In the morning we all gathered in the main hall where we could participate in Japanese traditional activities. The first thing I decided to try was tea ceremony. The tea ceremony is a very special event in Japanese culture. The host spends days going over every detail to make sure that the ceremony will be perfect. There are various styles of tea ceremonies and it is recognized that every human encounter is a singular occasion that will never recur again in exactly the same way, and so every aspect of the tea ceremony is savored. The ceremony takes place in a room called the chashitsu. This room is designed and designated only for this ceremony. The steps to the ceremony seemed quite simple: clean the serving bowls, boil a pot of water, serve a sweet treat to guests before the tea, mix powdered bitter green tea (Matcha) and water to make a frothy tea, serve the tea to guests. However, those steps are not easy to perform when I decided to gave it a try. Some of the things to keep in mind as a guest are:
-Bow when you receive the cup of tea which is called a chawan
-Take the chawan with your right hand and place it in the palm of your left hand
- Turn the chawan clockwise three times before you take a drink
- When the tea is gone, make a loud slurp to tell the host that the tea was truly enjoyed
- Wipe the part of the chawan your lips touched with your right hand
-Turn the chawan counterclockwise and return to the host.
Then I practiced flower arrangement and I didn’t like the fact that we had to imitate the sample on the main table. What if I want to create my own piece? But it was still very interesting and a good cultural representation where we could actually participate.
After the culture classes we had a sushi box lunch provided by the program, which was pretty tasty. We were told that it’s hard to find a good sushi place in Hikone because it’s far from the ocean and the fish is not that fresh. Then there was presentation in honor of JCMU followed by a reception with great Japanese cuisine.
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