Way of Tea » Headlines

Tea Links & News — Feb 2012

Blake Harvey — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:22:21 +0000

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 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.
Read Article →
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.
Read Article →

Ochamori Tea Ceremony

All the tea utensils are giant! I haven’t heard or seen this type of tea ceremony before!
Watch Video →

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.
Read Article →

Urasenke Grandmaster performs Tea Ceremony at USS Arizona Memorial

Blake Harvey — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 05:56:17 +0000

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 mentions in his book — Tea Life, Tea Mind — that his goal over the past 50 years as Grandmaster has been to promote “Peacefulness through a Bowl of Tea.” This tea ceremony serves as a powerful example of the peace and reconciliation that is possible when we lay our differences aside and embrace what it means to be human.

Watch an ABC news clip of the event on YouTube!

5 Great Interviews with Chanoyu (Tea Ceremony) Practitioners

Blake Harvey — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 05:22:09 +0000

I recently found a very nice blog “Tea and Travel” written by Deborah Huff. Over the past couple of months, she has interviewed 5 practitioners of Japanese tea ceremony. I always appreciate reading how people first became interested in chanoyu and the unique perspectives they have on the different facets of studying Tea. Below are links to all 5 interviews. Be sure to read them all!

Part 5: Interview with Drew Hanson – Drew is an Urasenke instructor in the Philadelphia area and has studied Chado for over 15 years.

Part 4: Interview with Michael Ricci – Michael is an Urasenke instructor in Boulder and Fort Collins Colorado area.

Part 3: Interview with Gabriel Cacilua – Gabriel is an Urasenke instructor in Brussels, Belgium and has studied Chado for over 20 years.

Part 2: Interview with Morgan Beard – Morgan is an Urasenke instructor who lectures and performs demostrations in the Philadelphia area.

Part 1: Interview with Rebecca Lynn Craig – Rebecca is a student of Omote-Senke and owner of a tea shop in Ottawa, Canada.

Beautiful Tea Ceremony Photos

Blake Harvey — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 05:30:21 +0000

I came across a gorgeous set of tea ceremony photos on Ajpscs’s photostream the other day. The majority of the photos are close up images of various chawans (tea bowls) and wagashi (tea sweets) held by graceful hands with rich, vibrant kimonos patterns filling in the backgrounds.

Click here to view a slideshow of all the tea ceremony photos.

Akira Takemoto on surfing, tea, and teaching

Blake Harvey — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 12:00:27 +0000

Voices from the Walla Walla Valley – Akira Takemoto from Walla Walla Union-Bulletin on Vimeo.

Chair Design inspired by Tea Ceremony Chasen

Blake Harvey — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 07:02:36 +0000

Hiroki Takada’s unique tea ceremony inspired chair design was a featured product of Tokyo’s Design Week. Made of bamboo the chair is styled after the chasen (or whisk) used in the tea ceremony to whisk the tea.

Read the full article

View more images on Takada’s website

Teaching Tea in Japan

Blake Harvey — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 05:21:35 +0000

Arriving in Japan three decades ago wasn’t easy for Søren M. Chr. Bisgaard, a Danish-born master of the Urasenke school of the tea ceremony. Even though he had already travelled to 30 countries – including many parts of Asia – he found Japan to be a different type of brew.

View full article

Tea House in Pasadena to be renovated

Blake Harvey — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 06:21:20 +0000

PASADENA – For 45 years, the little Japanese teahouse hidden away behind the Pasadena Buddhist Temple’s utilitarian building complex has been the classic setting for centuries-old Japanese “Urasenke” tea ceremonies.

The next time the “way of tea” is celebrated there, the teahouse will be the new addition to the Japanese Garden at the Huntington Library. But not until it’s been dismantled, shipped back to Kyoto, rebuilt, taken down, sent back, and put up again in time for the garden’s 100th anniversary in 2012.

Read full story

View photo gallery

Practicing the Way of Tea

Blake Harvey — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 04:44:37 +0000

Mikael Zaurov of www.teamuse.com has written a wonderful article on the philosophical and symbolic attitudes that accompany Japanese Tea Ceremony. While he never addresses Tea Ceremony explicitly, many of the ideas he presents lead straight to the essence of practicing Tea Ceremony. He begins with an insightful Buddhist koan by Zhao Zhou and finishes by telling us how drinking a bowl of tea can influence and change our daily life.

Read Article

Contemporary ceramics update the tea ceremony

Blake Harvey — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:42:53 +0000

Within the tea world there are stunning gardens, contemplative tea rooms, seasonal flowers, delicious foods, and varied tea vessels made of bamboo, lacquer, glass and most often clay. It’s the latter material that is the most varied and used in the Way of Tea throughout its long history. How contemporary ceramic artists are adapting their tea wares to the present day is the theme of a remarkable exhibition now showing at the Musee Tomo, Tokyo, and titled “The Musee Tomo Prize, Contemporary Ceramics for the Tea Ceremony: Free Creativity and Atypical Usage.”

Read Full Article