can say that the tea served in the ceremony is way much better.  But, well … it is not exactly correct … honestly, they are physically the same tea and have the same taste.  What I mean is that you definitely find the same tea more delicious because of the special surroundings.  You can make ordinary tea special by putting a little effort on preparing and serving.  This is what the tea ceremony is all about.

Even though I use many words to describe it, it might be difficult for you to truly understand the enjoyment.  You’ll never know until you experience it.  The formal ceremony is quite complicated, so I’ll introduce the simplified ceremony that you can try at home.  I tell some tips about it on my Facebook- Japanese tea 101 -.  Check out Home Tea Ceremony on My facebook 

Face of tea bowls

Many books say that the face or front of tea bowl is the side that has drawing motif or distinctive pattern of glaze.  But, I don’t find much other detailed description about it.  It seems there isn’t any absolute rule made.  I myself am still on my training on sado, The Way of Tea.  I often experience difficulty in distinguishing the front part of tea bowls.

It is easy if the bowl has a distinctive form (distortion, dent, form of opening rim), drawing or glaze pattern.

Front

Back

What if the bowl has the drawings all around the walls?  I’ll consider that the front part is the side that has the main motif. 

Front

Back

What about the case with no pattern or no distortion?

Front

Back

Check the imprint at the bottom.  When you flip the bowl from your side, not side way, the imprint should be read facing the right direction, not upside down.

Some people say another rule.  The imprint is usually located left side of the foot. 

However, you cannot always determine the front basing on imprint shown.  Some tea bowls don’t have any imprint at all.  Some imprints are found in the middle of foot or at the right side.  And also for the tea bowls with no drawing, you might want to use your own discretion when it comes to deciding which the front for the attractive glaze pattern is.  A potter has to make the imprint before baking, but you don’t know how the pattern or design of glaze appear until it comes out from the kiln.  In this case, the imprint rule will not be applied.  I think you should remember this imprinting rule as preliminary information.  This kind of ambiguous rule makes it difficult.

To conclude, I consider that the front is the side with distinctive design that the host wants the guests to see.  If the bowl does not have a distinctive design, then you can follow the imprint rule.   My understanding may vary in the future as I study and experience The Way of Tea more.

Do you truly know Rikyu?

Is Rikyu really a superior man as a tea master?  The Rikyu you know might be an idol.  As I learn more about chanoyu, The Way of Tea, I found out that the character and anecdotes of Rikyu might not be all true. 

During a long history of chanoyu, Rikyu was kind of deified.   Some of the stories nowadays regarding Rikyu are from unreliable historical sources which are 南方録Nanporoku and 茶話指月集Sawashigetushu written after his death.  Rikyu was a very tall guy and he learned the tea from Jouo Takeno.  These are common understandings.  However, I was surprised to learn that there is no evidence about them.  There is not any historical verification to proof that Rikyu and Jouo actually met.  Another surprise is that in Rikyu’s time, people didn’t sit seiza (sit on their legs) during the tea ceremony.  They sit at ease.  I wonder how they performed the ceremony without seiza.  Can you imagine it?

Do you know the episode of the Morning Glory Tea Ceremony?

One day, Hideyoshi (the ruler) heard that the Morning Glory's (flower) at Rikyu's residence were beautiful.  He wanted to view them and asked Rikyu whether he could visit.  When Hideyoshi arrived at Rikyu's residence, there were no Morning Glory's at all.  Rikyu took the puzzled Hideyoshi to his tea room.  There, Hideyoshi saw just one Morning Glory.  Rikyu had cut all the other Morning Glory's down to highlight the most beautiful flower.  It was sitting in a non-decorated space, looking very vivid and impressive.  Hideyoshi praised him saying "You are a great master, Rikyu."  (Dec.2012, SpaceALC)

This is one of the famous anecdotes of Rikyu.  Many of these type of stories we know now are from茶話指月集Sawashigetushu.  It is written by Soan Kusumi who is a disciple of a disciple of Rikyu’s grandchild if I remember right.  You will wonder how reliable the stories are, which have been passed through the generations. 

Even the popular book, “The Book of Tea” written in English by Tenshin Okakura includes some stories from茶話指月集Sawashigetushu.  We might not really know the real Rikyu.  He is still a mystery.  However, there is no doubting the fact that Rikyu innovated and formed the foundation of chanoyu.  He actually created raku teabowl and nijiriguchi (crawl-through doorway).  I admit that the adoration of Rikyu helped to develop and continue our tea culture.  It is a part of our history.  He might not be as superior as we imagine him to be.  That’s why I find him so curious. 

References

“Cha” by Souoku Sen

“Rikyu-no “wabi” towananika” by Asao Kodu

“Rikyu nyumon” by Soshin Kimura

Tea ceremony manners for guests 2

Continuation from the previous entry

3.    Enjoy your sweets before tea.

Oftentimes, sweets are served in one container.    You take one piece and place it on your kaishi paper with the chopsticks come along with the container.  Put back the chopsticks onto the container and pass it to the next guest.   You eat it before the tea is served.  If you cannot eat the whole sweet, you can wrap it with kaishi paper and take it home.  You don’t leave it there.

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

The side that has a design or pattern is the front of the tea bowl.  It is considered important.  To show your respect, avoid drinking from the front.  If the tea bowl is handed facing you with its front, turn it about 90 degrees and drink the tea from the side of the bowl.

5.    Observe the bowl at a low position.

You have a chance to observe the tea bowl after drinking the tea.  You hold it with both hands and treat it close to the floor if by any chance you slip it off from your hands.  If you want to see the bottom, you flip it while making sure some tea residue does not drip.  You do not hold the bowl up above your head to look at the bottom.   The value of the bowl might be worth a lot.  Imagine how you, the host, would feel if your guest carelessly held up your precious tea bowl above his head.

A significant fascination of the tea ceremony is the non-verbal communication that creates intimacy with others.   The host sincerely treats you with utmost hospitality with his precious utensils.   You should respond him with the respect and proper etiquette he deserves.   If the host sees you treating his bowl with care, he will gratefully acknowledge your consideration.  The manners are there to help you properly interact with others.  Now that you know the five rules, it’s your turn to experience the one of a kind ceremony!  Enjoy!!

1.    Take off your watch and accessories.

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

3.    Enjoy your sweets before tea.

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

5.    Observe the bowl at a low position.

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.

Tea production region for a good quality tea

Which region in Japan do you think produces quality tea?  Uji or Waduka in Kyoto?  Yame in Fukuoka?  Have you ever heard of Asamiya in Siga?  Tea lovers are well aware that Asamiya produces excellent quality tea.  Sad to say, that I haven’t heard of it. 

I finally had a chance to visit an Asamiya tea farm and a tea shop in Siga when I attending a tea studying tour.  It is said that mountain regions are ideal for producing tea because of its big difference in the temperature between day and night.  The farmer showed us around his field. The well known notion made sense when I finally got to observe the actual field.  Look at the picture above and notice the tea plants are grown on the slopes.  To get to this place, you drive up the narrow winding road.  Large machineries used in the regular farms are useless here.  Farmers need much effort in taking care of growing and harvesting manually.  Why do they make tea in such hard places?  Simply, for the quality of the tea! 

According the farmer, when buying Asamiya tea, you need to be careful of imitations.  Asamiya is not a large production region, so their tea is distributed only to a few limited channels.  The famous tea shop in Kyoto, Ippodo also uses authentic Asamiya tea. 

During the study tour, we were offered to try the Asamiya tea at the farm, which was the super-premium tea that had won a prize in a contest.  It was regular-steamed sencha with a great aroma.  Its’ water was slightly red, which is considered not good for sencha.   However the taste was incredible!!  I was drawn to the distinctive and amorous umami with a nutty note.  The most surprising thing was that although this tea definitely has bitterness, the wooden like aroma made it flavorful, not astringent at all.  Would you believe that you find the bitterness tasty?  The distinctive umami and tasty bitterness merge to create a profound flavor that registers a prominent impression on your palate.  I got another taste of Asamiya at the tea shop.  It was also premium tea with the same bitterness and luscious flavor.  I really fell in love with Asamiya tea so I wanted to introduce in this blog.

Unfortunately, the two Asamiya teas that I tried were quite expensive; I can’t afford the pleasure of always drinking them. I wonder if regular-quality Asamiya has the similar flavor.  If you have tried Asamiya tea, tell me, how do you like it?