This is how a real tea ceremony in Japan works!

It’s finally here The video about the tea ceremony is ready You’ve all contributed so generously specifically last year already The fundraising goal during last year's livestreams was for for quite some time now I've been meaning to take you all to a tea ceremony and I did so yesterday Finally done I've reserved the Nagomiko-an for that It's a small tea house in the Endorji Shopping Street here in Nagoya led by Kagawa-san and there I truly spent two and a half Spent hours filming a tea ceremony exactly like the one she just demonstrated in today's video I'd like to take you through the entire process and explain how such a tea ceremony works and if all of this sounds interesting to you and you'd also enjoy doing it with me en I can only recommend that you send me an email as you'll then be able to receive a Reserve a tea ceremony with me at Nagomiko-an with Kagawa-san In that regard I would truly appreciate once again thank everyone who has donated Even right now we certainly have someone somewhere who is excellent fundraising goal If you'd like to support me you can do so by making a Super thanks to those who donate below this video or directly via PayPal First of all there is different types of tea ceremonies The simplest form of tea ceremony I would say is the most basic way to prepare and enjoy tea ot even necessarily calling it a tea ceremony but if you go somewhere into a beautiful garde Japan or sometimes at temples and shrines there is a tea service there and there You can then order such a set including a bowl of matcha tea and a small wagashi The ypically costs around 500 to maybe 1 500 yen depending on your location and there you ca enjoy the beautiful garden or nature and the scenery while savoring the mome consumed This isn't a real ceremony but simply a peaceful and serene moment A minute with a cup of matcha tea—the simplest way to experience the tea ceremony just as you're imagining it now roduced is a Usucha ceremony In it Usucha is consumed Usucha is matcha just as you might expect at is currently being presented It usually lasts about half an hour and that is precisely what you typically book in Kyoto for numerous tourist tea ceremonies The tea ceremony which What I would like to show you today is about food So first there's food and then there's a Tee ceremony What else there is which I'm not showing in this video right now is a Formal tea ceremony using koicha a thick matcha preparation made with less water resulting in a richer more concentrated experience The bowl just felt more like a matcha paste For that the matcha powder also needs to be extremely extremely good be of high quality and expensive I must admit I've never personally attended a Koicha tea ceremony either Participated The next question is what should you bring when attending a tea ceremony If you're visiting a tea ceremony as a tourist I have just one piece of advice for you amely the right clothes—and right now fewer of them just to be respectful or ot something like a yukata dressing or kimono dressing or anything similar That's the thing—if you're wearing jeans your legs will literally die off in no time means I recommend wide-leg pants fabric pants with plenty of stretch—nothing that fits tightly ghtly bind your knees What you normally need to bring for a tea ceremony is a a small tea ceremony fan plus a set of Kaishi papers—you'll actually need these during e tea ceremony Also if you're not arriving right now in a kimono then you don't need to white clean socks You cannot participate in a tea ceremony barefoot Best to have you as mentioned dressed in a kimono or as stated Western-style clothing loose-fitting trousers Stuff like that—no short pants no short skirts that don't go at least to the knee Also before you attend a tea ceremony please remove all your rings and your watch Take off your bracelets If you're standing in front of a teahouse right now there might be a small one there Waiting area Looks like a small wooden bus stop Guests wait there ormally the ritual begins here Before entering the tea house one ceremonially cleans oneself Hands and this works in principle much like the ceremonial hand washing at a Shinto shrine First one cleans one hand then the other and then one rinses the mouth Lift the mouth then clean the hand once more wipe the ladle clean and put it back down In the tea ceremony I attended we even changed into different shoes specifically to Strohlatschen of course And one always enters the tea room barefoot Kneel That means you would take off your shoes before the tea room and enter on your knees enter In many cases at small tea houses in gardens the doors are extremely small So You can practically only crawl in on your knees and bent over At the tea room where I was there were The completely normal large sliding doors The indicator showing which door to use is once e narrow gap The door is slightly ajar and moreover right where the shoes are You'll go in when it's ready Now you enter the tea room and then it is aturally the question arises: how is such a tea room actually arranged So in a tea room actually all tami mats which are the straw mats on the floor then shoji the woode Sliding panels with paper on all sides or at least on a few sides then a tokonoma that is e alcove where a scroll would normally be has been raised slightly like this Stage has a main beam and also a water heating station and usually there's something behind the Water heater placed against the wall like a room divider—this is essentially the sign that this is the It's the place where the tea master prepares the tea If you enter a tea room now then you'll find you first go to the tokonoma that alcove kneel down there and bow respectfully eel respectfully before the scroll then attempt to read it The e vast majority of people have no idea what's written on this scroll and that's why there's and then usually sometime later a clarification from the tea master about what's written on the scroll It goes Then you admire the decoration Usually it's a seasonal flower of some kind One more small decoration In that case where I was just now it was a musical group Chinese dolls since it was still the time of the Chinese Festival the Girls' Festival The flowers she had Instead it had this room divider inside—something I've never seen before and absolutely fantastic What matters most once you're done with that is selecting the seating arrangement The main guest who should be seated best sits he is served first and the main guest is usually the one who holds this position guides the entire ceremony the one who speaks directly with the tea master the one who concludes at the end and paid as well and this person bears tremendous responsibility The other guests then sit In the order of this guest During my tea ceremony food was included and in this particular case it was It comes on a small tray so it always arrives one of those little trays It was a bowl of rice a soup some pickled vegetables and two other dishes I In my case it was tofu and meat but it could just as easily be fish and vegetables for example You can order more rice and soup though "afterorder" might not be the right term—basically you get extra if you ask man more would like namely once more soup and twice more rice Then one eats namely Silence and focus and between each bite one virtually pauses and sets the chopsticks down again down It's almost like a form of meditation in a way And at the end one is supposed to achieve a Leave a little rice and also some of the pickled vegetables remaining— you'll need that amely so that at the end the two main bowls namely the rice bowl and the soup bowl could be placed clean them by pouring liquid into these two bowls then placing the vegetables The rice bowl cleans itself with the remaining vegetables then you fill everything in Pour it into the soup bowl and then drink all the remaining broth directly from the bowl Now e two bowls clean and empty Then you can place the other clean bowls on the soup bowl Place it upright and let the sticks fall with a clatter—the sound is the signal at one has finished eating and that the guest may return The next step in the The tea ceremony I attended involved selecting wagashi which isn't always the case Typical Usually there's exactly one wagashi person There's nothing to choose from because ey are all essentially the same and wagashi are made from bean paste after all They are completely different from season to season I was there during cherry blossom season That's why three of the five wagashi I had to choose from were themed around cherry blossoms After choosing mine I was able to transfer it onto my Kaishi paper using the brushes put it on That's when the whole thing comes into play Then you lift up the treat together w Lift the paper high and then eat it all with your hands It's always like this in tea ceremonies where it is Matcha is consumed before the tea and then comes the next step straightaway Tee ceremony and for that I first wanted to explain what utensils are needed for such a The tea ceremony requires first and foremost the most essential item: the chawan It's a teacup It has no handle and is usually fairly large But it is also used ot fully filled Then there's the chasen the bamboo tea whisk And the chashaku the It's the teaspoon This one is also made of bamboo Very very important and expensive is the Natsume This is the tea powder container There are also various types and shapes but ofte made of wood and painted black The Hishaku which is the ladle used to pour water filled in During a tea ceremony silence prevails One is essentially meant to focus on the moment fully present as if time itself has paused The sounds of preparing tea are what matter There are a few things that make noise or there are explicit additional sounds made during the tea ceremony And to give you a quick overview explain how the process works First all the equipment is brought in Then the Ceremonial utensils cleaned and inspected to ensure everything is in order Naturally this is also done beforehand Already checked but it's courteous to double-check before the guest arrives And the use of Water in the teacup for example also helps warm the teacup and afterward en the tea is prepared using approximately 2.5 tablespoons of matcha tea powder and a alf a bucket of water The remaining half of the water is poured back and then with the Tea served in a frothed state The teacup is either placed before the guest or handed to them directly ad to get the teacup myself In my case I had to fetch it myself Then I thanked When expressing gratitude for the tea one lifts the teacup high once more to show appreciation One should don't drink from the front of the teacup where the beautiful design is located That's why Turn the teacup clockwise twice then drink the tea in several sips and at the last sip you make a small sound You wipe the spot with your Extend your index finger and thumb then pick up a Keishi paper to reposition your finger clean it up then turn the bowl back around and place it in front of you Now s it time to admire the shell for that take both hands left and right grasp Look at the cup and glance right left right again at the cup Then you may lift the cup up but not too high so your elbows should stay on your knees and you can hold the bowl wist and turn it to examine the design closely When you're done place the bowl dow Back again Now it's time to clean the bowl and put everything else away once more In the process only the teapot and teaspoon are provided so that one can proceed with the entire Allow participants to examine these items once more up close Often the matters any story that is extremely valuable one that was created by some important figures produced used or owned thus concluding the tea ceremony itself Now it is of course as tourists we don't just want to watch and drink tea but also enjoy participating actively would like to learn how to prepare this tea yourself And during the tea ceremony Karawasa offers making your own tea is also included You can start by choosing one from several options Choose the glasses you'd like to drink from then place everything on a small tray with a sweetener included and the correct amount of tea powder already inside the cup You can then fill and froth the water yourself I felt a bit silly red and completely spilled the water but whatever that's how it goes And the foaming that's Not always easy though After that you can drink the matcha tea in this bowl one more time That is precisely the entire process of this tea ceremony and many other tea ceremonies you can experience in Japan Perhaps they are just small parts of it and as mentioned if you If you'd like to join me you're welcome to do so—please be sure to send me an email Also f you don't want to participate in this tea ceremony but still wish to join a tour with me or with Desiree If you'd like to try the other guide here in Nagoya you can book a tour at japanhautnah de book We would be thrilled to welcome you to Nagoya And with that I just want to thank all of you once again especially those who made donations but also to everyone who watched along And that's why if you enjoyed this video Then please like and subscribe to Japan Hautnah as well And I truly hope very much See you again in one of my next videos Until next time Bye