Let's *Cha*llenge!
Last Saturday, Mitsuko from my adult English class invited Becky and me to go and experience tea ceremony in Shimonoseki's old samurai town, Chofu. Mitsuko's mother is a tea ceremony instructor, and one of her students was kind enough to lend us furisode (振袖 kimono with long sleeves) to wear for the day. She also came and dressed us in them (it's really hard to put on a kimono by yourself and I've met women here who list "wearing kimono" as one of their hobbies)!
Getting Dressed:
There are lots of layers to a kimono, starting with this cotton petticoat type thing, and a towel wrapped around your waist to pad the obi.
The kimono's raincoat which makes me look like a hunchback.
Tea Ceremony:
Once we were dressed, we carefully angled ourselves into the car and headed to Chofu. We went to two tea ceremonies, one in Kozanji temple, and the other in the Mori residence (an old samurai house). We had to sit in seiza (on our knees) for about 20 or 25 minutes (I think) for each, which was painful, but okay, except that I found out the kimono was so tight that I could not lower myself into a bow while sitting (and you have to bow a number of times during the ceremony)!!
The tea ceremonies in Chofu were part of the week-long celebrations of the National Culture Festival, which is being held in Yamaguchi this year, so there were lots of people there, and we got lots of kind comments from the other tea-drinkers. :)
This is the slogan from the poster advertising the tea ceremony:
It says (in romaji, the alphabet for foreign words) "Retsu Charenji!" or "Let's Challenge," with cha, the word for tea, written in kanji (Chinese letters). Finally, Engrish is getting cleverer!
In Kozanji Temple
Traditional music outside the temple
The traditional tea house in the gardens of the Mori residence. The inside of it was tiny, and we were a group of seven, so we were really squished.
Once inside, a sliding door opened and this happy lady popped out! Then a door in front of us slid open and another lady popped out and started preparing the tea, while the first lady made polite conversation (most of which I didn't understand) and served us sweets.
The flower arrangement and calligraphy in the tea house.
After everyone has finished drinking their tea, and the cups have been cleaned, the fanciest cups are brought back out for the tea-drinkers to admire while the host(ess) talks about them. At the tea ceremony in the Mori residence the clay pot they were using to hold the boling water was 300 years old! At Kozanji temple we had tea with a really big group, and when they brought the cups out at the end there was a stampede of little old ladies in kimono to get a look at those cups!
Matcha, Japanese powdered tea
In the garden of the Mori residence:
Getting Dressed:
There are lots of layers to a kimono, starting with this cotton petticoat type thing, and a towel wrapped around your waist to pad the obi.
The kimono's raincoat which makes me look like a hunchback.Tea Ceremony:
Once we were dressed, we carefully angled ourselves into the car and headed to Chofu. We went to two tea ceremonies, one in Kozanji temple, and the other in the Mori residence (an old samurai house). We had to sit in seiza (on our knees) for about 20 or 25 minutes (I think) for each, which was painful, but okay, except that I found out the kimono was so tight that I could not lower myself into a bow while sitting (and you have to bow a number of times during the ceremony)!!
The tea ceremonies in Chofu were part of the week-long celebrations of the National Culture Festival, which is being held in Yamaguchi this year, so there were lots of people there, and we got lots of kind comments from the other tea-drinkers. :)
This is the slogan from the poster advertising the tea ceremony:
It says (in romaji, the alphabet for foreign words) "Retsu Charenji!" or "Let's Challenge," with cha, the word for tea, written in kanji (Chinese letters). Finally, Engrish is getting cleverer!
In Kozanji Temple
Traditional music outside the temple
The traditional tea house in the gardens of the Mori residence. The inside of it was tiny, and we were a group of seven, so we were really squished.
Once inside, a sliding door opened and this happy lady popped out! Then a door in front of us slid open and another lady popped out and started preparing the tea, while the first lady made polite conversation (most of which I didn't understand) and served us sweets.
The flower arrangement and calligraphy in the tea house.After everyone has finished drinking their tea, and the cups have been cleaned, the fanciest cups are brought back out for the tea-drinkers to admire while the host(ess) talks about them. At the tea ceremony in the Mori residence the clay pot they were using to hold the boling water was 300 years old! At Kozanji temple we had tea with a really big group, and when they brought the cups out at the end there was a stampede of little old ladies in kimono to get a look at those cups!
Matcha, Japanese powdered teaIn the garden of the Mori residence:
posted by Laura at 2:03 a.m.
3 Comments:
You look absolutely beautiful. Quintessential Japan. ^_^
wow...i have no idea what else to say beyond that. stunning.
Thank you! :)
G: The lady helping us get dressed is Mitsuko's mum's student; the kimonos belong to her. (yeah, I was picturing a younger person when I was told "student" too, but Mitsuko's mum is even older, and I guess she has students of all ages)
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