Way of Tea » tea ceremony

Tea Ceremony Desktop Wallpaper : Tana with Natsume and Hishaku

Blake Harvey — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 00:47:46 +0000

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 download a desktop wallpaper version.

Click here to download 1920 x 1200px wallpaper →

Blake ( -_-)_υ

Japanese Tea Ceremony at Anderson Gardens

Blake Harvey — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:58:38 +0000

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 into the tea room she asked us all to take a moment of silence in remembrance of all those who lost loved ones in the tragedy of September 11, 2001 and also in thankfulness for all that we have, despite life’s difficulties.

An interesting kensui (waste water container) was used for the ceremony. Typical I only see kensui made metal or occasionally ceramic. This one was made of bamboo and at the start of the ceremony the tea bowl, chakin, whisk, and tea scoop were brought out inside the kensui. Usually, the kensui is brought out empty with the hisaku (ladle) on top of it. I asked Gunji Sensei about it afterwards. She said this type of ceremony is often performed when it is necessary for the host to remain seated throughout ceremony and not leave the room. The wider bamboo kensui accommodates carrying out all the utensils one time instead of multiple trips to and from the tea room.

Blake ( -_-)_υ

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!

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.

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.

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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.

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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.”

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Tea Gathering at San Francisco’s Urasenke Society

Blake Harvey — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:51:43 +0000

Christie Bartlett, Founding Director of Ursaenke Society, San Francisco talks about the history of Urasenke, why tea gatherings matter today, and the ripple effect of “peace through a bowl of tea.”

Watch Video

Tea and Chinese Cultural Aesthetics

Blake Harvey — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 05:38:04 +0000

Pei-kai Cheng, founding director and professor of the Chinese Civilisation Centre at the City University of Hong Kong and author of the recent two-volume publication, The Complete Annotated Collection of Chinese Tea Books, explores the cultural significance of tea drinking during the Tang period (618–907 CE). Cheng discusses the change and continuity of “The Way of Tea” (chado) from the Tang-Song period to the Ming-Qing period, revealing the cultural diversity of the tea-drinking ceremony as influenced by various social entities and institutions and by agronomical and technological advances. This talk also examines how aesthetic appreciation and choice of wares for tea ceremony influenced the development of Chinese porcelain-making technology. Listen to Podcast