Enjoy this video showing a Urasenke Tea Ceremony Demonstration at Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden. The garden offers these short demonstrations to give our guests an idea of what a full tea ceremony would be like. We offer these demonstrations at the garden through our programming, or you can book your own private tea ceremony.

The tea ceremony is one of Japan’s oldest traditional arts, its etiquette remaining virtually unchanged for over 400 years. Much of the tea ceremony’s present form can be attributed to the great tea master Sen no Rikyū (1592-1591). There are three main schools of tea in the present day, Omotesenke, Urasenke, and Mushakōjisenke, all of which were started by the descendants of Sen no Rikyū and are dedicated to passing on his knowledge. The form of tea ceremony seen here is called a chakai, or a ‘tea gathering’, performed in the Urasenke style.

The tea ceremony is an exercise in hospitality and mindfulness, expressing the four key principles of wa-kei-sei-jaku (‘harmony’, ’respect’, ‘purity’, and ‘tranquility’). Both hostess and guest must ensure their minds do not wander so that they may appreciate every moment. The design of a tea pavilion is intended to be simple to ensure that nothing competes with the hostess for the guest’s attention, and the tea materials are brought out little by little after the guest has arrived to be observed and enjoyed. The hostess positions herself in a way where the guest can clearly observe each meticulous movement, starting by cleaning the materials with her brightly coloured silk fukusa before preparing the tea itself. The quiet nature of her performance allows it to become a sensory experience as well, where even the gentle sound of water pouring into the tea bowl and the whisking of matcha powder become part of the tea ceremony. Once the guest has enjoyed their tea, the tea materials are cleaned and returned to the neighbouring water room, but not before the hostess expresses gratitude that they were able to come together for a moment of peace.

A special thank you to our hostesses Manae Nishino and Alexandra Long for demonstrating this unique art form. Thank you to our board member, David Tanaka, for filming this for the garden.