September 26, 2026

On Saturday, September 26, we held a tea ceremony demonstration at the Millbrook Library. Although the 30-person capacity filled up quickly—with quite a few people on the waiting list—we were concerned the poor weather that weekend would deter them from attending. We were grateful that we ended up with 27 participants.

The library first approached us about the tea ceremony experience around February of this year. Karen and I visited the site in early April and over the course of 6 months, held several detailed discussions with Jen (the library’s Assistant Director and Adult Programmer) and worked on securing volunteers before finally bringing the event to fruition.

This time, practitioners from the Omotesenke school joined those from Urasenke, allowing us to showcase the tea ceremony representing both styles. While MHJCA previously performed the tea ceremony while seated on the floor, we now use a table. To create the right atmosphere, we set up a nodate-gasa (outdoor tea ceremony umbrella), arranged autumn flowers in a large basket, and even prepared a dora (gong). The Zen phrase written on the tanzaku strip hanging from the umbrella is “松風供一啜" (The wind in the pines offers a single sip). It is said to express a serene state of mind—becoming one with nature and deeply savoring a single bowl of tea. Perhaps the true beauty of the tea ceremony lies in this ability to become one with nature and—transcending hierarchy, nationality, or gender—share a moment and a space in a spirit of harmony.

After an introduction to the history of the tea ceremony, the host whisked the usucha (thin tea) with graceful movements and served it alongside seasonal sweets. A narrator provided commentary on the host's actions during the ceremony and the proper timing for enjoying the sweets. A Q&A session followed the three demonstrations; the audience was incredibly enthusiastic and asked a wide range of questions—some of which even left us momentarily flustered.

I believe that understanding each other's cultures through such exchanges contributes to world peace.

I would like to thank the Millbrook Library for providing this opportunity, and I hope for similar events in the future.

Since everyone who assisted us had experience with the tea ceremony, the setup and cleanup went very smoothly. The sweets and flower arrangements were all prepared by our members.

To all the volunteers: thank you so much for your hard work.

We look forward to working with you again next time.

MHJCA

Karen Hawkins, Program Chair

Atsuko Shimojo, Program Leader