プレゼンター
アメリカでご活躍する専門家のご紹介
茶道 Hitoko Hagiwara (tea name : Sojin Hitoko Hagiwara)
琴 Kayo Toki (stage name: 登利谷 雅佳寿)
剣道 Hiroshi Ichimura
生け花 Hiroko Pauling
茶道
Hitoko Hagiwara
(tea name : Sojin Hitoko Hagiwara)
On behalf of the Urasenke San Francisco Division, it is our pleasure to demonstrate the way of tea, called Tea ceremony. My name is Hitoko Hagiwara, and tea name is Sojin Hitoko Hagiwara.
I came from Japan with my husband to United States in 1991, and we start living in Danville after that. I met my husband in Japan when he was in servicing United States Navy, station at Yokosuka. After we married, I started working at Yokosuka base as United Stated Federal Government employee, Inter Culture Relation section as an instructor to the new comers and their family to Japan to teach how to live and adjust living in Japan trying to avoid their culture shocks. I realized that I like to help people.
I started the tea ceremony lesson when I was an elementary school like other girls start taking the piano, violin, ballet and other lessons. At that time my interesting of this tea ceremony lesson was only in sweets. Gradually I learned many other things I felt the heart of Chado behind the form or procedure of drinking tea. But still when I was taking the tea lesson I just like it very much as a hobby. After I came to United States 1991. I was still working for Japanese company and I was still taking tea lesson. And gradually I felt that I want to introduce the wonderful Japanese culture to other people. And I had the chance to teach the way of tea at my house tea room in Danville. And sometimes I have an opportunity to do the demonstration to introduce the chado, tea ceremony to special occasions like today. I always say to my myself and my students we are little diplomat from Japan!!
Today my students of tea ceremony will be working together to introduce to you the Japanese culture and the way of Tea. We live all around the East Bay.
Tea was first drunk as a medicine and gradually became to be enjoyed as a beverage. In the 12th century, the original form of drinking powered green tea was brought to Japan from China. In the 16th century, Sen Rikyu established the foundation of the way of tea as we known today. Tea culture matured into chado. In Japan, a highly developed spiritual culture has matured through a bowl of powdered green tea.
After the death of Rikyu, his descendants established three Sen houses, which has passed on his Way of Tea. We are learning the chado of the Urasenke family tradition of Tea. The present Grand Tea Master of Urasenke is the sixteenth-generation blood descendant of Sen Rikyu.
The Japanese culture of making and drinking tea has various aspects. Tea culture also has the element of being a type of salon-art.
The setting we have today is called Ryurei style. Ryurei style was created in the early Meiji era by Gengen-sai, Urasenke’s 11th tea master. He created the Ryurei style to demonstrate the modern era of tea ceremony. The Ryurei style, the host and guests sit on chairs instead of kneeling on the tatami mat floor which was common before the Meiji period. Ryurei is modern and more casual setting for outdoors or wester style room.
There are some manners for drinking powered green tea, but please make yourself comfortable and enjoy the tea and sweets today.
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琴
Kayo Toki
Toriya Masakazu (登利谷 雅佳寿)
Koto and Shamisen Musician
Grand Master, Ikuta School of Traditional Music
Official representative of the USA branch of the Traditional Japanese Music Association(Seiha Hōgaku-Kai)
Ms. Toki began studying the koto at the age of three years old. She studied under the late Aihara Masashino (Master, Ikuta School of Traditional Music), as well as Kawasaki Masachizu(Grand Master, Ikuta School of Traditional Music). She graduated with the 47th class at NHK Academy for Japanese Traditional Music.
As a member of the Japanese music ensemble Mugen, Ms. Toki has performed concerts at many locations, as well as with Japanese dance (Nihon Buyō) at educational institutions as part of a cultural agency dispatch project. She teaches Japanese music & club activities at middle and junior high schools in the Chiba prefecture and in Tokyo. After moving to the United States in 2006 she held live performances in San Francisco and Berkeley as one half of the Japanese music duo Fujin Raijin.
Ms. Toki currently resides in San Jose, CA, where she performs a wide range of genres from classical to modern Japanese music. She presides over the Masakazu Koto Studio, training the next generation of koto musicians.
剣道
Hiroshi Ichimura
市村先生は、プレザントン市主催のレクレーションのクラスで剣道を教えています。
生け花
Hiroko Pauling
Hiroko Pauling started practicing Japanese Flower arrangement known as Ikebana 15 years ago. Hiroko first attended Ikebana classes at an adult education class in Walnut Creek. With 3 children to take care she needed to do something for herself. Since then, she has made flower arrangement once a week. Hiroko grew up in Japan and had many experiences seeing Ikebana flower arrangement everywhere you go. Hiroko remembers the local train station even had an Ikebana display from nearby Ikebana school. Hiroko says “the reason I love Ikebana is because Ikebana uses natural outside branches and flowers. They may not be perfect, but that will give you an opportunity to make some art that can not duplicated. It like our life, special and precious.
Ikebana flower arrangement known to started in Japan around 7 century. By the 16 century, there are over 1000 different school or instruction way of ikebana. Ikebana was more likely started by zen Buddhist monk. At that time, it was popular among upper class noble or samurai families but later that popularity extended to more common people. Not too long ago it was one of the important skill for women to have before getting married.
The difference between European flower arrangement and ikebana is that European flower arrangement is usually arranged to look good from every directions evenly. On the other hand, ikebana arrange flowers are meant to be seen from the front. The reason this is done is because Japanese people usually display the ikebana in front of the designated place with wall behind.
Ikebana also uses more branches and leaves while European arrangement tend to use flowers only. The reason for ikebana uses more branches and leaves are that ikebana arrangement is like bringing the outside into your house. We try to make outside view into a vase. For example, arrangement style called rikka brings imaginary outside view of tree branches, leaves, and flowers into your room.
Hiroko learned ikenbana from 2 different “schools” of Japanese flower arrangement. ikenobo flower arrangement first then moved on to learn shin Ikenobo. She is currently learning shin Ikenobo from Ms Yuko Nagata. Ms. Nagata has an instructors certificate from Ikenobo and professors certificate from shin ikenobo. Ms Yuko Nagata currently teaches at the Pittsburgh adult education in Pittsburg and Acalanes adult education in Walnut Creek.