Rakuchikai International ・・・ Introduction of Traditional Japanese Tea Culture
つくば と 水戸で お茶の教室を運営する 楽知会 (主宰 石光宗眞) のブログから 国際交流に関する情報を "楽知会インターナショナル"として独立させました。日本の伝統文化・ 茶道 を紹介しながら 海外の方々との交流を試みる 楽知会の取り組みを発信していきます。
[PR]上記の広告は3ヶ月以上新規記事投稿のないブログに表示されています。新しい記事を書く事で広告が消えます。
楽知会は 1997年に茨城県つくば市に開設された茶道の教室です。 表千家の茶道をとおして日本の伝統文化を学びながら 温故知新の気持ちをもって 未来につなげていくことを目指しています。
Rakuchikai was established in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan in 1997.
Ever since, we have been offering Tea Ceremony Lessons, showing the way of traditional Japanese tea culture.
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Lessons
To enjoy unique and very special experience in Japan, attending a traditional tea gathering is the best occasion that you must not miss.
Through the lessons, we will guide you to look into several important keys you should know before participating tea gatherings.
To learn the procedure of making a bowl of delicious tea, both 濃茶（koicha：thick tea） and 薄茶（usucha：thin tea）
To learn the four most important elements of the tea ceremony
和（wa：harmony） 敬（kei：respect） 清（sei：purity） 寂（jaku：tranquility）
To recognize the spiritual background drawn from Zen Buddhism
To discover the beauty of Japanese fine arts and crafts as you look closer at them
To study how to show cordial hospitality with respect when inviting guests
To study how to appreciate what the host has done for you and how to show your gratitude with respect when invited
Tea gatherings
No matter as a guest or as a host, participating a tea gathering will give you a very good opportunity to practice what you have learnt at the lessons. We sometimes hold formal or informal tea gatherings for you to join.
International exchange
It took us, Japanese, for hundreds of years to develop the sophisticated way of communicating with others by means of performing tea ceremony. We are so proud of our unique traditions that we always feel grateful whenever having chance to introduce our cultural heritage to the people all over the world.
If you are interested in Japanese traditions, learning Tea Ceremony is the easiest way to meet them. Attending tea gatherings will always offer you the open door to various Japanese culture such as architecture, gardening, crafts, food and so on.
In this lesson at a Japanese style private house, you will be sure to acquire very basic manners to enjoy tea gatherings. We would like you to know how we show our hospitality based on traditions and find spiritual background behind it.
Why don't you come and join us?
Call 029-857-2937
Lessons・・・twice a month (appointment is required)
Admission Fee・・・￥5,000
Monthly Tuition Fee・・・￥8,000 for beginners
There are so many strict and complicated rules if you want to learn Sado, the tea ceremony, from the ritual point of view. However in order to participate in a traditional tea gathering for your one-day experience in Japan, you only have a few manners to follow.
What to Wear
First of all, you must find out what that particular tea gathering is like ; formal or informal, held in a traditional Japanese-style room or a Western-style room. These important informations will give you a big hint when you decide what to wear.
If the gathering is casual, there are only a few things to remember, that is wearing jewels and perfume is prohibited.
You have to be more careful, however, in case your gathering is rather formal and held in a taritional Japanese tea room.
As some of the tea bowls and other utensils you handle are fragile and very valuable, you should not wear anything that can possibly do harm to them. For this reason, take off all the accessories you wear, such as rings, long chains and even a wristwatch. You must know one can never be too careful enough when handling these items.
Do not bring any smell to the tea room with you because it spoils good fragrance of tea and incense.
I recommend ladies to wear skirts with the length that covers your knees when sitting on the floor and gentlemen to wear jackets and pants which are not too tight at the knees for your circulation.
You may have already realized that you need to sit directly on the tatami mat for more than twenty minutes before the tea is served.
Even if you are confident of being dressed parfectly according to these recommendations, you had better see once again if your socks or stockings are all right. You must, at least, make sure your tiptoe is not out of your sock before setting off. Participants sitting on the floor in the calm may see much lower objects than you imagine.
What to take
You had better take a pair of white socks and a quire of washi paper called kaishi(懐紙).
We usually wear white socks just before entering the tea room for they are symbolic of purity.
A quire of washi paper is quite useful. We sometimes use it as a little plate and it sometimes becomes a napkin during the ceremony.