All the tea leaves in China Japan

Being some of the only officially sanctioned gaijin in the town, us ALTs get invited to quite a few events that require an international presence, mostly being things organized by the local chapter of the Rotary Club. I can't seem to get too far without bumping into them. Maybe it's the blood of International House running in my veins. XD

The first time we were asked to go to one of these things was a welcome dinner organized by the Rotary and an international organization dedicated to furthering women's interests all over the world. This time, the tea ceremony was held by Rotary as well as the town's tea ceremony association in their Japanese style tea house on the grounds of the city hall. Also, we were allowed to have a go at making up our own bowls of maccha, and I must say it's a lot more work than I expected to get the froth just right.

After that we were shown a short video about Sukagawa and its ties to the haiku poet Basho. It seems that he stopped over in the town for a week, his longest stay in his cross country travels, inspired by the natural scenery to make up a number of haiku dedicated to the town. I wish I could read them so I could post an example here, but they went by too fast in the video. At least now I know there are still a number of places in the town that still retain their natural characteristics, and could be well worth a look if the opportunity arises.

The tea association then pulled out the big guns and got their master tea maker to show us how a professional does it. We had been asked from the beginning to take off any watches, bracelets and rings to avoid scratching the earthenware bowls the tea was served in. These bowls come from traditional ceramic kilns all over the country as well as overseas, and I've heard that some can be valued well beyond my yearly salary, so it was best to avoid damaging them. Whoever thinks that tea ceremony isn't thrilling most probably hasn't had their life savings on the line this way. O.o

All of us were supposed to sit seiza style, legs folded under our laps, but since we were inexperienced they let us get away with crossed legs. Since I do calligraphy, I have no excuse for not doing the right thing, but I cheat by using my mushroom shaped bum rest, so it wasn't long before that all too familiar numbness set in. The pins and needles afterwards were worth it though, because we were all given a pre-drink sweet, filled with bean paste and flavoured with yuzu, and decorated with a handmade image of an iris. It really was too pretty to eat.

All this was topped off with a dinner at a nearby hotel where we mingled with the heads of the various local Rotary chapters. It wasn't all schmoozing in Japanese though, since the Rotary high school exchange students had been invited as well, and I could hang around with them too.

It was quite an insight into an ancient tradition. The local association specializes in the techniques of the Urasenke school of tea ceremony. For interested Sydneysiders, there's an Australian chapter located in St Leonards, surprisingly enough. Various schools with their own unique variations of the technique exist, and I'd been told by one of the ladies from the English conversation classes that the differences lie in minute things like how the red napkin used to clean and wipe utensils is folded. I think there are also variations in how the utensils are placed, what angle to hold them, and ways of keeping kimono sleeves out of the way in the midst of all of it. Sounds like an OCD sufferer's nightmare if you ask me.

Sometime during the afternoon, I was told that the tea ceremony was one of the traditional outlets for stress relief, since all the slow and deliberate movements could be taken as a form of meditation, and the peace and quiet that the ceremonies are performed in stand in great contrast with the busy lives of most Japanese people. To some people it might seem mind numbingly boring and repetitive, and a whole lot of trouble to go to for a hot cuppa, but I suppose it says a lot about how hard locals push themselves if they need to resort to something so ritualistic to distract themselves from the everyday. My life isn't all that stressful at the moment, so I think I'll be fine with the odd PET bottle out of a vending machine, thanks.