The essentials of The Way of Tea
Kohei examines Rikyu’s seven essential practices when following The Way of Tea.
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Omotesenke guide to Tea Ceremony
The Omotesenke Tea School has a great online guide to Tea Ceremony covering everything from history to etiquette to tea utensils.
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British ‘rakugo’ artist helps Tohoku smile
When the March 11 tsunami wiped out Tohoku coastal towns, British “rakugo” comic storyteller Diane Orrett was at home in Osaka, watching TV footage of the waves obliterating places she had visited and crying, not knowing what to do. But she was immediately presented with a chance to help survivors in the devastated northeast, as organizers canceled all her bookings the day after the Great East Japan Earthquake, deeming rakugo performances to be inappropriate at a time when the whole nation was in a state of shock and bewilderment. Finding her schedule suddenly empty, Orrett, who goes by the stage name Diane Kichijitsu and is also a balloon artist, headed to Miyagi Prefecture in early April for a five-day visit armed with lots of balloons, hoping to use them to put a smile on children’s faces.
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What is Rakugo? →
Matsue’s sweets makers take wares to New York
A project launched in 2004 by the city of Matsue, on the Sea of Japan, to promote its local specialty in New York City, is finally bearing fruit. Local businesses and the city’s chamber of commerce recently took a long-awaited step to sell traditional Japanese sweets by launching their second and third outlets in New York.
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Ochamori Tea Ceremony
All the tea utensils are giant! I haven’t heard or seen this type of tea ceremony before!
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New Arts of Japan Gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The new, permanent Arts of Japan Gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, will open to the public on Sunday, February 19. The Japan gallery will be the final installation in a suite of permanent Arts of Asia galleries surrounding Cullinan Hall in the Caroline Wiess Law Building, culminating an effort begun in 2007 to expand the presentation of Asian art at the museum.
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