As a child, my mother sat me down when I received any gift or attended any event to write a thank you note. It was drilled into me that I MUST acknowledge what someone else had done for me by a hand-written thank you note. That training has stood me in good stead. It …
Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/the-art-of-the-thank-you-note/
I recently presented chanoyu to a group of third graders, that is 8 and 9 year olds at their classroom in Portland. I had them pretend that they were Japanese students and they all stood up and said “Ohaiyo gozimasu, sensei” to their teacher, and they were very attentive and nearly silent during the 30 …
Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/kids-and-the-way-of-tea/
All in is used in poker (Mr. Sweetpersimmon is a poker dealer) to bet everything you have. There is nothing in reserve, you either win it or you are out. How does this relate to chado? When people say that they want to be present in the tea room … it has to be all …
Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/all-in/
We have been practicing with a variety of dogu this year in the intermediate classes. I have a bronze set of the 7 futaoki supposedly favored by Rikyu. (Rikyu no nanashu no futaoki). A futaoki is a kettle lid rest, and also can be used to rest the hishaku. These are ways to handle …
Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/rikyus-futaoki/
I’d like to introduce to you a guest blogger, Stephanie. She is a student and has been studying for more than 2 1/2 years. Earlier this year, she put on her first chakai:
Earlier this year I hosted my first chakai (tea gathering) for a fellow student who was returning to Japan. It was fitting …
Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/my-first-chakai/
