Tea Ceremony

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Through Pascal’s girlfriend we were invited for a Japanese tea ceremony. The formal invitation asked us to show up in ‘Jackets and socks’ and explained some of the correct procedures to be followed.

The guests in traditional and not very comfortable wooden flip-flops, with in the middle Ms Kamijyo who was there to help us out with the procedures.
After a hand washing ritual outside and entering the little tea sitting room through a small hole in the wall, the preparations were made to start boiling water for the tea.
Next up was a great lunch with a generous amount of sake and very good fresh tuna.
Round after round of beautifully prepared food passed our plates; it was superb.

After lunch it was time to get back into the tea room where the tea was prepared and consumed.

Group picture after the ceremony ended, with Kerstin and Pascal dressed up in Kimono by our host, Yukiko-san, in the middle.
On the way back we got to see how the kids in Japanese kindergarten get a bit of fresh air.

We tought that the chapter tea ceremony had ended with this, but our host invited us to help out at another ceremony that she would be doing the next Sunday. This turned out to be in a secluded garden, where four tea ceremony masters (Yukiko-san is one) performed tea ceremonies all afternoon for 250 guests… Since Paulus and Oscar had left by then it was up to Pascal, Kerstin and me to serve tea in the correct way.

The secluded garden, just off a touristic street but open only to the people with an invitation; 250 Japanese people in Kimono and three Western Europeans.
Our tea ceremony team.
The now familiar preparation of the tea.

Pascal serving tea in the correct way (the white socks where obligatory).

1 thought on “Tea Ceremony”

  1. Dear Wouter,

    Yesterday and today I sent you emails from the AJD construction site.

    Please read and I am looking forward to you reply.

    Thanks!

    PAUL A

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