Tag: tea room

Loneliness of the tea room

About a year ago we opened Issoan, the tea room built for me by my husband.   It took him two and a half years, but it was worth the wait.  I have been teaching Chado for about 25 years and I was thrilled to have a tea room with a raised floor for …

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Issoan undergoing renovations

After many of years of planning and we have finally begun phase 3 of Issoan renovations.  The first phase was just tatami mats on the floor in the spare bedroom.  Phase 2 we added the shoji window screens, fusuma closet door, cedar moldings, painted the room, and added the outside portal door.

We have …

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Elevate your temae

I have a few students who can no longer sit seiza on tatami.  Some of them are sad because there are only a few table style temae you can do.  And there is no difference in the seasons for table style.  So I had a plan for them.

In Portland, we have been rather snowed …

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Movement within the tea room

One of the things Machida Gyotei sensei taught us about movement within the tea room is that when you are wearing kimono, only your feet are showing, so you want to make sure that you are walking, turning, sitting and standing in a way that doesn’t look awkward and call additional attention to …

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Upon entering the tearoom

Upon entering the tearoom, it is important above all else that both host and guests compose their frame of mind so as to be completely free of extraneous thought; this attitude should be harbored within and not displayed outwardly. ~ Murata Shuko (d. 1502)

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