On Saturday, September 28, the Los Angeles International Tea Festival returned to JANM for its 3rd year! This year’s Tea Festival was even more successful than in previous years, boasting an extended 24 participating tea vendors, more exciting workshops, and an extension into the Courtyard.
JANM also had a free Japanese tea ceremony demonstration in conjunction with the festival, presented as part of the Tateuchi Public Programs Series.
The Japanese tea ceremony is called chanoyu or sado in Japanese. The ceremony was presented on behalf of Chado Tea Room and Hamano Shachu from Urasenke. The group performed a choreographed ritual of preparing and serving tea together with traditional Japanese sweets.
The tea ceremony demonstration involved five participants—Chieko-san, the narrator who guided the audience through each step of the ceremony, assistant Mrs. Kawata, hostess Mrs. Masayo Sebata, and two guests.
The tea ceremony began with a brief history of the Japanese tea ceremony, and the importance of tea in Japanese culture. After the introduction, Chieko-san narrated the proceedings of a traditional Japanese tea ceremony as it was being performed on stage. The tea ceremony was concluded by a Q&A session, where the group answered a variety of questions relating to the Japanese tea ceremony. The Tateuchi Democracy Forum enjoyed a full house that evening, where an enthusiastic audience was able to view a beautiful tea ceremony performance, and learn more about the Japanese tea tradition.
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Check out these photos from the 3rd Annual Los Angeles International Tea Festival at JANM and the tea ceremony demonstration!
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Photos by Tsuneo Takasugi, R.M. Murakami, and John Esaki.
