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Our ugly beautiful world
BY AMIN GHADIMI – We live in a beautiful world.
Or do we? Every day the evidence to the contrary seems to mount, and to make such a sweeping claim in the face of so much national and global adversity feels fatuous, even callous and perhaps cruel.
But “everyone recognizes beauty / only because of ugliness,” claims [...]
Mid-Winter Wagashi: Red Plum Blossom with Frost
A wagashi confection that was created in 1699 by Toraya is a beautiful and unmistakable expression of a mid-winter plum blossom. It is called Shimokobai 霜紅梅, or red plum blossom with frost.
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Japanese aesthetics inspires 2010 fashion design
Italian-born, Paris based designer Maurizio Galante uses the Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi for the inspiration behind his fashion designs.
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Annual tea science symposium
The Lipton Institute of Tea has been investigating the scientific basis for traditional beliefs about the health benefits of tea, through its own internal research as well as collaboration with universities around the world. The institute has organised a series of tea science symposiums to provide experts an opportunity to share findings from new studies [...]
Mega-rich export plan down to a tea
Forget about selling ice to Eskimos, how about exporting green tea to Japan? That’s the aim of an ambitious project on the Central Coast of Australia that could create a new export market worth millions of dollars a year.
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What’s really happening during a tea ceremony
HIROSHIMA – by Courtney Coppernoll – There’s an unfortunate misconception going around that tea ceremony is a very serious, very rigid sort of practice. However, there’s a great deal more to the art than the formal presentation most people are familiar with.
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Murin-an: A delicate balance
If you need convincing as to the benefits of the colour green, even the briefest study of the Japanese garden will reveal its importance in landscape design. Holly Kerr Forsyth from the Australian explains key elements of Japanese garden design using Murin-an garden in Kyoto as an example.
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Cub Scouts participate in Japanese tea ceremony
WARWICK, NY – When Warwick resident Alicia Tate, a Den Mother with Cub Scout Pack 177, met Michael McKenna, an expert on Japanese culture, it occurred to her that her scouts might benefit from his experience.
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Urasenke Holds its 2010 Hatsugama-shiki (New Year’s Tea Celebration)
Beginning on January 16 and lasting 5 days, Urasenke held its annual New Year’s Tea Celebration at Urasenke’s Tokyo Branch headquarters.
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Read about the 2008 Hatsugama in English (Similar utensils, scrolls, and flowers are used from year to year. This should give English readers [...]
Intricate Japanese tea ceremony meditative, calming
PITTSBURGH – Tea has slowed Sally Schurko down.Mrs. Schurko used to work 80-hour weeks in her job in corporate finance. Now, she spends hours performing a leisurely — almost meditative — traditional Japanese tea ceremony.”I was like a spinning top. This has calmed me down,” she said.
Mrs. Schurko and Yoko Motoyama spread that calm to [...]