Urasenke Ochakai
I finally attended the Chasen Kuyo at Zenshuji Soto Buddhist Temple, which I mentioned earlier. It had rained earlier that morning and the day before, but an hour before it started the clouds parted to reveal smog-free blue skies. My back-up plan to wear michiyuki didn't go through. I looked okay - but WAAAY out of practice. I needed extra time so I got up at 4AM to get ready (because I didn't prepare the night before - d'oh!). As usual with me I only get one thing right: the collar or the ohashori (the tucked up part at the waist under the obi).
Example of a BAD ohashori day:
Mauve awase houmongi with all-over shibori and matsu (pine) & kikuyu (bellflower) mon in silver threads, from YJA. Purple & black geometric heko obi, from last Texuba.
Zenshuji is pretty much the only place that honors used chasen (tea whisks) with a kuyo (bonfire ceremony). It's also rare (at least in California) to have tea at a zen temple setting, where the Japanese tea tradition really comes from. Even the Reverand's talk (read in translation) was pretty funny - he talked about Ichiro from the Mariners.
Sweets! from the Ryu-rei (立礼) style tea. Sooo tasty.... They used a kind of Kyo-ujicha. Apparently I got a green tongue after drinking. ^_^
Narrated in English for Slow Food LA attendees, she's explaining the importance of the mound in the natsume (tea canister) and the method of scooping tea from the side. It's said you can tell the time by how long it takes to heat the water as it simmers to the right temperature for tea brewing. The hot water kettle resembles the wheel of a cart, heated with a special earthware brazer with charcoal inside. Even the table was made locally out of reclaimed wood, and is very charming, very wabi.
The large red wagasa (umbrella), often used outdoors, is supposed to be a substitute for the tokonoma (alcove). Insert flowers and poetry here. It looks like the letter "G" but it's Daruma - father of Zen Buddhism. Supposedly Daruma plucked off his eyelids after sleeping during meditation and the eyelids sprouted into tea plants.
Vegetarian kaiseki! Zenshuji's specialty is the sesame tofu - substantially creamy. I liked it way better than regular tofu. Not pictured is a refreshing daikon soup, clear and slightly gelatinous (maybe thickened with starch), topped with fresh zingy ginger.
Chasen destined for the bonfire.
Sweets from the Hon seki tea. This was the tatami part I was afraid of, but there were chairs in the back so I didn't suffer much. It was about 3PM and there were very few men left...
Some observations: Roughly 50% of the female audience wore kimono (maybe 40 women). It's one of the highest percentages I've ever been around (even the LA Kimono Club is a bit of an oddity). About half wore iromuji or edo-komon, and the rest looked like komon, including some really cute bingata. The whole day was like "Where's Waldo" of kimono 'cuz I saw at least:
-3 women in out-of-season komon kimono (wisteria, sakura, etc), 1 girl in a ro collar and summer obi
-a good chunk (like 30-60%) with not-quite-textbook-perfect kitsuke: back seam off-center, hem too high/low, collar issues, serious wrinkles, puffy busts, etc.
-there was one other woman other than me wearing non-otaiko musubi - leeeetle awkward, but I don't like otaiko on me
-everyone had white collars and white tabi
-I was showing off LOADS more haneri than everyone else - but I rather like it that way
-the one-fist from the back of the neck guideline - sooo does not exist in reality
-the younger/older women wear collars/obi/otaiko in ______ style - sooo does not exist either
Example of a BAD ohashori day:
Mauve awase houmongi with all-over shibori and matsu (pine) & kikuyu (bellflower) mon in silver threads, from YJA. Purple & black geometric heko obi, from last Texuba.
Zenshuji is pretty much the only place that honors used chasen (tea whisks) with a kuyo (bonfire ceremony). It's also rare (at least in California) to have tea at a zen temple setting, where the Japanese tea tradition really comes from. Even the Reverand's talk (read in translation) was pretty funny - he talked about Ichiro from the Mariners.
Sweets! from the Ryu-rei (立礼) style tea. Sooo tasty.... They used a kind of Kyo-ujicha. Apparently I got a green tongue after drinking. ^_^
Narrated in English for Slow Food LA attendees, she's explaining the importance of the mound in the natsume (tea canister) and the method of scooping tea from the side. It's said you can tell the time by how long it takes to heat the water as it simmers to the right temperature for tea brewing. The hot water kettle resembles the wheel of a cart, heated with a special earthware brazer with charcoal inside. Even the table was made locally out of reclaimed wood, and is very charming, very wabi.
The large red wagasa (umbrella), often used outdoors, is supposed to be a substitute for the tokonoma (alcove). Insert flowers and poetry here. It looks like the letter "G" but it's Daruma - father of Zen Buddhism. Supposedly Daruma plucked off his eyelids after sleeping during meditation and the eyelids sprouted into tea plants.
Vegetarian kaiseki! Zenshuji's specialty is the sesame tofu - substantially creamy. I liked it way better than regular tofu. Not pictured is a refreshing daikon soup, clear and slightly gelatinous (maybe thickened with starch), topped with fresh zingy ginger.
Chasen destined for the bonfire.
Sweets from the Hon seki tea. This was the tatami part I was afraid of, but there were chairs in the back so I didn't suffer much. It was about 3PM and there were very few men left...
Some observations: Roughly 50% of the female audience wore kimono (maybe 40 women). It's one of the highest percentages I've ever been around (even the LA Kimono Club is a bit of an oddity). About half wore iromuji or edo-komon, and the rest looked like komon, including some really cute bingata. The whole day was like "Where's Waldo" of kimono 'cuz I saw at least:
-3 women in out-of-season komon kimono (wisteria, sakura, etc), 1 girl in a ro collar and summer obi
-a good chunk (like 30-60%) with not-quite-textbook-perfect kitsuke: back seam off-center, hem too high/low, collar issues, serious wrinkles, puffy busts, etc.
-there was one other woman other than me wearing non-otaiko musubi - leeeetle awkward, but I don't like otaiko on me
-everyone had white collars and white tabi
-I was showing off LOADS more haneri than everyone else - but I rather like it that way
-the one-fist from the back of the neck guideline - sooo does not exist in reality
-the younger/older women wear collars/obi/otaiko in ______ style - sooo does not exist either