This year we celebrated the Lunar New Year instead of Hatsugama. Portland had such a bad winter storm that we had to cancel Hatsugama. Our gathering took place at the newly opened Cedar Tree Hotel. The lobby is beautifully understated with a koi pond in the middle! Stephanie and I named the three koi living there “Sho, Chiku, Bai” the three friends of winter: pine, bamboo, and plum.
We started in the lobby with osayu and then invited the guests to the tea room where there was a welcome display.
The shikishi is by Harada Shodo Roshi, Koro itten no yuki, a single flake above the hearth. We were lucky to be joined by international guests via zoom.
The scroll reads Yuki ma no kusa, sprouts under the snow. Tsubaki and Hellebore in a bamboo vase.
After socializing for a few minutes, we enjoyed a nice bento.
After a short break, koicha and usucha at the temae tables built by Mr. SweetPersimmon. These tables are easy to transport and set up takes about 5 minutes. Guests appreciated that we were at the tables and not sitting seiza the whole time.
The sweet was nerikiri, plum in the snow. All the guests had a good time.
A big thank you to Stephanie and Gabi for helping to set up and tear down.