茶道を習い始めてから、２０年近くになります。
我ながら信じられないくらいできの悪い生徒で平手前を覚えるのに10年くらいはかかったかと記憶しています。
一旦覚えると、細かな作法に則ってお茶を点てることが、精神の集中を促し、一瞬ですが、雑念のない「無」の境地に連れていってくれることに感心したものです。
何より和室を舞台に、鋭い美意識に裏付けられた茶道具を扱うことで得られる喜びは、深いところで私の精神を支えてくれていたのだと思います。
この柏庵での小さな茶席が、
・和の雰囲気が好きな方
・着物を着て、出掛ける場所を探している方
・鎌倉と茶道に興味のある方
・茶道を習ってみたい方
・そのほか旧村上邸柏庵にご縁がある方
にとってお役に立ち、
佳き出会いが得られる場になることを願って止みません。
日常から離れて、
茶室の豊かさと静寂さの中で遊びましょう！
When I told an acquaintance that I had been practicing the way of tea for about 20 years, he asked, “Why is tea so important to you?”
Now I host a tea ceremony workshop at the former Murakami residence in Kamakura, I would like to start trying to answer this question.
First, it’s calmness. I love the quiet moments in a tea room, where only the sounds preparing tea are heard and everyone maintains silence for a while. And calmness leads to better concentration. After practicing for 10 years or so, I realized that following the predetermined steps makes me concentrated more deeply, bringing me to a moment state of nothingness. Of course the moment is very short but I feel the short moments saved my life.
Second, it’s beauty. Each utensil has a unique charm that I rarely encounter in my daily life.
Touching beautiful utensils made me feel lucky. When I was worn down by unemployment or negative workplace relationships, feeling “lucky” was my salvation.
Third, it’s hospitality. The tea ceremony is designed to entertain all participants. The detailed manners and decorations in a tea room are meant to create common topics of conversation between guests and hosts—in other words, to foster peaceful communication among strangers. And it’s strange to say that showing hospitality to others leads to showing hospitality yourself, giving you the power to turn off the self-hate circuit, in the end, improving your self-esteem.
The importance of being the present moment or peaceful relationship with others is so common that there’s rare to practice them. I hope this workshop at the former Murakami residence will serve a place to put into practice these concept and a meaningful encounter for everyone involved.