Keep Calm and Drink Tea: Nippon Business Institute Offers Japanese Tea Ceremonies at EvCC

Imagine sitting quietly in a tea room, drinking tea as you listen to the natural sounds of water and wind blowing through leaves. Taking a deep breath, you begin to relax from a busy day while watching the Chanoyu, a Japanese tea ceremony.

Everett Community College's Nippon Business Institute (NBI) and together with the East-West Chanoyu Center held a Japanese Tea ceremony at NBI tea room for two afternoon sessions on Wednesday, a traditional culture of the Way of Tea by Japanese people.

The Japanese tea ceremony steps begin with cleaning and preparation of tea serving utensils (tea bowl, tea scoop and tea whisk), each step has concentrated and graceful movements (Pictures no. 1-3). Next step is added three scoops of green tea powder (3) then poured hot water into the bowl (4) and whisked into a thin paste (5). The last step, added more water as needed to create a soup-like tea.



“Tea ceremony is part of one of NBI programs, to introduce Japanese culture and this year, we have a tea specialist from Kyoto, Japan, her name is Tomoko Uchida.” said Mayumi N. Smith, Director NBI and Japanese Programs to Clipper reporter after the tea ceremony session yesterday.

Smith added that Uchida is a participant of NBI's Japanese Culture and Traditional Arts Internship Program. Uchida likes to learn American culture and get to know American people during her time in the US, and to introduce Japanese culture through the tea ceremony.

Mayumi N. Smith, Director NBI and Japanese Programs, sitting
together with Tomoko Uchida, a Tea Specialist from Kyoto, Japan,
in the tea room after the tea ceremony session on Wednesday afternoon.   

In this tea ceremony session, Smith mentioned that the reason NBI conducts this tea event in several days is because there are many students learning Japanese language and culture at EvCC.

“For today we have two sessions of tea ceremony; the participants were EvCC students and people from community. Previously, on the last week, we had the tea ceremony for EvCC Japanese clubs member and campus clubs, and last Saturday we had participants who study Japanese history and culture.”Smith said.

Smith said the NBI Japan study program is not just teaching Japanese language, but is also about teaching culture and history.

“I like to invite Japanese people as much as possible so that students and faculty staff have opportunity to know about the Japanese culture,” Smith said. “I hope that they can experience and feel the Japanese culture not only from watching it on TV or studying in class.”

Tea Ceremony


The tea ceremony is held in a tea room in the NBI. The interior is designed similar to the tea room in Japan.

“The tea room is not just the backdrop for tea ceremony, but also a tool by which participants journey to a separate world, the world of tea,” according to Makao Chiho, Niponica - Japanese culture magazine writer.

Uchida presented the four main principles: Wa Kei Sei Jaku,
which mean harmony, respect, purity and tranquility. 

Chiho said that by visiting a tearoom, guests leave behind their daily lives and enter a functional and aesthetic space designed to ensure that each cup of tea is not just drunk, but experienced.

The session beginning with Uchida introducing herself and the essence of the tea ceremony before she started the process.

“I study the tea ceremony process in high school and college, I began study seriously about tea ceremony was about five years ago,” Uchida said. “My own life based on the way of tea, the spirit of tea: harmony, respect, purity and tranquility.”

The essence of the Japanese tea ceremony is reflected in its four main principles: Wa Kei Sei Jaku (harmony, respect, purity and tranquillity).

Hannah Lovett, an EvCC student who attended the ceremony
recieved a bowl of tea after waiting for 20 minutes. She feels happy
when drinking the tastefull Japanese tea accompanied
by the Japanese sweets. 

She explained that those are the four principles of Chanoyu that formulated by the tea master Sen Rikyu (1522-1591). Harmony is the spirit of being harmonious with people and nature, Respect means to show respect to others, Purity means the state purity of the mind, and Tranquility means peace of mind and appreciation of nature's wealth.

She said that the demonstration tea ceremony today was the basic procedure of Chanoyu, the simplest one. She always recommends the guests to taste the Japanese sweets.

“Before drinking the tea it is necessary to eat the sweet Wagasi (Japanese sweets),” she said.

One of participants, Hannah Lovett, an EvCC student who studies Japanese culture and a tea lover, said that she enjoyed the tea ceremony from beginning till the end.

“The tea ceremony is interesting because we don’t have a lot of ceremonies in the United States, so it’s very different and I also love Kimono, it’s so beautiful,” Lovett said. “The tea process is like precise, almost like dance, you have to know what’s coming next. It’s very interesting,”

If you are interested in learning Japanese language and culture, or want to experience the tea ceremony, update yourself with the  EvCC Japanese club.

Arigato Gozaimasu!

Story by Ratna Wahyuningsih