The wind of Mount Fuji
I've brought on my fan
A gift from Edo
— Bashō
A breath, a breeze. That's how brief it seemed as we presented an introductory course on "Chado: The Japanese Way of Tea" through Humboldt State University's OLLI program.
There is so much to learn about the Way of Tea that it seems impossible to even contemplate such a course, but our intrepid class seemed to enjoy the presentations — from the first aisatsu to the influence of Zen. Each of three two-hour class meetings incorporated a slide show and discussion of history, philosophy and aesthetics followed by a presentation of usucha, or the thin tea ceremony.
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| Harvey discusses wabi as part of the the philosophy of Chado. Wabi is always a topic of particular interest, but is a such a difficult concept to explain! |
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| Awesome hanto prepared many bowls of tea in the mizuya. |
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| A makeshift tokonoma with a Valentine's Day theme. |
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| Laura and Harvey present usucha, the thin tea ceremony |
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| So many books to read! |
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| Laura and Pia in a four-and-a-half mat "room" |
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| Laura and Pia in a four-and-a-half mat "room" |
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| Holly makes tea for Laura and Pia |
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| Pia prepares to make tea for some of the students |
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| Laura, Pia and Holly (Ann, not pictured, was a hard worker behind the scenes.) |
Of the many joys of Chado is the sharing of poetry and art. Several students read haiku in class, and two students were inspired to bring hand-made cards with the haiku featured in this post. Another shared a reading from a book on shodo and ink painting. Before and after class we discussed travel, gardening, pottery … as we should at any tea gathering.
So many memories
flood my mind —
cherry blossoms
— Bashō
