“Spring air –
As spring steeps into our minds and hearts at this time of
year, in tea we prepare for a time of annual memorial to tea master, Sen no Rikyu, and our ancestors, family
and loved ones that are no longer with us.
Their spirits live on through us, and it is a time to remember them. Regardless of the school of tea, it is
customary for all who practice tea ceremony to honor Rikyu at this time. In March, we memorialize the anniversary of
his death on February 28 in the 19th year of the Tensho era and pray
for repose of his spirit. This is an
important event as our tea ceremony is descended from Rikyu. We honor him as our tea founder and show
appreciation for what we have inherited.
We also pay homage to loved ones we have lost by offering up a bowl of
tea and revisiting memories of them.
It is also the time of year in Japan for hanami, or “flower viewing”. This traditional custom of enjoying the
beauty of cherry (sakura) and plum (ume) blossoms happens from March to
early May. It is a time for celebration
of nature and life, offering a magnificent visual spectacle. The sakura
blossom is seen as a metaphor for life, its beauty luminous yet fleeting and
short-lived.
Sakura was originally used as an offering to bless the rice fields and announce the rice-planting season. Today, many outdoor parties and cheerful feasts take place beneath the blossoming boughs of sakura trees both during the day and at night or yozakura by the light of paper lanterns hung overhead.
Photo credit:
Elaine Robinson, tea student
woven moon
and plum scent.”
and plum scent.”
--
Matsuo Bashō
(Famous poet of the Edo period in Japan
and master of haiku)
 |
| Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591) |
Sen no Rikyu introduced,
gave shape to and perfected the aesthetic concept of wabi in the tea ceremony. Wabi is quiet contentment with simple
things. Rikyu believed that through practicing simplicity in the way
of tea it was possible to reach enlightenment.
The wabi philosophy embraces
the virtue of simplicity and finding understated beauty in imperfection. These values helped Rikyu to mold the form
and spirit of the tea ceremony we follow today.
Rikyū developed, popularized, and incorporated wabi principles into Chanoyu
by creating coarse-grained, unadorned surfaces and materials for the atmosphere
and wares that were appreciated for their humble, primitive appearance in the
elegantly choreographed preparation of tea.
During our ceremony dedicated to Rikyu and those who have
passed on, we use a ceramic tenmoku
tea bowl with a narrow foot that is set on a wooden tenmoku-dai or stand for the offering of tea. Much care and attention is taken in handling
the bowl and stand when making a tea offering on this occasion.
 |
| Tenmoku bowl with tea offering set on tenmoku-dai stand |
This year’s Rikyu and family memorial chakai (tea gathering) at the Snowflake Tea Room in Stow, Ohio will
be on Sunday, March 17. Beginning at
12:00 p.m., students and observers will gather in the tea room where a scroll
commemorating Rikyu will be displayed in the alcove along with photos of loved ones on the tokonoma. An offering of tea will be made in the tenmoku tea bowl and the group will
enjoy thin tea in memory of Rikyu and loved ones. Sensei, tea students, family and friends will
share thoughts in honor of our founder Rikyu and memories of those who have
passed on.
 |
Photos displayed on the tokonoma in memory of loved
ones
|
 |
This scroll of Rikyu was a gift to the tea room from a student
|
In Japan, the Higan-e Ceremony is widely practiced on March 21, the vernal equinox when the length of daylight and darkness is exactly the same. This signifies the inseparability of light (yang) and dark (ying) and the oneness of good and evil. The word “higan” means “arriving on the other shore” and symbolizes the crossing over from the impure world to the pure land of enlightenment in Buddhism. The significance of the Higan-e Ceremony in Buddhist practice is to do good deeds that will bring benefits and virtues to the believer and the deceased. By performing memorial services and making offerings in honor of parents and ancestors on this day, small good deeds become great positive acts and an exceptional opportunity to reaching higan or the other shore of enlightenment.
It is also the time of year in Japan for hanami, or “flower viewing”. This traditional custom of enjoying the
beauty of cherry (sakura) and plum (ume) blossoms happens from March to
early May. It is a time for celebration
of nature and life, offering a magnificent visual spectacle. The sakura
blossom is seen as a metaphor for life, its beauty luminous yet fleeting and
short-lived. Sakura was originally used as an offering to bless the rice fields and announce the rice-planting season. Today, many outdoor parties and cheerful feasts take place beneath the blossoming boughs of sakura trees both during the day and at night or yozakura by the light of paper lanterns hung overhead.
 |
| hanami by day... |
 |
| yozakura by night |
Photo credit:
Elaine Robinson, tea student
