Minako sensei passed away 10 years ago today. It was devastating at the time, and I felt unconnected and motherless. I can hardly believe that 10 years have passed and yet it seems like she has been gone forever. I am a teacher now, and that is what Minako sensei wanted for me. But, oh, …
Tag: chakai
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White clouds
When choosing the toriawase, the arrangement of utensils for a chakai, or chaji the first thing you should consider is the scroll. It sets the theme for your event and gives the guests something to think about. Most scrolls displayed in the tea room are zen phrases written by Zen priests, monks, or …
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Hatsugama – first kettle 2014
All the preparations for Hatsugama paid off and the celebration for the New Year was a great success. 8 guests in two seki attended. The display in the tokonoma included kagami mochi and blue ceramic goishi kogo.
The scroll read “Haku un onozuakara kyorai zu” White clouds come and go of …
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Hatsugama preparations
We are lucky this time of year to be able to participate in Hatsugama, the first kettle of the year. It is one of the biggest events of the year, and I have been preparing for this since early November. I have developed over the years a countdown checklist that starts about 2 months out …
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The joy of tea
Today I had the lucky opportunity of hosting a chakai for people that I had never met. However these two people had traveled many thousands of miles from North and East of here to be my guests. They were graduates of the Midorikai program in Kyoto and attended about 5 years before I had gone …
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