Japanese Tea Ceremony
I had my first Japanese Tea Ceremony class today. It was a short drive to the Japanese lady's house who is teaching the class. It's pretty awesome! She answered the door in full kimono and the other lady who was there was in full kimono. And I mean full formal kimono. So I removed my shoes and put on my white socks. Then I washed my hands and went upstairs and registered. She had converted one of her upstairs bedrooms in to a tea room, which is fine with me because then I'm not outside in the cold-- this is Oregon after all! There were tatami mats on the floor and paper wall sliders. It was nice. As it turns out, I'm like the only new-be who signed up, so the other woman (named Rhonda--about age 40) has been studying for two years with sensai (Margie) and has been taking private lessons for that time. It's good because I will have 2 mentors and we will each enjoy serving a guest. Technically, we shouldn't be serving the sensai because she needs to be observing both roles of guest and host. The host is the one who serves the tea. I will be learning the Japanese names for things and in the Japanese tea ceremony, it's crucial for the person to not only understand the tea ceremony itself but all the other things that make Japanese culture so amazing: calligraphy, Sumi-e painting, incense, kimono dressing, sweets making (to be served with the tea), basic Japanese (in context with the cermeony), and other cultural highlights. Ronda served me tea while I was there because the first half of my class was spent in orientation and going through basic-guidelines. Like no talking until the sensai asks "Questions?" That will be a hard one. Oh, and never open your fan in the tea room ... it's seen as a sign of agression. Oops again!
I'm super duper excited about this.
I'm super duper excited about this.