Alright 2020, what’s next?

Posted on July 29, 2020 by Aaron

Anyone out there have this happen to them? You’re making tea one day to celebrate the New Year with a few people.

Or maybe more than a few.

With rather tight seating arrangements.

Or, maybe you were giving a presentation about tea to a few hundred guests.

Sluzew Culture Center, tea presentation sponsored by us and the Japanese Embassy.

And the next thing you know your tea gatherings looked like this?

Welcome to the year 2020.

All joking aside, as you all know, this year has been trying for just about everyone in one way or another. With sorrow for those we have lost and hope for a better future, we wish you all good health and safety.

Here in Warsaw we too have needed to adjust. Except for a few rare instances, all classes, okeiko (practice), and chakai (tea gatherings) have moved online.

We still managed to hold Rikyu-ki, with just the four of us at home, along with several virtual guests attending through the computer screen.

Guests eating sweets while waiting for the tea to be made and offered in the alcove. There is no waiting for sweets.

Just before the guests went wild from eating all the sweets.

On the plus side of things, we have made new and better connections with people far and wide, generally by means of networking video software. There has been a worldwide sparked interest in distance learning, especially beneficial to those who were already geographically distanced from other tea practitioners and teachers. We have been able to teach and study with people on every side of the Earth. And that has been phenomenal.

So, most of the photos this year look like screen shots with a bunch of heads, maybe someone making tea. I’ll instead focus on two recent experiences, created by those who couldn’t live by computer screen alone. For although 100% VR tea may soon exist, people coming together to share tea and time in each other’s company will never be replaced.

We’ve gone back and forth about how best to serve guests in person. For now we keep the guests to just a few, like a tea gathering should be, small and intimate. If there are people that live together we let them share a bowl of koicha. Today we made good use of kasanejawan, a form that uses two bowls for the thick tea, one for each household present.

Recently, the head of Urasenke, Zabosai Oiemoto, explained that there were other forms made in the past that dealt with ways of minimizing the spread of germs. One such method was the Kakufukudate procedure. It involves making the thick tea as usual for the first guest.

Kneading the koicha. The masks are not a set part of the form but we used them this day for additional safety measures.

As the first guest drinks the host goes out to get a tray containing separate bowls, already containing tea powder, for each guest.

A good practice for making single servings of koicha

The host returns and quickly makes tea for the other guests.

As we move forward, it’s an intense time for tea, with so many people considering so many options, it’s sure to advance. The direction is unknown and in constant flux.

But as Ula says, “I’m not worried”.

Robiraki 2019

Posted on November 9, 2019 by Aaron

15 of us met at the Warsaw practice space for a tea gathering celebrating both the opening of new tea and the sunken hearth.

The guests arrived and waited in the machiai (waiting room) where they were served a little something warm to drink

while some last minute preparations took place in the kitchen.

Scroll read “zuiki koudou ni mitsu” -an atmosphere of mystery fills the (temple) hall

Next the guests entered the tearoom, did they notice the shiny wet kettle?

Ula-sensei prepared the charcoal in the sunken hearth.

The fire is set in order to quickly heat the water for tea, To give it time to do so the guests left the room for a quick meal.

A light meal was served. This description is from Ania-sensei’s Facebook post, I added some details in parentheses: “1. okayu, rice gruel with Polish groats, served with some grated ginger and Polish marinated plum; 2. misoshiru (that’s the miso soup) with pumpkin, potatoes, leeks, enoki (a type of mushroom) and black sesame; 3. fukiyose (um, Autumn’s treasures blown together into a pile) made of: lotus root mochi, shiitake, carrots in the shape of momiji (maple leaves), parsnip in the shape of pine needles, grilled zucchini and a walnut cooked with soy sauce and sugar; 4. cucumber and radish salad, with radish leaves and dressing made of lime juice and ginger juice.” Delicious, thank you Ania!

We let everyone escape to the table to rest their legs for a bit before heading back in for tea.

The last part of the meal is a sweet. This is one of the traditional sweets served at this event, called zenzai. It’s essentially sweetened adzuki bean soup with balls of mochi (sweet rice flour).

Re-entering the room for thick tea, the scroll has been replaced by flowers and the container holding the tea is in place in front of the daisu (utensil stand). You can tell the water is good and hot.

Ula enters with two of the three bowls used for the thick tea.

The guests drink their tea and then pass the empty bowls around to appreciate them.

The hosts snuck into the room and joined for the thick tea, so we ended up having four bowls circling around either being drank from or looked at artistically/esthetically.

After thick tea we removed the sliding doors and watched as people made each other thin tea within a group form called kagetsu. In addition to Warsaw we had visiting guests from Krakow and Minsk and it’s always heartwarming to practice with people who are excited enough to travel for tea.

As they randomly chose who makes and who drinks the tea the rest of us had some thin tea outside the tearoom as well.

A second round of kagetsu, just for good measure. In this form for five participants, only four bowls of tea are made, so you get better odds if you do the whole thing over again.

Finally, during the last kagetsu, Szymon led some warigeiko (parts of tea preparation) with guests who are currently enrolled in the Warsaw University tea course.

All in all it was a fine day, full of great tea and food in the company of wonderful people. Thanks to everyone who could make it out, hosts and guests alike, it couldn’t have happened without you all.

2019 Firsts

Posted on March 20, 2019 by Aaron

Greetings!

This is the first time we’ve let you know about what’s going on in Warsaw this year, so here is a collection of some of our firsts in January 2019.

First Tea on New Year’s Morning

After the eight of us gathered in the dark the guests entered the tea room at 7 AM to welcome the new year.

The room was prepared for laying the charcoal and once all the guests were settled the fire was built.

Next we shared some food.

When finished we left the room.

After the hosts prepared the flowers and thick tea we re-entered and shared both thick and thin tea.

We’ve been doing this intimate gathering at sunrise on the 1st for a few years now and it always fills us with warmth of spirit and inspirational energy for the coming year. Thanks to everyone who made this a special morning.

Hatsugeiko – first practice of the new year

Ula-sensei has been making sure everyone has a bite to eat before tea lately, even at keiko. So a small tray of food was served.

Then we continued with our regular practice of various thick and thin tea.

Thanks to our dedicated students for their continued diligence and patience.

Hatsudate – New Year celebration at Warsaw University

Every year the students of the Urasenke tea course at Warsaw University get to drink thick tea in celebration of the new year.

It’s a nice chance for them to take part in some aspects of the new year celebrations.

Afterwards several of the group’s regular students got to take their first tries at daisu temae.

It was great having them come to help with the university students.

Hatsudate at the Japanese Ambassador’s residence

For the opening of the celebratory year commemorating 100 years of open diplomatic relations between Japan and Poland we were asked to make tea for the guests in attendance at the Japanese Ambassador’s residence.

We made tea simultaneously in the tea room and at the misonodana table.

It was a little too busy to take any pictures while making tea, but here is most of our team.

It’s always a pleasure to work with the Ambassador and the staff of the Embassy.

Hatsudate for our group and friends

Each year it’s our pleasure to invite those whom we work with and rely on for a new year celebration, in the tea fashion.

Staying up late preparing food and sweets is a regular task before any tea gathering, especially when you’re serving many dishes to many people.

Ganmodoki (imitation goose – because it’s tofu based) for the soup. The guests, especially the Japanese ones, seemed to enjoy it. Thank you Ania!

Thanks to everyone for all the help.

The first seki, or group of guests, doing haiken of the tea utensils.

Guests enjoying some sake with their food.

“Repairing” the fire for the second seki.

Sweets for the thin tea, pines and cranes.

Yokoe Masato-sensei was a guest during the second seki, but had come from giving shamisen lessons and was so kind to play a few songs for us.

Once we served all our invited guests we did the same for ourselves under the full moon.

Looking forward to many more tea events.

Have a great year everyone!

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The first bowl of Tea in 2016

Posted on January 1, 2016 by Aaron

And so it has started, the New Year, with Tea on the 1st of January, 7am. Warmest thanks to our gracious Guests who made this meeting possible! All the best for the New Year!

Rikyuki 2015

Posted on March 29, 2015 by Aaron

One of the events we try to hold each year is Rikyuki, the memorial tea gathering for Sen no Rikyu.

It has become our tradition to begin with hanayose, a group form where each participant arranges the flowers in a different vase. We squeezed in room for nine people this year, still not enough for everyone but it’s a nice way to get a lot of people involved.

Next Ula and Damian made the fire using the sumi shomo form.

Once the fire was burning Aaron made an offering of tea that was placed in the tokonoma.

Everyone left the tearoom to enjoy a bite of food and then have the yomogimochi sweet that Monika had prepared.

Once back in the tearoom everyone shared both thick and thin tea.

To wrap up the day a simple kagetsu was carried out.

It’s was a great pleasure to herald in the Spring as well as remember the father of our modern wabi tea practice. We wish that everyone can enjoy the warming season and the company of friends and family.

Summer Tea Workshop 2014

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Aaron

So many events skipped, I’ll try to fill in the blanks over time.

Let’s talk about the Warsaw Summer Workshop while it’s still fresh!

After a welcoming dinner in old town Warsaw

This year, somehow, the word about our workshop continued to spread and we were privileged to receive participants from many different places. Of course some of our own members were here to host six members of the Krakow group along with one from Hungary, two from Finland, another Finn who came all the way from Kyoto, and an American from London. All together about 19.3 participants (that’s including 7 month old Gabriela and our fantastic cook/masseur Marcin).

Many of the participants

One reason we were able to draw a member from Japan is because we focused heavily on practicing the shichijishiki this year. The shichijishiki are a set of group forms devised in the 18th century in part to enlist many participants in one practice and based somewhat on the seven practices in Zen temples.

Each day started with light exercise to wake up,

wake up

stretch?

relax

some meditation to focus,

meditation introduction

and some food for sustenance before delving into all the forms.

breakfast

These group forms, like any other, require repetition in order to learn; however, they require a knowledge of all the basic forms as well as having a sufficient number of people in order to practice them.

basic charcoal form

Each night we did our best to try out other aspects of chanoyu, making Japanese sweets, making tea scoops and making kobukusa.

Rikyu manju

Goldfish made of sweet bean paste swimming over sweet sesame sand.

bending chashaku

The first day, as always, we began by refreshing the basic elements of tea practice, sitting, standing, walking, bowing, and preparing the utensils. We then discussed the history of the group forms and talked a little about each one.

you can never practice walking too much

That afternoon we practiced the most common of the group forms, Kagetsu. Kagetsu is a form that can be practiced in many different ways and in which each participant must be ready to change places with any other to do whatever task is at hand.

sumi tsuki kagetsu

koicha tsuki kagetsu

The second day was spent at Kaian, the Japanese tea house at Warsaw University. There we practiced more Kagetsu, specifically the types that can be carried out in a 4 1/2 mat room. We also did a little practice in the 2 3/4 mat room for some close tea sharing with each other.

drawing for the initial roles (in the huge corridor)

4.5 mat kagetsu

daime koicha

On the third day we hit the more difficult forms, or at least those less practiced. We started with Shaza, a form where each person takes care of a different task; arranging flowers, making the charcoal fire, preparing incense, making the thick tea, and making the thin tea.

incense preparation in Shaza

Next we practiced Chakabuki, a form where each person drinks two different thick teas, the consumers are informed of the names of each. Then three more thick teas are prepared randomly and each person must guess which tea they are drinking, the first, second, or a third mystery tea.

bringing in the “ballots”

tasting the tea

showing the tea type to the record keeper

In the afternoon we practiced Senyū. This form is somewhat similar to Shaza above except each element is modified and/or expanded on: instead of one person arranging the flowers everybody takes a turn doing it, the charcoal fire is done honsumishomo style so the guest actually only puts in the charcoal, two types of incense are prepared, thick tea is made for everyone, and the thin tea is carried out as in Kagetsu.

charcoal element of Senyu

Of course anytime there was extra time we tried to fit in an extra Kagetsu.

One the last day we practiced a form called Ichi-ni-san which enables each participant to give a review of the tea form done for them by the host.

checking her “score”

We also practiced Kazucha, a form wherein each participant will have a sweet, make tea and drink tea all in random order. We then used this form in our closing tea gathering that afternoon.

Kazucha beginning bow

in the midst of Kazucha

The closing chakai started with the charcoal, an excellent bowl of thick tea, and then everyone participating in Kazucha for their thin tea.

Chakai set-up for charcoal

Koicha L

koicha center

koicha R

Kazucha during chakai 1

Kazucha during chakai 2

We were busy from early morning to late night everyday but we still tried to have a little party to wrap up the event. As usual, most everyone was too tired to notice. That’s how we can tell if people had a good workshop, when they pass out when it is over.

wild party

Thanks to everyone for making the workshop another special event and for coming together to share tea with us here in Warsaw. See you next year!

-Extra shots of the kiddo-

These are my tatami

Hey, what are you doing to my foot?

Ready to work out

I see you think it’s your turn to talk again Dad

Yes, give me the talking stick

Maybe I should do the talking

No no no bring it back I have things to say, Mom let go

I’m here for my koicha

Visit to Egypt

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Aaron

Our friend Ahmad of Chanoyu Arabia relocated to Cairo and after some settling in invited us to share tea with the people there.

We held practices for thirteen days and were also able to travel to Tunis, a pottery town in Fayoum, about three hours drive from Cairo, where we were able to show the local artists how we use ceramics in chanoyu.

The Cairo tea group has a long history and is currently trying to get more active, and they showed it, many members came several times during our stay.

There are of course Egyptian people studying tea as well as Japanese, we also met other people from diverse regions all living in Cairo that Ahmad has been getting involved in tea.

Some people are drawn to chado from very young ages. Noor, commonly known as Hanto-chan is eagerly mastering every aspect.

The trip was wonderful, the people friendly and receptive, tea everyday, warmer weather, a fantastic and giving host. A truly magical experience we hope to repeat soon. Thanks Ahmad and everyone in Cairo.

Summer Anniversary Chakai 2012

Posted on August 26, 2012 by Aaron

This year marked the fifth and fifteenth anniversary of our tea group in Warsaw.

It has been fifteen years since Iwona returned from Japan after beginning study with Sugimoto-sensei and then began sharing tea culture with others in Warsaw. Five years have passed since we became recognized as an affiliate of Urasenke Tankokai with endorsed Urasenke teachers and support. Ordinarily we have had our anniversaries at our practice space but this year, in order to celebrate with a wider group of people we planned the event in a public location.

Our setting was a palace affiliated with Warsaw Castle called the Palace Under the Tin Roof (or The Tin-Roofed Palace)

The palace itself was built in 1720 and is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in Warsaw and the first building to have such a roof rather than the tiles that were customary before then.

The rooms we shared with our guests are filled with an exquisite Oriental Carpet Exhibit that created an intensely warm and cozy atmosphere. Earlier in the summer we held a tea presentation in collaboration with the palace and the wonderful staff there allowed us to hold this event using their facilities.

The guests were a combination of our own members and guests along with those invited by the palace. Sugimoto-sensei attended from Japan along with several of our other honorary members.

After our president Urszula greeted the guests Sugimoto-sensei, with Anna Z. translating, read a letter of congratulations from Sen Hounsai and Sen Zabousai, the fifteenth and sixteenth generation heads of the Urasenke tradition of tea in Kyoto.

This was followed by a short message from Dr Jadwiga Rodowicz-Czechowska, recently returned Ambassador to Japan from Poland.

Next we conducted a tea making presentation in which Aaron and Damian offered tea to Sugimoto-sensei, Krzysiek and Misia while Ula explained a little for those new to the process.

Next, as the tatami on the stage were exchanged for a misonodana during a quick intermission, the guests were served their sweets. Then while Agata and Marta made tea on the stage the rest of our group served everyone assembled their tea.

In another change from our standard events we had a professional photographer taking pictures for us, that’s why there are so many to look at. All the pictures marked ** are his. Thanks Sebastian for taking these great shots and for letting us share them here. Everyone can check out his sites at the links shown below:

Lastly, thank you and congratulations to all our members for coming together and making this another special event. Looking forward to continued Tea sharing for many years to come.

Thank you all

Annual Summer Workshop

Posted on July 28, 2012 by Aaron

This was already our 6th Summer workshop, how did that happen?

Every year we have great participants and a lot of fun.
We were happy to have several members up from Kraków and we always look forward to getting to share in more activities with those friends. Senshinkai, Urasenke Kraków

The schedule for the four days began each morning with zazen (sitting meditation) followed by a short session of group exercise, breakfast, a few hours of practice, lunch, then a few more hours of practice followed by more zazen, dinner and some evening activities. It was tough but many participants sleep on site so the 6:30 meditation isn’t too bad, right fellow non-morning-people?

We all began with the basics (warigeiko)

This year we had the ability to focus on sumi temae (that’s preparing and burning the charcoal)

Of course there was no shortage of practicing the tea forms either

Everyone was able to work on forms they chose each day based on a rough schedule

Every night we made sweets for use the next day, additionally each evening had a different activity for the participants.

The first night we practiced how to wear Japanese clothes, especially obi (belt) tying for kimono and yukata. One night we had our friend from the Japanese Embassy come and give a workshop on furoshiki, including a lot of hands on training.

The third night we made chashaku (bamboo tea scoops) which turned out remarkably well for most everyone’s first attempt.

We averaged 12 participants a day and just about everyone had a chance to do sumi

Once or twice we practiced sumi tsuki kagetsu, a group form including charcoal and tea

By splitting up from time to time we were able to include temae from many levels and using different utensils.

After lunch on the last day Damian and Marta hosted a tea gathering for the rest of us. They prepared a little more food (Damian’s excellent creation) along with refreshing sweets (wonderfully creative by Marta) before serving thick and thin tea in a combined form called tsuzuki usucha.

After all those days of work it was almost relaxing the last evening as we all celebrated the conclusion of the workshop. Simultaneously Ula and Aaron packed for a trip leaving the next morning and several participants finished carving their tea scoops. It was non-stop and a great time. Now what about these requests for a Winter Workshop?

Trip to Vilnius, Lithuania

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Aaron

In June, the Japanese Embassy in Lithuania asked us to help them celebrate the opening of a new Japanese garden within their botanical gardens in Vilnius.

(The Japanese garden has been in the works for nearly ten years, the botanical garden itself is a part of Vilnius University http://www.botanikos-sodas.vu.lt/gallery/main.php/v/dvaras/Japoniskas-sodas/)

Krzysiek, Ula and Aaron made the trip in order to share tea at this festive occasion.
(With the additional bonus that this would be the first time to visit Lithuania for any of us.)

The drive was pleasant and not overly long. We took a day for driving each way and two days in Vilnius.

At the garden we were shown around and chose a nice spot outside where we made tea for the special guests who were there to view the garden the day before the official opening.

After the VIP group was served all the attendees were invited to sit with us and share the beauty of the garden.

That night H.E. Ambassador Shiraishi invited all of us who had come to help to a fine dinner.

The grand opening was the next day and several hundred guests wandered the gardens,

listened to koto music,

watched ikebana (flower arranging) presentations,

listened to us talk a little about tea culture in Japan

and settled in to share a sweet and tea with us.

Everyone seemed interested in hearing about Japan and tasting the tea, we noticed several people mentioning magic and “reading” the remains of the tea in the bowl, it seems Lithuanians might be living close to nature and open to powers beyond the physical realm.

Luckily we had a helper from the Japanese Embassy in Lithuania who helped us serve all those guests. Thanks to Ambassador Shiraishi and all her staff who made this a great event as well as a fantastic memory of a rare chance for us in Poland. Vilnius was a pleasure to visit with a wonderful old-town full of friendly people. We hope to share tea in Lithuania again and recommend a trip there to everyone.

Urasenke Way of Tea Warsaw

Stowarzyszenie Drogi Herbaty Urasenke Tankōkai Sunshinkai

Author Archives: Aaron