I had known there would be a small charge to attend the Tea ceremony, but hadn't expected to pay $16 just to get into the Botanical Gardens. My internet info site had indicated $11, which still seemed high for what they had. Even so, I forged ahead, determined to find some harmony in a bowl of tea.
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| From Chanoyu in Montréal |
I arrived early to sign up for the demonstration and participation, as had been recommended. Two members of the Chado school were getting into kimono, but they graciously gave me my ticket and allowed me to chat a little with them. Then I perused the bonsai garden, which was very nice, though the examples weren't terribly varied in form. I can only hope that one day my own little bonsais will look so good.
The Tea Garden, or rather the related Tea house, is also a small museum for things Tea related. They had a wonderful lacquer exhibit - showing the progress of a bowl from wood core to finished product, and examples of different decoration techniques. There were also photos & explanations of lacquer resin gathering & processing. I hadn't known that the lacquer tree is in the same genus as poison oak and poison ivy. The lacquer collectors must develop a resistance to the irritating sap.
In another room they had some gorgeous examples of lacquerware made by members of the Japan Urushi Art and Craft Association (Nihon Shikko Kyokai). Most of the pieces were beautifully carved and simply lacquered rather than highly adorned with color or inlay. I refrained from taking photos of the displays, but now wish I had.
When Tea time came, we guests seated ourselves on folding chairs where we could look into the Tea room. There were 8 tatami mats set up to make a larger than usual Tea room, to accommodate visitors to the Tea demonstration. Usually there are 4 1/2 mats. The tokonoma, or alcove, had a scroll with "ichi go ichi e" brushed on it. This means "one time, one meeting", and reminds us that each time in the Tea room is unique. In the tokonoma there was also a vase holding a clematis vine.
The demonstration came first. One person worked behind the scenes at the mizuya, and was probably busy preparing sweets and bowls of tea for the visitors. One student explained the procedure while the host and two guests demonstrated furo usucha, one of the methods for preparing tea. The utensils were kept on a stand, which I haven't seen used at our own Tea practice. They were definitely students, and I caught a few mistakes, like using the wrong leading foot when walking across the room, placing the fan backwards, etc. The host was a bit hasty and thus not very graceful, but she did well enough.
After the demonstration, the students served sweets and bowls of tea to those of us who had paid a little extra for the experience. There were about 18 of us who came into the Tea room, and we had barely room to bow. Tea was prepared behind the scenes and brought out to us one by one. The sweets were yokan, a jellied bean paste, served on wide strips of paper serviettes (kaishi) folded simply into a V or winglike shape. Serendipitously, I had brought my clematis kaishi, which matched the flowers in the tokonoma. The tea was a bit thinner than we make at home, but was nice and smooth.
I think I was the only one familiar with Tea, and got to coach a couple of people near me who asked. A few people were very enthusiastic, and might pursue Chado. The host was pleasantly surprised when I thanked her for tea in Tea-speak. The students had so many other people asking questions after Tea was done. I didn't stick around to talk, but wandered out into the Tea garden.
I made an error in the garden by walking past a rock in the path. It was just past a small fence which marked another section of the garden. Someone else had been in that section, and I couldn't rightly remember the significance of a rope-bound rock until after I transgressed. Essentially, it's a "stay out" sign. So much for my gold star.
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