Read Online Untangling My Chopsticks by Victoria Abbott Riccardi - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Victoria Abbott Riccardi
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is what is so bewitching about Japan: things seem so easy until you try to understand them. An American acquaintance now living in Tokyo said that after his first week, he felt he could write a book about the country; a year later, only a magazine article; after fifteen years, only one sentence. Remove the mask, draw the curtain aside, learn the language, and you face a web of complicated mazes.
The art of making tea entails a litany of movements and emotions that turns the process into a sort of spiritual ballet that changes slightly for each of the seventy-five or so different teaceremonies the student might encounter in his or her career. What's more, students must learn the history of the many different utensils they will use—at least ten per ceremony—for all the different tea ceremonies they will perform. A tea bowl appropriate for autumn, for example, will likely be heavier and more somber in color than a tea bowl for summer. And the bowl chosen for autumn will probably differ in color and shape, depending upon whether the tea ceremony takes place in the morning versus the afternoon. Advanced students even learn to coordinate various tea utensils in an appropriate combination based on the era in which they were produced. For example, if a tea practitioner wants to use a tea scoop identified with a famous sixteenth-century tea master, he or she should choose a tea bowl made by a potter within one generation of the same era.
Tea students also need to learn the proper social graces and way to dress in the teahouse. They must know, for example, how to wear a kimono and which one to choose for winter, summer, or a certain festival. Each age group and sex has specific guidelines. Young girls can wear bright colors, yet they should refrain from wearing busy patterns more appropriate for parties and festivals than tea gatherings. As women age, their kimono colors should become more subdued. Men traditionally wear only quiet dark colors.
The fabric of the kimono also matters. Hemp or lightweight silk is appropriate for summer tea gatherings, while heavyweight silk is usually worn in winter. The fabric on the obi (waist sash) should be elegant and understated, along with the type of knot that holds the obi in place. Elaborate knots are frowned upon because they draw attention away from the tea ceremony and to the person wearing them.
Tea students must additionally comprehend the hundreds ofdetails involved in facilitating a guest's journey from the outside world to the teahouse, such as the proper accoutrements to put in the garden's waiting pavilion and the appropriate stone to step on when greeting the guests.
Last, but not least, tea students' studies include learning the art of tea kaiseki. They must understand how to choose appropriate seasonal menus, often based on important Japanese historic events or holidays. They need to be able to prepare the recipes and to know what serving dishes and utensils should be used and in what order. They must also understand the proper etiquette involved in serving, eating, and clearing a tea kaiseki meal, as well as the intangible spirit that lies behind it.
Meeting the Grand Tea Master of Mushanokoji would entail much more than a quick handshake and cheerful “ herro. ”It would be a delicate process involving a series of favors exchanged back and forth among the tea world, the real world, and those who traveled in between, like Mrs. Hisa.
Getting introduced to Mushanokoji's Grand Tea Master was akin to meeting the pope, a privileged encounter bestowed upon a chosen few. Only in my case, I wanted to leave our encounter with more than a blessing.
The Grand Tea Master, although not directly related to Rikyu, had married one of his descendants, a woman named Sen Sumiko. And it was Sen Sumiko who taught all the tea kaiseki classes at Mushanokoji. If my introduction to her husband proved successful, I would be permitted to enter her classroom.
Friday morning arrived along with
The art of making tea entails a litany of movements and emotions that turns the process into a sort of spiritual ballet that changes slightly for each of the seventy-five or so different teaceremonies the student might encounter in his or her career. What's more, students must learn the history of the many different utensils they will use—at least ten per ceremony—for all the different tea ceremonies they will perform. A tea bowl appropriate for autumn, for example, will likely be heavier and more somber in color than a tea bowl for summer. And the bowl chosen for autumn will probably differ in color and shape, depending upon whether the tea ceremony takes place in the morning versus the afternoon. Advanced students even learn to coordinate various tea utensils in an appropriate combination based on the era in which they were produced. For example, if a tea practitioner wants to use a tea scoop identified with a famous sixteenth-century tea master, he or she should choose a tea bowl made by a potter within one generation of the same era.
Tea students also need to learn the proper social graces and way to dress in the teahouse. They must know, for example, how to wear a kimono and which one to choose for winter, summer, or a certain festival. Each age group and sex has specific guidelines. Young girls can wear bright colors, yet they should refrain from wearing busy patterns more appropriate for parties and festivals than tea gatherings. As women age, their kimono colors should become more subdued. Men traditionally wear only quiet dark colors.
The fabric of the kimono also matters. Hemp or lightweight silk is appropriate for summer tea gatherings, while heavyweight silk is usually worn in winter. The fabric on the obi (waist sash) should be elegant and understated, along with the type of knot that holds the obi in place. Elaborate knots are frowned upon because they draw attention away from the tea ceremony and to the person wearing them.
Tea students must additionally comprehend the hundreds ofdetails involved in facilitating a guest's journey from the outside world to the teahouse, such as the proper accoutrements to put in the garden's waiting pavilion and the appropriate stone to step on when greeting the guests.
Last, but not least, tea students' studies include learning the art of tea kaiseki. They must understand how to choose appropriate seasonal menus, often based on important Japanese historic events or holidays. They need to be able to prepare the recipes and to know what serving dishes and utensils should be used and in what order. They must also understand the proper etiquette involved in serving, eating, and clearing a tea kaiseki meal, as well as the intangible spirit that lies behind it.
Meeting the Grand Tea Master of Mushanokoji would entail much more than a quick handshake and cheerful “ herro. ”It would be a delicate process involving a series of favors exchanged back and forth among the tea world, the real world, and those who traveled in between, like Mrs. Hisa.
Getting introduced to Mushanokoji's Grand Tea Master was akin to meeting the pope, a privileged encounter bestowed upon a chosen few. Only in my case, I wanted to leave our encounter with more than a blessing.
The Grand Tea Master, although not directly related to Rikyu, had married one of his descendants, a woman named Sen Sumiko. And it was Sen Sumiko who taught all the tea kaiseki classes at Mushanokoji. If my introduction to her husband proved successful, I would be permitted to enter her classroom.
Friday morning arrived along with
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