Japanese Tea Ceremony

"What did you do last night?"... I ask every student this, every day. Yes, it gets annoying. BUT, sometimes they tell me something cool. Like, 2 weeks ago, when a few students said in their (very!) broken English, "tea ceremony class in dormitory." Ohhhh realllly?!?!?!?!??! They weren't able to tell me much, but did mention that their tea-ceremony teacher speaks English. I mentioned that I would love to talk to her and the next day my student Yuka comes in all shy and quiet, looking into space deep in thought and finally says, "here is number, you call my teacher today, she wait for you call." Turns out I can't make calls on my phone, also turns out my student took out hers and called for me, I had a talk with their teacher and vwalla, magic, I have a plan to meet her.

I thought I was just going to meet her in the hallway before she taught the dorm class, have a quick convo about the logistics: how much she charges for a class, etc. No no, its never that simple in Japan. At the end of the day my students bring me into the dorms... great, no shoes aloud, not like I have a complex about my feet smelling or anything... then we go upstairs and there is a freakin TEA ROOM in the dorm. This is what I am talking about with the Japanese culture being hidden. Everything on surface level is pretty much the same- students walking in jeans and t-shirts with books, going to class, etc. But then amongst it all, hiding, secret, a tea room! The sliding doors are opened by the teacher in full out kimono, mats covering the floor, 7 students rehearsing how to run the ceremony and I spend the next hour and a half sitting with them watching, praying I don't miss the last bus and wondering why I never knew that it is this painful to sit on your knees for so long. The whole thing really was incredible- how serious the students took it, how everything is so about tradition. For example, when I got to try the (BITTER) tea that one of the students made (literally, made. Grounded tea in a bowl) my instructions are as follows: "First you hold with this hand, then you turn clockwise twice, then u bow your head and lift up the bowl in thanks, then you sip, then you turn it in your hands the other way and wipe where you touched it in this manner".... etc., etc.



So, at the end of class she tells me she would love to give me one-on-one classes 3 times a month. How is tomorrow to start? Apparently, I'm learning about Japanese tea. Last night after work I found myself wandering in the dark trying to find her house and when i finally take my chances and ring a doorbell, a sliding door opens with her in a now different kimono, bowing to me, as I look into a whole house of Japanese-ness. I mean, everything was screaming Japansese. It was like being at the MET for a Japanese exhibition, seriously.

Everything is a ceremony, and everything I do is wrong. The way you walk into a strangers house, the way you take your shoes off and how you make your first step into the hallway--- it all MUST be done in a certain way. And it all includes being really graceful and formal, bowing a lot and looking at the appropriate place at the appropriate time. It was amazing. I spent 2 hours with this woman, and she refuses to charge me for the first lesson. She mainly taught me the different ways to bow (very important to do the right one at the right time!), and the proper way to enter the room. Its very particular how you open the door and pull yourself onto the tatami mats, sliding your body on your knees to your established position in the room. The way to stand up and sit down is the best. Basically, its Japanese tea aerobics for me- you go from your knees (which fell asleep 20 minutes ago) to standing, all in one smooth motion, as if you are being pulled up by a string. Not easy.


She has been studying/ teaching tea for 48 years. 48 years! No wonder she can sit on her knees for 2 straight hours, 10 minutes for me and literally I am sore as I write this. I'm still so confused about so much, but what I gather from her is that "the way of tea" is a philosophy- a way of thinking- and the tea ceremony is just one reflection of this. She also showed me the Buddhist shrine in her house, which honestly looked just like any ordinary chest in a house, but when she opened it, I saw that its filled with little statues and offerings and a bell that she kneels under and dings every morning. I saw her rice offering from that morning. When it was time for me to leave, she walked me to her corner in her kimono, including the wooden shoes. As I left her in the misty rain, I kept turning around and there she was, still standing on the corner bowing continually until I was out of her sight. There is still so much to learn...