The Origin of Japanese Tea Ceremony Otaku ”Jon Jon”ー日本を愛する茶道オタク“ジョン如菴”ができるまで in English version
Thank you for visiting. Living in Japan, I’m often asked where are you from? My regular cheeky reply is “From outer space.” The straight mustache on my face are actually antennas that convey my message to you regardless of the language used.
Encountering Japan
Originating from the east coast of the United States, I came to Japan at the age of 24, and how time flies, it seems I’ve now spent about half my life here.
When I was a child, I encountered Japan's anime, “Super Dimension Fortress Macross” in the form of “Robotech,” and along with all the other boys, I was dazzled. "Amazing! Something like this exists in this world!” As a fan of robots, planes, and music I quickly became a big Macross fan, yet at the time, I never dreamed that it was a Japanese anime, and I didn't find out that fact until many years later.
As time went on, I became friends with a Japanese American classmate in high school. She lent me a VHS recording of a TV broadcast of “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.” I watched it many times, and the compelling artwork and storytelling from a language and culture completely foreign to me spurred me to learn the Japanese language so I could understand something from my own perspective without the “interpretation” of someone else words.
In the rural area where I lived, there were no Japanese stores, and this was also a time before internet shopping was possible like these days. I can still remember the joy of receiving Nagatanien ochazuke, Nissin Cup noodles, and green tea from my Japanese friends. During those days, even a simple newspaper clipping from Japan was a treasure for me. To get a feel for Japan, I practiced eating with chopsticks while attempting to make what I imagined was Japanese food. In my efforts to gain as much knowledge as possible about Japan, I went through a lot of trial and error.
After entering university, I majored in International Trade with a focus on Japanese language. My Japan-otaku soul greatly expanded and exploded as I threw myself into passionately studying the Japanese language. Somehow, this led to me taking on the role of president of the University’s Japanese language club for two years. The club’s purpose was to facilitate language laboratory practice and to hold international exchange events where university students and international Japanese exchange students could interact.
Showered with good fortune
One day in my sophomore year of university, my Japanese language teacher suddenly asked if I could go to Japan for 2 months during summer vacation to work for a Japanese company. An internship! It seems another classmate with more Japanese experience than me had planned on going but had lost her confidence and pulled out at the last minute. I was informed that if I participated, all travel expenses would be covered.
As a poor student, it was an invitation "a bolt from the blue," "pennies from heaven."
”What have I done to deserve such an opportunity?"
However, with only 2 years of Japanese language under my belt, I too lacked confidence, so I could understand what my classmate must have been feeling when they canceled at the last minute. I was worried, but the possibility of being able to “visit the country of Japan which I have always dreamed of” far outweighed everything else. With overflowing excitement, my answer was "Yes!"
Have you ever heard the expression “Seize fortune by the forelocks.”? Apparently, Lady Fortune only has bangs, so even if you try to grasp a chance after it passes by you won’t be able to because there is no back hair. So chance is only a momentary thing.
Now thinking back upon it, I grabbed those bangs. I was very lucky. Incidentally, the Japanese company was Yazaki Corporation in Shizuoka prefecture. I am still grateful for the opportunity afforded to me at the time.
My internship experience was full of twists and turns, and there were many fun and difficult times, but it was an unforgettable experience for me because it was the first step in experiencing Japan enabling me to interact with Japanese people and feel Japanese culture firsthand.
Encountering Tea ceremony
In this way, I spent my days immersed in Japan, but one day my Japanese professor told me "Studying language isn’t enough. To truly understand Japanese, you must also learn about Japanese culture as they go hand in hand." This is what led up to my first encounter with the world of the Japanese tea ceremony.
I’ll save a more detailed account for another time. I would like to share my memories of my first experience with the tea ceremony at the Japan Cultural Center on another occasion, but I can remember as if it were yesterday that I was very surprised by the shiny wooden floors, my first look at a large tatami room, and being mesmerized by the teacher’s skill in folding the fukusa silk cloth.
How could I have known at that time that this encounter with the tea ceremony would further color my life by Japan.
At the recommendation of my Japanese club teacher, I started a tea ceremony club in my third year of university and served as its director. One of its purposes was to serve as a bridge between American students and Japanese students. We had weekly rehearsals and hands-on learning. To teach, I too needed to learn, so every week we held okeiko. It was a tough but very interesting experience.
(back row, second from left)
A momentous encounter
A couple of months after graduating from university, I moved to Japan as a CIR on the JET Program where I worked for three years in the International Exchange Division of Yokosuka City Office.
There was an American Graduate student from Columbia University doing research at that time and living with a host family. On that first weekend living in Japan, when my jetlag was at its worst, she came to my house sometime in the afternoon to invite me to dinner with her host mother. Crawling out from my futon in the middle of the afternoon with a jet-lagged face and a foggy mind, I must have been quite a sight. I’m sure I made quite an impression (not in a good way) yet that is how I met Sokou Matsumoto Sensei of Omotesenke YuYuKai, who would later become my teacher.
During that evening, I discovered that Sokou Sensei was a tea ceremony teacher, and at that moment I became very excited. After coming to Japan, I had planned on looking for a tea ceremony class, but I couldn’t believe my luck upon stumbling across a teacher on my first weekend in Japan! The connection I felt was immediate, and I declared,” Please make me your disciple!" With a smile, Sokou Sensei requested that I first attend a lesson, but for me, my mind was already made up, I had already decided to join up immediately.
It is safe to say that if I hadn’t met Sokou Sensei at that time, I wouldn't be where I am today. After finishing my term working at the City Office, I continued studying for a period of 10 years, learning various things having to do with the world of tea ceremony as an apprentice.
As Sokou Sensei was very enthusiastic about spreading tea ceremony overseas, I accompanied her group to tea ceremonies held in various places around the world. Of course, in an international setting English is indispensable, and when I was asked to hold a "Chanoyu English Conversation" class to help facilitate these exchanges, I was more than happy to be of help. To spread tea ceremony overseas, Japanese people must first be able to introduce the tea ceremony in English. This was the beginning of holding "Chanoyu English Conversation" classes. And once again, to properly teach, I too need to study even harder.
(tea demonstration in Spain)
Over the years there were many new techniques that I needed to understand and try to master to facilitate the spreading of Chanoyu in a manner that satisfied my sense of achievement. At times I felt that I had to do more and greater as people were looking to me for answers. If I couldn’t answer their expectations, or complete things to a high level, It was kind of stressful. a point of failure. At the same time, I was also advised to not put that much effort into it. So, should I try my best or not? Perhaps Sokou sensei had seen many people burn-out of chanoyu over the years, so was advising me not to go down that path. An individual’s goals are different, and ideally, what they want to achieve differ. For Chanoyu there are many aspects that can attract people; spirituality, health, socializing, escape from everyday life, eating sweets, food, history, time slip into the past, handling of antiques, calligraphy, intricate lacquerware, ceramics, status symbol, understanding of their job, natural obligation.As my fever for tea ceremony grew even more, I participated in a short-term week-long seminar held at Iemoto in Kyoto (Fushinan.)
The me of those days was just trying so hard to make an everyday living, that I didn't fully understand the importance of encountering people. Looking back upon it now, I have finally truly come to understand the numerous wonderful encounters I have experienced in my life so far, and the accumulation of the precious encounters has allowed me to arrive at this point.
Also, around this time, I met Mr. Isao Kobayashi, who was also the principal at the elementary school behind the city hall where I worked. From time to time, I would sometimes visit his school for lunch, and after he retired, we would visit elementary schools together (as a jiiji＆gaijin duo) and spread the tea ceremony to the children for 7 years.
The tea ceremony is considered to be a comprehensive/integrated art. To achieve a deeper understanding of the tea ceremony and Japanese culture as a whole, I also felt compelled to learn about Japanese confectionery making, cooking kaiseki meals, doing pottery, constructing gardens/landscaping, architecture appreciation, brewing Japanese sake, playing shamisen, and other topics I was interested in. In particular, for making Japanese sweets, thanks to the Japanese confectionery shop "Tsuboya" who took great care of me, I could become skilled enough to give workshops to teach my fellow students.
Marriage and moving to Kansai
There was a period when I needed to leave Japan according to visa requirements. As I spent my days away from Japan, the country I loved and yearned to return to, I was able to experience another wonderful encounter. Thanks to this encounter I now live in Kansai.
In Kyoto, the foundation of Japanese tea culture, I work at the respectable tea store of Nakamura Tokichi Honten in Uji and practice tea under Hideki Matsumoto sensei, Professor of Omotesenke Iemoto. I consider myself to be very fortunate to be able to practice in Kyoto, which I have always dreamed of, and to be able to work at something involving tea.
At Nakamura Tokichi Honten, we spread the splendor of tea not only domestically but also to our international customers through Tea Ceremony Experiences, and through proposing ways to enjoy tea in one’s daily life. It is also a very thought-provoking time for me as I learn about tea leaves and tea in and of itself.
I used to have a shy personality (and probably still do…), yet my passion for "learning more about Japan" was the key to unlocking the door to my heart. I’ve come to accept and challenge myself to prevent even a single opportunity from slipping away. Thanks to encountering Japan, my life has become even more fruitful.
One of my favorite expressions in the tea ceremony is "Ichigo Ichie” (“one chance, one encounter" i.e. a “once in a lifetime chance). I am where I am now thanks to the various encounters with people I have experienced over the years.
When you open a new door, you open yourself up to the chance for a new encounter. Through the tea ceremony, I hope for many to be able to taste the joy of it.
表千家 講師 帝都 如菴
Omotesenke Instructor, Jon Tate