Yamagata days: Ceremony
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“We enter the tea room, which is elevated from the lower height of the passageway, through a tiny sliding panel door. We enter on our knees and in this kneeling and bowed position we just fit through the doorway. The tea master greets us”.
This morning we are in Yamagata City and we have been invited to a tea ceremony at Seifuso, the Chashitsu (teahouse) yet another beautiful and purposeful building in its white snow landscape in a Maple park.
While not all teahouses are large, the Hoko-an Teahouse is a large building with many rooms, which represent the progress towards entering the room in which is the tea ceremony is held. The various rooms are used for teaching and the teahouse we visited is incorporated in the main structure of the building. We enter the tea room via a passage, its windows looking out to the winter garden.
The gardens in which the teahouse is constructed were established in 1665 by Lord Tadahiro Matsudairafor the Houdou-ji Temple using a gardener from Edo and Maples from Kyoto. What remains is part of what was once an extensive garden belonging to the Houdou-ji Temple. The heart shaped garden lake is in the shape of the Chinese character kokoro.
The teahouse was constructed in 1979 so it is easy to see that the traditions and skills of designing and constructing teahouses remain strong.
We enter the tea room, which is elevated from the lower height of the passageway, through a tiny sliding panel door. We enter on our knees and in this kneeling and bowed position we just fit through the doorway. There is a larger door through which to enter the teahouse, this door could only be used by the castle lord. The purpose of requiring guests to enter through a small and humbling door was to ensure that weapons such as Samurai swords and spears were not brought into the tea room, and so it was that in this peaceful place, matters of importance could be discussed without the accompanying emotion and without the risk of physical disputes occurring.
The Chashitsu represents a totally different world, you are entering a new world and leaving all the impurities of the outside world behind you. Whatever your status, crawling through the small door with head bowed was a humbling and equalising experience.
Once through the small entrance, the tea room appears spacious and when the small door is closed behind you, you are released from the concerns of the outside world. The idea here, in these aesthetic places and spaces, was to seek peace and tranquillity and as a result intellectual and philosophical discussions evolved in these spaces. In this place less is more 'wabi sabi'.
We have told a brief story of Sake, tea drinking in Japan had a similar pathway, and that was from China. The first tea plants were introduced to Japan from China during China’s Tang Dynasty.
During the Nara Period in Japan tea was regarded for its medicinal properties, this was similar to what had occurred in China in the early period of its use. Because of its rarity in Japan in this early period, tea was grown by the nobility and by priests. It was at this time that customs surrounding the best way to consume tea began to evolve.
Tea plantations in Japan expanded during the 13th century, a development encouraged by the Samurai.Styles of architectural adornment surrounding the art of tea drinking in Japan did change over time but the idea of simplicity and pure form favoured by the Samurai played an important role in the development of the Chashitsu.
As was the case for the expansion of Sake drinking and culture, the Muromachi Period was also important to the expansion of tea drinking culture and its attributes. Features from the Shoin style of architecture were adopted and tatami mats, the side alcove desk for tea preparation, the side alcove and shelving style came into general use. The utensils used for preparing the powdered green tea or Matcha (this style of tea was introduced to Japan in around 1100 AD) are also objects of beauty, these utensils also derived from the Chinese style. One of the key figures in Japan to influence the development of the aesthetic culture of tea drinking, Sen no Rikyu lived from 1522-1591.
The tea ceremony or Sado was perfected in the mid eighteeth century during the Edo Period.
The art of Zen
- Sado ~ the way of tea.
- Wa, Harmony ~ Kei, respect ~ Sei, purity ~ Jaku, tranquility
In the tea room there is a feeling of tranquillity, our emotions are guided by the architecture, the utensils, the gardens and the ceremony itself, the art of tea making and its hospitality.
We sit and contemplate the alcove painting, the ceramics, the delicate flower arrangements, and it is here that we really know we are in Yamagata and in the heart of Japanese tradition and culture.
Out warm thanks to the Yamagata Prefecture Government and staff.
While not all teahouses are large, the Hoko-an Teahouse is a large building with many rooms, which represent the progress towards entering the room in which is the tea ceremony is held. The various rooms are used for teaching and the teahouse we visited is incorporated in the main structure of the building. We enter the tea room via a passage, its windows looking out to the winter garden.
The gardens in which the teahouse is constructed were established in 1665 by Lord Tadahiro Matsudairafor the Houdou-ji Temple using a gardener from Edo and Maples from Kyoto. What remains is part of what was once an extensive garden belonging to the Houdou-ji Temple. The heart shaped garden lake is in the shape of the Chinese character kokoro.
The teahouse was constructed in 1979 so it is easy to see that the traditions and skills of designing and constructing teahouses remain strong.
We enter the tea room, which is elevated from the lower height of the passageway, through a tiny sliding panel door. We enter on our knees and in this kneeling and bowed position we just fit through the doorway. There is a larger door through which to enter the teahouse, this door could only be used by the castle lord. The purpose of requiring guests to enter through a small and humbling door was to ensure that weapons such as Samurai swords and spears were not brought into the tea room, and so it was that in this peaceful place, matters of importance could be discussed without the accompanying emotion and without the risk of physical disputes occurring.
The Chashitsu represents a totally different world, you are entering a new world and leaving all the impurities of the outside world behind you. Whatever your status, crawling through the small door with head bowed was a humbling and equalising experience.
Once through the small entrance, the tea room appears spacious and when the small door is closed behind you, you are released from the concerns of the outside world. The idea here, in these aesthetic places and spaces, was to seek peace and tranquillity and as a result intellectual and philosophical discussions evolved in these spaces. In this place less is more 'wabi sabi'.
We have told a brief story of Sake, tea drinking in Japan had a similar pathway, and that was from China. The first tea plants were introduced to Japan from China during China’s Tang Dynasty.
During the Nara Period in Japan tea was regarded for its medicinal properties, this was similar to what had occurred in China in the early period of its use. Because of its rarity in Japan in this early period, tea was grown by the nobility and by priests. It was at this time that customs surrounding the best way to consume tea began to evolve.
Tea plantations in Japan expanded during the 13th century, a development encouraged by the Samurai.Styles of architectural adornment surrounding the art of tea drinking in Japan did change over time but the idea of simplicity and pure form favoured by the Samurai played an important role in the development of the Chashitsu.
As was the case for the expansion of Sake drinking and culture, the Muromachi Period was also important to the expansion of tea drinking culture and its attributes. Features from the Shoin style of architecture were adopted and tatami mats, the side alcove desk for tea preparation, the side alcove and shelving style came into general use. The utensils used for preparing the powdered green tea or Matcha (this style of tea was introduced to Japan in around 1100 AD) are also objects of beauty, these utensils also derived from the Chinese style. One of the key figures in Japan to influence the development of the aesthetic culture of tea drinking, Sen no Rikyu lived from 1522-1591.
The tea ceremony or Sado was perfected in the mid eighteeth century during the Edo Period.
The art of Zen
- Sado ~ the way of tea.
- Wa, Harmony ~ Kei, respect ~ Sei, purity ~ Jaku, tranquility
In the tea room there is a feeling of tranquillity, our emotions are guided by the architecture, the utensils, the gardens and the ceremony itself, the art of tea making and its hospitality.
We sit and contemplate the alcove painting, the ceramics, the delicate flower arrangements, and it is here that we really know we are in Yamagata and in the heart of Japanese tradition and culture.
Out warm thanks to the Yamagata Prefecture Government and staff.
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