Presentation of Urasenke: Japanese Tea Ceremony

The morning of November 26th was particularly cold, with the bitter wind blowing and rain falling. However, we were not affected by the weather, as the presentation of Urasenke was held ceremoniously in the Lecture Hall, Building 6 on the GDUFS North Campus.

Urasenke, a school of traditional Japanese tea ceremony, established a teahouse at GDUFS in 2008. At this presentation, more knowledge of Urasenke and Japanese tea ceremony was imparted to students at GDUFS.

FANG Fanquan

The presentation started with the speech of Vice President, FANG Fanquan. Not only did he speak highly of the time-honored Japanese tea ceremony culture, but also he approved greatly on SEN Genshitsu’s philosophy: Peace comes out of a bowl of tea.

Saito Norio

The speech of Mr. Saito Norio, the Minister Counsellor, came next. He expressed his pleasure to visit GDUFS, and it is his sincere hope that the relationship between China and Japan can improve by communicating about tea culture.

Sekine Hideharu

Then, Mr. Sekine Hideharu gave an inspiring and splendid presentation about how to feel our own microcosm by tasting a bowl of tea. Firstly, he shared the mystery of life and the power to live a better life. He also introduced the art of Flower Arrangement and Aesthetics of Tea, which emphasized that life is always imperfect and we should accept the incompleteness and see it as a kind of beauty. Next, he talked about the connection between China’s I Ching, the notions of Yin and Yang, and the Eight Diagrams and Japanese tea ceremony, stating the fact that China and Japan have always had a close and solid relationship.

Last but not least, the long-waited tea performance of sado began at 10:30a.m. All steps of an informal chakai (tea gathering) and the tea set were introduced thoroughly, and the audience was extremely interested in them. After the presentation, everyone was warmly welcomed to have a taste of Japanese traditional tea.

tea performance

To sum up, the presentation was absolutely a great success. Let’s hope that the culture of Urasenke will be known by more and more people, and China and Japan can move forward together!

Group photo