Tea training under the sturgeon moon

Students from Issoan Tea traveled to Vashon Island in the Puget Sound to spend a weekend intensive at the Tea House of the Winter moon.  It was also the weekend of the sturgeon moon.  The sturgeon is a prehistoric freshwater/saltwater fish that the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest harvested during the full moon of August.  These fish can reach 8 ft (2.5 m) and can live 60-100 years.  They are good eating because they do not have bones.  Their skeleton is cartilage and have rows of plates for protection rather than scales.

The sturgeon moon is associated with the themes of the harvest and abundance, but also resilience, endurance, trust and renewal. It is also a time to reconnect with intuition and release what no longer serves them.  This year’s sturgeon moon encourages, innovation, and unconventional thinking, with a focus on collectives well-being. The perfect theme for an intensive study of chado.

We gathered on Friday night to share a meal and discuss the coming weekend.  There was a mix of experienced students to someone who had not studied tea, but was interested in starting tea lessons. Every morning started with zazen, then cleaning and preparing the tea room and garden for the day’s lesson.  The focus for the weekend would be the roji, how to enter the tea room, haigata or ash forms, sumi demae, culminating with a chakai at the end of the weekend.

Hai gata or ash forms are difficult because each pass of the ash tool packs down the ash more and more.  You want an ashform that is soft and light and fluffy so that air coming through the ash can feed the fire.  Each student was able to make an ash form, but were limited to about 35-40 minutes. After that the ash gets too compact.  As my sensei says, “better an ugly haigata that breathes, than a perfect one that is too tight.”  Lessons here in letting go and stopping even if it isn’t perfect.

We also took time to talk and experience the roji with a little history and appreciation for all the work that has gone into the roji at the Winter Moon Teahouse.  From the koshikake machiai (waiting bench) to the tsukubai (hand rinsing basin) to the nijiriguchi (tea room crawling in entrance), we practiced moving through the roji and using that experience to prepare us to enter the tea room.  Interesting is that dealing with removing and stacking shoes was  a good lesson for all us.

Practicing seki ire, going in, reminds us how to work together.  Placement of the tokonoma, temaeza and navigating footwork within the tea room made us conscious how the dance of people moving in the room can be bonding, and even satisfying.

The afternoon was taken up with learning how to lay the charcoal in the furo (brazier).  With live coals it can be intimidating. But we also had time to show gozumi or the second building of the fire, which we don’t often get to see.  It can be challenging because we don’t know exactly how the fire will burn down.  We need to look and respond in the moment to how much charcoal we will need for the usucha to come.

The highlight of the weekend was Saturday night. After pot luck dinner, we gathered on the beach facing directly where the full moon would rise.  We spread out blankets and had chabako tea while we waited for the moon rise.  I am sure saké enhanced the whole experience.

On Sunday we had a chakai to put together what we learned during the weekend.  Five guests, each had two bowls of tea.  After the clean up we had lunch and had a discussion and reflection of the weekend learning.