Living in the Present Moment: The World of the Japanese Tea Ceremony
JAPAN SEASON 2021
Part of the Humanities Cultural Programme, one of the founding stones for the
future Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities.
Living in the Present Moment: The World of the Japanese Tea Ceremony
Tea Ceremony – online only
Tuesday 26 October 2021,11.00am - 12.30pm
Registration is free via Eventbrite.
The tea ceremony in Japan is an important historical and cultural event which involves both traditional and modern practices and has a venerable tradition of so-called ‘tea masters’.
Yuki Okamoto from Kyoto is one such tea master and he will invite you to experience the Japanese tea ceremony. In this session, Okamoto-sensei will introduce both the history of tea ceremony of Japan and the spirit and the approach to experiencing tea in ways that offer both a sense of the tradition but also express the quality of mindfulness that the tea ceremony has come to represent.
About the Tea Master
Yuki Okamoto comes from a tea family known as the Sado Hosokawa Onryu school and the Ikebana Hosokawa Misho school. The Sado Hosokawa Onryu school has a history of over 170 years and retains a grand tea master tea house in Kyoto. Yuki will inherit the title of grand tea master in due course. The style of tea ceremony that this school practices is known as ‘Buke-Sado’. This refers specifically to the art of the tea ceremony as practised by samurai families. It is said that samurais had a custom of drinking a cup of matcha tea before going into battle and the school maintains this highly formal style that is practised by the samurais. Yuki Okamoto started a project known as Chanomade to promote Sado/Kado(ikebana-flower arranging) with the aim of making them more approachable for those unfamiliar with them. He has hosted events like ‘Yoga x Matcha’ collaborating with Yoga and ‘TeaRAVEL’ connecting people around the world through the Tea Ceremony and ‘Mindfulness Tea Ceremony’ in which the aim is to taste a cup of matcha tea using all five senses.
Tea Ceremony Details:
In preparation of this event, participants may simply wish to brew their own tea or coffee. If you would like to purchase additional materials we have suggested the following options available in the UK:
Matcha Japanese Tea Powder: suggestion here
Japanese Matcha Tea Set:
Find out more about the Japan 2021 – Humanities Cultural Programme here.
