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Tea Links & News — Feb 2012
The essentials of The Way of Tea Kohei examines Rikyu’s seven essential practices when following The Way of Tea. Read Article → 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. Visit Site → British ‘rakugo’ artist helps [...]
The Gift, a quote by Emile Zola
The artist is nothing without the gift,but the gift is nothing without work.— Emile Zola I wonder why it is often difficult to follow through with the creative act. The idea exists in my head, but it lacks the accompanying action. Maybe I am afraid of failure. But if I don’t act, I have already [...]
Tea Ceremony Desktop Wallpaper : Tana with Natsume and Hishaku
Here is a photograph I took of the tea utensils after the Tea Ceremony at Anderson Gardens last month. The natsume (tea caddy where the matcha is kept) is particularly interesting. Usually the design and artwork are much more understated than the bright geometric patterns on this natsume. Click the link or image below to [...]
Japanese Tea Ceremony at Anderson Gardens
On September 11th I had the special pleasure to participate in a Tea Ceremony at Anderson Gardens in Rockford, Illinois. Kimiko Gunji, professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Japan House, performed the ceremony. For me the most memorable part of the ceremony actually took place before we began. When Gunji Sensei first came [...]
Urasenke Grandmaster performs Tea Ceremony at USS Arizona Memorial
In July, Urasenke Grandmaster, Sen Genshitsu, performed a tea ceremony at the USS Arizona World War II memorial to honor all soldiers who fought and died in the war. Sen Genshitsu actually fought in WWII as a Japanese soldier. He said this tea ceremony in particular was the most memorable of his life. Sen Genshitsu [...]