Tea House

This week, I had a chance to help out with Japanese Tea Ceremony at Como Park. Standing inside the garden, I felt I was in a different world. It was very peaceful and I could leave all my worries behind. It gave me a sense of purpose and "be in the moment". 

The Japanese Tea Ceremony can be considered as art or discipline. 
As an art, The Tea Ceremony is an occasion to appreciate the simplicity of the tea room’s design, the feel of the Chawan (Tea bowl) in the hand, the company of friends, and simply a moment of purity.  

As a discipline, aesthetic contemplation of flower arranging, ceramics, calligraphy, and the roots of the Tea Ceremony which go all the way back to the twelfth century is required. The ritual preparation requires  the person hosting a tea party to know how to cook a special meal (Kaiseki), how to arrange the flowers which will be placed in the above (Tokonoma). When choosing utensils and other vessels, the host (Teishu) has to consider the rank and type to make sure that they will stand out. 

From the picture above, one of my friends asked me why I didn't put on any makeup. In fact, I did but it could be a "discipline part" that kicked in. As a host, one should not be wearing any jewelry as it draws guests' attention away from its purpose during tea ceremony. My thought was based on this rule, I decided to put on make up lightly. My guests should be the ones who gain all my attention, not me. 

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