Guest Post by Andrew Nguy. Andrew was in China on a Fulbright scholarship when Covid broke out. Andrew studied with me online through the Covid pandemic. He is now off to Yale for East Asian graduate studies.
One wintry morning as I roamed the halls of a temple in China’s historical southern capital, I received …
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I am reminded almost daily, that not everything associated with Chado is glamorous or beautiful. The other day I was sifting damp ash for the ro and making a mess of it. While making damp ash occurs in heat of summer, by the time November comes around, my ash has dried somewhat and clumped together. …
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During koicha temae, the teishu asks the shokyaku “Ofukukagen wa ikaga desu ka?” How is the tea. Of course out of politeness, it is always “Kekko desu, or Taihen kekko desu” It is good and sufficient. But we need honest feedback in order to improve how we make koicha. One of my students told me …
Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/making-good-bowl-koicha/
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 …
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One line of the kotoba reads: As we diligently learn the Way, we shall not forget the humble but eager heart of the beginner. To many of us who have been studying the Way of tea for a number of years, it is easy to forget what it is like to be a beginner. It …
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