Hi everyone ! My name is Tracy and I am from Dalian, China ! I started working for SUiTO FUKUOKA last month and this is my first article !
Also known as the Way of the Tea, the Japanese tea ceremony may be one of the most representative experience of Japanese culture! And this time, we invited Matsumoto Sougo Sensei to bring us this wonderful performance.
Matsumoto Sougo Sensei is one of the most famous teachers in Kyushu area and specialized in Omotesenke School. She also works as an instructor of tea in Waseda University and devotes to spreading the Japanese tea culture overseas.
During the tea ceremony, a dessert box is passed in front of every guest and each of them takes one Wakashi (Japanese dessert) from it. The traditional way to enjoy green tea is to eat the Wagashi before drinking it, as it will taste less bitter with the sweet flavor of the Wagashi. Everything is run in total silence and only the sound of making Macha (green tea) echoes.
Matsumoto Sensei not only taught the tea ceremony, she also introduced the history of Japanese tea and explained us how to make a delicious Macha by ourselves as well. After the tea ceremony, she told us that tea ceremony is actually a mixture of many kinds of arts. By taking a close look at the tea tools and enjoying the arrangement of the tea house, including the flower arrangement and the calligraphy work hanging on the wall, I believe that thanks to this experience, you will definitely have a better understanding of Japanese culture.
Highly influenced by the principles of Zen Buddhism, Japanese tea ceremony seeks to purify the mind and attain oneness with nature. Drinking the delicious Macha, watching the peaceful performance, smelling the faint fragrance of Sandalwood, hearing the beautiful sound of water, sensing the heat of tea bowl, you will feel totally refreshed and fall in love with unique Japanese culture!
