Tea Ceremony

The bloody receptionist man overode our speakers again this morning and woke us all up with an incomprehensible 5 minute speech.

We got given chocolates again in class today. I think they are trying to fatten us up, maybe for culling - I'm not sure. Ciarán didn't get one as he has gone to Kumamoto for Fukuoka-Now, though since he doesn't like chocolate on its own he wouldn't have wanted one anyway. The girls all got two for some reason.

Did some lovely online numeracy and logic tests for my Merrill Lynch application. I think they went alright. Took me about 45 minutes in total. Failed to answer three questions in the end as I ran out of time. Hopefully I answered the others well.

This evening was my first tea ceremony lesson. There were three of us plus the teacher. One was called Yu, and the other's name began with 'a', but it was longer than one syllable so I forgot it! Oh well. The teacher speaks no English but the girls speak a small amount which helps a little, though I got most from just watching and trying to figure it out myself.

The whole ceremony is highly ritualised, from the position of all the equipment, how to hold it, and even which hands to use. Even the guests (tea drinkers) have predefined roles and movements. It's very elegant and ordered (which I like as a mathematician) but it's a lot to remember. We did the ceremony three times, but I couldn't remember everything, plus each time it was slightly different, which confused me! We sat on seats for the most part until it was our time to perform at which point we went down on our knees. There seem to be a few running stereotypes of foreigners in Japan and one of these is that we can't sit on our knees for any extended period of time, which is right. It hurts after only a short time, and getting up just makes it worse!

As a guest, one sits patiently whilst the tea master brings the equipment in and lays it out, bowing at the appropriate points. You then help yourself to a Japanese cake by folding a sort of piece of paper (in a predefined way, obviously) and then placing the cake on it. The paper is bigger for men, as well. Eat that, and then the tea comes. You bring it infront of you, bow, then lift it, raise it up slightly, then rotate it slightly clockwise. Then you can drink it - all of it in one go. Then replace the bowl after having rotated it back, then look at the bowl - admiring it's beauty - then tilt it slightly to look at the front, then admire it again. Bow and then place it between you and the next person for them to see. Or something like that. I can't remember all the details, especially since even by this time your knees are aching.

The lesson lasted two hours, after which I was caught at reception by Hachi. He's a nice enough guy, but he comes best in small amounts. We talked about the tea thing a little, and were joined by Yu and A... He then proceeded to quiz me on my knowledge of Japanese cakes (which is null) before bringing out another little cake for me to try. I get worried when they all stare expectantly, like it's going to be horrible. It wasn't - tasted like the ones I'd just been eating - but he was again surprised when I said it tasted nice. I can't work him out. I stopped him from opening any more cakes for me to try, as I was caked out, and took my leave.