Japanese Tea Ceremony

Location

Founders Hall, Rigsby Language and Culture Commons (Room 123)

Free; registration required

Japan is famous for its teas and the tea ceremony. Professor Lisa Baird will perform this ancient ritual, and then our guests will make their own tea in the “tea ceremony” way. Please join us to experience the ceremony and to enjoy matcha (tea) and sweets.

Japan is famous for its teas and the tea ceremony. It only follows, then, that one of the most elaborate tea-serving rituals in the world should have originated there. The origins of the Japanese Tea Ceremony (called Sadō, Chanoyu, or Ocha by the Japanese) date back about 700 years ago when Buddhist monks turned serving tea into an art form. However, the person who had the most profound influence on Chanoyu was Sen No Rikyū. It was he who honed it into a stylized, perfectly choreographed ritual.

What is The Japanese Tea Ceremony? Although, in its most basic form, the Japanese tea ritual is about preparing and serving green tea – matcha – along with traditional Japanese sweetmeats to guests, the ceremony isn’t limited to just that. In addition to drinking the matcha prepared by the hostess and complimenting her on a job well done, it’s also about incorporating four important principles into the ceremony – harmony (和), tranquility (寂), respect (敬), and purity (清).

Lisa Baird began her study of the Japanese Way of Tea (Chado) in 2002 after seeing a beautiful tea ceremony demonstration at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park. She is a student of Soshin Saito-Sensei of the San Diego Urasenke Association, and has also studied at the Urasenke Headquarters in Kyoto. In 2011 she received her chamei (tea name) which allows her to teach Chado. As part of learning about tea and Japan, she also enjoyed studying Japanese at USD for four semesters.

This event is free, but pre-registration is required for anyone enrolled in Japanese or the Asian Studies minor. To reserve your seat, e-mail languages@sandiego.edu. Put “Tea Ceremony” in the subject line and give us your name, phone number, and the number of people coming with you. Your phone number is needed so that we can inform you of a venue change, should it be necessary.