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Kimonos,Ikebanas,Tea ceremony ....
Anybody interested in talking about these arts?
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I just posted a thread in the Food forum about the origins of Japanese tea-drinking, so yeah, I'm interested. ^^ Don't know much about them though, except that the Japanese word for tea ("o-cha") may derive from the Portuguese word for tea ("cha").
EDIT: Nyororin just informed me that tea-drinking was brought into Japan from China and then *exported to Portugal*. Apparently tea has been consumed in Asia since the 9th Century. Thanks, Nyororin! ~annelie |
yeah these items are very interesting i would be have more informations to :)
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The Divine Japanese Tea
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I'm fascinated by kimono's, I actually went to a kimono fashion show that was put up in Norway sometime last year. They looked simply amazing.
Really starting to like green tea more and more as well, although the usual stuff you can get here in Norway is really old and not very well kept (they keep the leaves in a big barrel, not vacuum packed, for a LONG time). Hoping to buy some at o-cha.com soon, I just don't know which yet ;) |
When I was living in Kyoto I took traditional dance lessons and got to perform onstage it was an amazing experience.
My JApanese 'grandmother' was a kimono collector and professional dresser. I had many opportunities to wear an learn about kimono. I even got to dress in the traditional wedding outfit once wig and all.....so heavy! I love the traditional arts, it's just such a pitty that most young japanese people today don't study them as often, or that's what I found in our town. I was the only person in my dance class under the age of about 55!!! But they made me feel so welcome and they her helpful...plus they used to bring me sweets every lesson to have with tea so I loved them even more! |
Yeah, it's a shame.. The show I went to was by a group from Japan who are trying to encourage people to learn more about Japanese tradition, they travel all over the world. It was really nice, they had people ranging in age from 5 to 80-something.. Wouldn't mind seeing more of those kinda things..
They did some traditional dances and showed some traditional ways of celebrating various holidays etc, it was great :) |
Yeah what I found also which was really fun was the Obon festival. Getting dressed up in Yukata(sweltering in the kansai heat and humidity of summer) and dancing through the streets with the rest of the town. So much fun!
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What certain events go on in "Tea ceremonies"? What are they for?
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Quote:
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The tea ceremony 'event' can be for many different occassions. They have a tea ceremony before the cherry dances in spring in Gion and I assume the other geisha areas. They also used to perform the ritual for private guests. Tea ceremony also used to be performed by samurai, it it good for tranquility and forging good relations. I can't remember other reasons why except these days for artistic reasons.
It is performed usually in a separate teahouse in a garden setting. Guests wash their hands in a special stone basin before entering the tea house through a special door on their knees(or at least that is what I had to do). The whole ceremony is done in virtual silence, thus giving the feeling of tranquility and being able to focus and appreciate the movements and intriquite positions of not only the tea master and guests but also the implements used. You will be quite involved with ceremony, you don't just sit there and drink the tea. There are special movements for picking up the bowl, turning before you drink and holding the bowl and even how many sips you take. Kimono should be worn for traditional tea ceremony. usually traditional sweets will be served with the tea, as the mach tea is quite strong and bitter and this conteracts that. also some tea ceremonies last many hours, but they are usually served with a meal. |
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