ELIZABETH STROUT
On April 2, Fromm Hall’s Maraschi Room was transformed into a prop Japanese tea room for the “Way of Tea” event, which highlighted matcha in a historical and ritualistic context. Approximately 50 students attended the event, which was set up with tatami mats, artfully arranged flowers and a calligraphy scroll in Japanese reading “ichi-go ichi-e,” a philosophy appreciating the irreplaceability of the present, which was the theme of the ceremony.
The event was hosted by the Center for Asia Pacific Studies in collaboration with Omotesenke Domonkai Northern California and support from USF’s Asian Studies and Japanese Studies departments, with a special guest representing the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco also present.
Senior kinesiology student Hillary Nguyen said, “I’ve always been interested in how tea can be meditative, and this demonstration helped me appreciate tea as an art form and a way to practice mindfulness.”
She continued, “One thing I noticed was how deliberate and intentional each aspect of the ceremony was, from the tatami mats, to the scroll, to the flowers, to the process of preparing the tea itself.”
Omotesenke Domonkai Northern California is a cultural organization dedicated to “chanoyu,” or traditional Japanese tea ceremony, that travels throughout the Bay Area to host and teach tea ceremonies. The group came to USF in traditional Japanese clothing, wearing patterned kimonos.
The goal of the event was to introduce students to the art of chanoyu from a practiced master. The master leading the event was Mikiko Matsumura, a Japanese language and culture professor at the City College of San Francisco who has practiced tea ceremony for over thirty years.
Students, faculty and community members filled seats positioned around the Maraschi Room, observing the ceremony. Before the ceremony, USF Japanese Studies professor Stephen Roddy gave a presentation on the history of tea. He traced its roots from China as a pastime for the elite to its migration to Japan, where monks drank it to stay awake for meditation. He explained that symbolism and seasonality are incorporated into tea ceremonies in the pursuit of “wabi,” or a Zen aesthetic ideal of austerity, as shown in the sparseness and spring specificity of the decor.
“I’m a big fan of tea and my family has a tea background, my family drinks tea, my extended family has a tea farm; tea is very ingrained in my life,” said Michelle Huang, a graduate student in the USF masters of teaching program. “Japanese tea is new for me and I’ve never seen a tea ceremony so I was really curious. It’s close to home because I’m also East Asian but not Japanese so it’s interesting seeing different practices of tea.”
The tea ceremony began with guests removing their shoes before entering the tea room, then taking time to meditate on each element of the set up, from the decor to utensils for tea. When every guest had entered the tea room, they sat on the floor together to eat a “nerikiri,” or a cherry blossom-shaped bean dessert, offered to them. The host then whisked thin tea for them in their tea bowls, which many guests expressed gratitude for before drinking.
Throughout the ceremony, the teacher narrated the steps and sentiments of the rituals. After, she answered attendee questions about formalities regarding types of matcha, themes and etiquette applied in the tea ceremony. Some guests had the opportunity to make their own tea, and everyone was offered the same sweet and drink.
Reflecting on the event, Nguyen said, “It was a refreshing change of pace, and a good reminder to slow down and be aware of my present and my presence, all while drinking delicious tea and meeting new people.”
Editor-in-Chief: Jordan Premmer, Chief Copy Editor: Sophia McCrackin, Managing Editor: Jordan DelFiugo, Opinion Editor: Dakota Duran, Scene Editor: Elina Graham
