Most commented posts
- Heart to heart connection — 8 comments
- April update, a Midorikai interlude — 6 comments
- Making a good bowl of koicha — 6 comments
- It is harder than it looks — 6 comments
- Seeing things as they are — 6 comments
Author's posts
Next year’s Sakura mochi
The delicious sweet we have in April called Sakura mochi is composed of a bean paste and sweet sticky rice wrapped with a pickled cherry leaf. We enjoy it while the Sakura cherry trees are blooming. The interesting thing is that the Sakura blooms before there are leaves on the tree. After the petals have …
Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/1454/
New Class: Beginning Chado
As an instructor of Chado, I am continually thinking of ways to pass on what I have learned and instill in my students the enthusiasm and joy that I feel in the way of tea. Being connected to the rich history of chado and honoring all of the efforts my own teachers have invested in …
Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/new-class-beginning-chado/
How to sharpen pencils
Book review: I have just finished reading a book titled, “How to Sharpen Pencils: A Practical & Theoretical Treatise on the Artisanal Craft of Pencil Sharpening for Writers, Artists, Contractors, Flange Turners, and Civil Servants,” by David Rees.
This book classified in the humor section, but I read it with the seriousness of …
Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/how-to-sharpen-pencils/
The last of the Sakura
To my regular readers, I am sorry that I have not posted in so long. I promise to post more regularly in the future.
In the meantime, Sakura season has come and is nearly gone. The late cherries are dropping their petals like snow and it is getting warm and sunny here in the Pacific …
Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/the-last-of-the-sakura/
Gomei discussion
I have been having an extended discussion with a commenter about gomei. See this post and the comment thread.
For the guests, learning the gomei is of particular interest and in our discussion the commenter said,
“It sounds like the choice of a seasonal name is, at least partly, also the gift of …
Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/gomei-discussion/