Painting raku cup

At the workshop, you choose a piece from the pre-baked ruku cups, and a quick lecture for painting was given.  You could paint your cup with six different colored glazes available there.  Other people were making colorful cups, but I wanted to make a black cup.  Because, I was inspired by the beautiful black raku tea bowls that I saw at the raku ware museum.  

Konnichiwa, it's Koheiヽ(^。^)ノ  The difficult part is that the original glazes are all grayish and you don’t know how colorful or dark they appear after baking.  But, at the same time, the mysterious part is fascinating. 

Drying the pieces on the kiln

Baking them in the kiln for about 40 min.

Taking them out and immediately soaking in water

If you want ashy black flavor in color, you smoke it for a half minute before soaking it in water.

You feel affection for your self-made piece even if it is not excellent.  So as mine.  I think I did pretty well as my first try.  I look forward to having tea with it^^  Jah!

Asking about the weather for greetings

I saw a TV program interviewing foreign people who have been living in Japan for a while.  They were asking about “The moment where you first got used to Japan”.  They talked about things that seems common to us Japanese in their answers, and I suddenly realized that those things might be weird to foreigners.

Konnichiwa, It’s Koheiヽ(^。^)ノ 

Some of the answers are …

When I’m bowing on the phone,

When I can tell correct age of Japanese people,

When I apologize often,

When I get used to seeing people who wear a mask in town,

When I talk about weather in greetings,

You might need some explanation for some of them.  Please refer to the bottom of this entry. 

Regarding the greeting about weather, the interviewee is from Taiwan.  She said it is always hot in Taiwan and there is no need to talk about the weather.  Japan has four seasons and people are conscious about the seasons and weather.  That’s right.  We often talk about weather in greetings.  I really appreciate that we have beautiful four seasons. 

Now, it’s one of the best seasons of the year here in my area.  We have a dry and comfortable weather.  Therefore, some festivals and events are held around the town almost every weekend.   This weekend I attended one of the events.  It was a workshop about painting your own raku ware.  Jah!

This is where we had the workshop.

**Bowing**

Some people bow when they thank and apologize on the phone, even though the other person cannot see you.  I, myself, might do it sometimes, hahaha…

**Correct age**

Japanese people relatively look younger than people from other nations.   It seems difficult for foreigners to tell the age of Japanese.  How about me?  How old do I look?   I don’t think I’m an exception.  …   Well, I’m thirty eight.  Do I look young?

**Apologizing**

We seem to apologize often.  It is natural to us but it doesn’t seem that way at other countries.

**Wearing a mask**

In Japan, people wear a mask when you have a cold or hay fever.  You see some people wearing a mask in town, especially during the seasons where cold and hay fever are common (from winter to spring).  The country where this interviewee comes from doesn’t have such custom and she thought they are terrorists or something.

Designing tea cups

Do you have a teacup which design you adore so much?   Isn’t it difficult finding a perfect tea cup for your tea set?  I, as a tea ware retailer, find difficulty to looking for a tea cup which design really satisfies me.  So, I’ve came up with an idea to design our own cups.

Konnichiwa, it’s Koheiヽ(^。^)ノ  I think Japanese tea ceremony is for getting away from daily life and experiencing an extraordinary peaceful moment.  Our usual tea time should have the same kind of essence.  I believe the design of utensils can be powerful enough to create the extraordinary moment.  I love classic designs, but I don’t like old fashion or ordinary ones.  As ancient tea masters find beauty in rustic tea bowls with simplicity, I want to create contemporary designed cups with simplicity and sophistication.

Now I’m asking a ceramic manufacturer to make tea cups that I designed.   We had many revised drawings though out our meetings.  Finally, we got the plaster samples (In the photo below).  I was so exited seeing them in three dimensions and I was fascinated by thinking of the tea time with them.  But the figures were a little different from what I imagined.  We revised the drawing again, and now we are still working on our next steps.

This is a tough change for me.  Not only the design, I have to consider many other things like capacity, usability and pricing,  I’m really enjoying this project and am excited to see the final products^^  I hope I can introduce them by January.  Jah!

Tea ceremony with tables and chairs

Ichinokura in Gifu prefecture is the next town of ours, Seto.  It is one of the regions where the Mino wares are produced.  Last Saturday, we went there for the tohnosato festival  (http://www.tohnosato.or.jp/).   Tonosato literally means a pottery village.  You find some stands for food and ceramics at the main site.  Some potteries open their studio to the public around the town during the festival.

Konnichiwa, it’s Koheiヽ(^。^)ノ  The reason we visited the festival was for a tea ceremony.  Our tea master introduced us the tea ceremony held at Koubei-gama studio (http://www.koubei-gama.co.jp/).  There were two things that I was curious about this ceremony.  First is the ceremony was held with tables and chairs.  Another thing is that this ceremony was hosted by all men.

Ordinary ceremony is usually held in a tatami room and people sit on the tatami mats.  Tea for guests is also placed on tatami, as well as all other utensils.  But, at Koubei-gama, the place for the ceremony was at a tiled hall of a classic Japanese building.  There was a low table for the host and all the utensils were placed on it.  We, guests had benches and long tables.  This ceremony style is called ryurei.  You don’t meed a tatami room.  There was not tokonoma-alcove, either.  But still, they had flowers and an art to welcome the guests.  I always have tea lessons in a tatami room so I feel the ryurei style very casual and novel.

Most of the tea ceremonies that I’ve attended were hosted by women.  I guess female has more population in The Way of Tea (sado).   However, the host and the assistants at Koubei-gama were all men.  They wore a formal kimono and hakama skirt.  The color of their outfits was dark and subdued.  The movements were slow and stable.  The atmosphere was totally different from a ceremony by ladies.  The ryourei by men was really cool.  I thought it was not polite to take photos during the ceremony, so I don’t have any.  Please refer the photos at Koubei-gama’s webpage. >>>

http://www.koubei-gama.co.jp/fair/index4.html

I was inspired with this ceremony and someday I want to host a ceremony like that with nice outfits^^  Jah!

Tea and radiation in Japan

Even after the nuclear accident, I have not stopped drinking Japanese tea.  I understand that tea in the market is basically regulated and safe.

Konnichiwa, it’s Koheiヽ(^。^)ノ  The other day, I attended a workshop about “Tea and radiation”.  It was lectured by Mr. Nakamura from the Shizuoka prefecture chagyo-kenkyu center (http://www.pref.shizuoka.jp/sangyou/sa-820/).  This workshop included some scientific information and technical data, and it was difficult for me to follow those parts.

However, the overall main idea is …

l  The radiation exists in our daily lives since before the incident and we are exposed to it at some level.  You can’t make it “0” zero. 

l  At the moment, nobody can tell that you'll get cancer just by the number of radiation you are exposed to.  What you can only say is that less is better.  The risk of getting cancer with radiation is quite the same as getting one by smoking.  You can’t exactly tell how many cigarettes does one have to take to develop cancer.

l  The government set a very low maximum contamination point for tea so most Japanese tea is perfectly safe.   It is indicated that tea can only have the maximum of 500 Bq/kg of radioactive cesium.  Anything beyond that is rejected.

One of the data that I was interested in was the difference of the regulation at each organization.  It appears that even on this date, Japanese regulation is quite strict among those organizations.

Regulation for radioactive cesium in tea

<><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><> <><><><>

	Cs
Japan	500
EU	1250⇒500(since Apr8 2011)
WHO	1000
IAEA	3000 (Cs134:1000,  Cs137:2000)
Codex	1000
USA	1200

This data is from the workshop.

I got better understanding of the limit of radiation and still feel confident to buy tea.  Jah!



Edit on Oct 31 2011

Other entries about the radiation and tea

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/05/is-tea-from-japan-safe.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/05/restriction-of-tea-leaves.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/06/do-you-know-of-aracha.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/06/controversy-over-radioactive-test-on.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/06/controversy-over-radioactive-test-on_08.html

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/10/tea-and-radiation-in-japan-2.html

Edited on Nov 4

New entry about tea and radiation

http://everyonestea.blogspot.com/2011/11/tea-production-regions-far-from.html

Iced gyokuro at Nakamura-Tokichi Tea

The gate with a linen curtain is classic but very nice and appealing.  I could see the stone pathway approaching to the façade across the curtain.  I felt that something gracious will be back there.  We found this gate on the street to Byodoin-temple.  There are some other tea shops or cafes around the area but we decided to drop by this shop because of its welcoming frontage.

Konnichiwa, it’ Koheiヽ(^。^)ノ  This is going to be the last post about my Kyoto trip.  We passed the gate and got in the café.  It is an old building and was partially remodeled. I could tell that the room we had a tea was used to be a tatami room, from the old fanlight and ceiling.  But, now it has been changed and you can get in with your shoes on.  The cafe has a very nostalgic atmosphere. 

I ordered a gyokuro tea set for cold brewing.  The set came on a tray with an instruction sheet.  You can prepare your own tea.  The instruction says “First, pour cold water into the teapot and wait for ten minutes.  Then, pour the tea into the glass with ice”   So I did.

It is totally different from ordinary gyokuro brewing.  Instead of brewing with a small amount of water, they told me to brew with plenty of water like sencha brewing.   I was curious how the taste will be.  And after I took a sip, I got the idea.  This gyokuro was very refreshing and at the same time it still had the rounded mellow flavor of gyokuoro.  This is iced gyokuro so it’s meant for a hot summer day.  I think this will be better than ordinary gyokuro on those hot days.  Worth to try it^^  Jah!

Nakamura-Tokichi Tea website (Japanese) >>> http://www.tokichi.jp/

Byodoin branch (We visited) >>> http://www.tokichi.jp/tenpo/index3.php

Temples in Uji, Kyoto

On the third day in Kyoto, we visited Uji.  Mampukuji was the first stop there. 

We were welcomed by an angry guy,

Calm guys,

Smart men,

And Smiley guy

This Zen temple is established by Ingen, a monk from China.  It is said that he introduced Chinese kung-fu style tea.

Mampukuji (Japanese) >>> http://www.obakusan.or.jp/index.html

Another temple we visited was Byodoin.  It was built about a thousand years ago.  It is considered as a world Heritage.

I believe that most of people who have visited Japan have seen the temple even if they haven’t visited Kyoto.   Can you think of where people can see the temple? 

On the back of 10yen coin.  Jah!

Byodoin >>> http://www.byodoin.or.jp/index.html

Malebranche , a café in Kyoto station

There is a café in Kyoto station that I’m always interested in.  It is a casual looking café but I could tell they serve Japanese tea by the colorful tetsubin teapots displayed by the window.  I finally had a chance to drop by with my wife.  It was the second night of our trip in Kyoto.  We were tired but wanted to have a break before going back to the hotel. 

Konnichiwa, it's Koheiヽ(^。^)ノ  It was a cozy place.  People from different walks of life were spending their time; a female office worker on the way home, a tourist couple, a group of female students and business people.  Some of them seemed having a tea set that comes with the tetsubin teapot.  I wanted to have something sweet so I didn’t try a tea set here.  I had matcha ice cream and my wife, Hiro had iced latte.  I made an excellent choice.

I have checked about this café, Malebranche on the internet.  (Webpage -Japanese- >>> http://www.malebranche.co.jp/shop/cafe.php)  They are originally a confectionary shop and they have a popular green tea cookie.   What I was surprised about was that they don’t seem to serve green teas.  So what about the teapots I saw?  I could not find their official menu so I cannot say for sure, but they serve black tea with them.  Some people say they had hojicha, but I’ve never found that someone had green tea.  Disappointing…

Anyway, they are at a located very convenient place.  The ice cream I had was great and their green tea cookie sound very good.  I think it is a nice place to spend your spare time at the end of your sightseeing in Kyoto.  Jah!

Raku ware museum

The ancient tea master, Rikyu, designed utensils to achieve his ideal tea.  An example of this is the Ruku tea bowl.  Rikyu asked a craftsman, Chojiro to make his original bowl.  It is hand molded instead of using the turning wheel.   It is thick but feels lighter than it looks.  It is very earthy and I assume it goes really well with Rikyu-designed tea room that is simple and rustic.  Please imagine that you are in a dark tiny tatami room with clay walls.  The earthy bowl will be perfect in there.  A sophisticated white shiny porcelain bowl would look out of place.   When you hold the Ruku tea bowl, it fits in your hands naturally and you can comfortably feel the warmth of the tea through the thick soft clay.  Some people describe it as you almost feel like drinking tea from your own bare hands.

Konnichiwa, it’s Kohei ヽ(^。^)ノ　　I also visited the Raku ware museum on the Kyoto trip.  After Chojiro, The Raku family continued making Raku bowls.   Now 15th generation of Rakus is making them.  At the museum, I saw the successive potter’s pieces.  What I was most fascinated with was that I had an opportunity to hold the bowls.  I held them for viewing and not to drink tea from them.  We were lead to a tatami room.  As we view a tea bowl in a tea ceremony, we were able to appreciate three Ruku bowls.   Each piece is individually unique.  One has a rough and rustic texture.  Another one is glazed and smooth.  As I held the bowls, I tried to imagine how it’s like drinking tea out of them.  It was totally a different experience from just looking at the pieces in a case.  Jah!

Raku museum >>> http://www.raku-yaki.or.jp/e/index.html

Google image search result for Raku tea bowl (楽茶碗) >>>

http://www.google.co.jp/search?hl=ja&sugexp=gsis,i18n%3Dtrue&gs_is=1&cp=0&gs_id=69&xhr=t&q=%E6%A5%BD%E8%8C%B6%E7%A2%97&pq=%E3%82%8F%E3%81%B3%E8%8C%B6&rlz=1W1GZEZ_jaJP284&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1440&bih=778&bs=1&wrapid=tljp1316144727408055&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi

Tai-an, tea room designed by Rikyu

Have you heard the name, Sen no Rikyu?   He is the most significant tea master in the history who has perfected The Way of Tea.  He also designed tea rooms with his distinctive aesthetic sense.

Konnichiwa, it’s Kohei.  On our Kyoto trip, we visited Myokian temple.  It has Tai-an that is the only existing tearoom confirmed as Rikyu’s design.  Tai-an is one of the three tea rooms designated as national treasure of Japan. 

You cannot get inside the room but you can view it from outside and see the inside from the windows and entrance.  My impression of Tai-an is indeed very rustic.  The inside which is surrounded with soil wall was dark and extremely small.  It is only two tatami-mat room.  The common size room at that time was 4.5 tatami mats.  I wonder why he wanted to make the room so small? 

Maybe, the limited space and light make people concentrate on the tea itself, or stimulate more mutual bonding among the attendances.  I’m not sure, but I really want to experience a tea ceremony in this kind of space.

The monk at this temple told us that we can find Rikyu’s designs on ceilings, windows and Tokonoma- alcove.  Some of them are elaborately presented to make the room look larger.  Some people say that it seems vast like the outer space.  But the monk said that it’s not that large.  Two tatami mats are two tatami mats and nothing more.  Ha,ha,ha (^^;;   Jah!