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Ueda Soko Style Tea Ceremony Green tea was originally used primarily for medicinal purposes. However, over the centuries since the introduction of tea to Japan, the tea ceremony (or cha-no-yu in Japanese) has become important to the social and spiritual fabric of that country. The preparation and serving of powdered green tea (matcha in Japanese) has been integrated with methods of meditation and aspects of Zen Buddhism. Thus, the tea ceremony as practiced today is considered to be not only healthful, but also an excellent way of calming and centering one’s self. It is truly a holistic activity which complements the scientific and clinical aspects of the Nature-ceuticals Symposium. Therefore, as a special feature of this inaugural symposium, there will be a lecture and demonstration on the Japanese tea ceremony by headmaster of the Ueda Soko school of tea scheduled for Saturday evening June 14th, 2008. On Sunday morning, Master Ueda will perform the tea ceremony for a select group of Symposium participants. After that, anyone interested will be able to sample the powdered green tea and experience a simple tea ceremony. This particular school or style of tea ceremony is over 350 years old and is unique to the Hiroshima region of Japan. This will be the first time Ueda, Sokei (the current headmaster or O-Iemoto in Japanese) will be presenting his style in America. The Japanese website for the Ueda Soko Ryu Tea style can be accessed by clicking the link below:
HeadMaster Sokei Ueda 〒733-0872 Because Cha-no-yu or the Japanese tea ceremony is seldom see in America, a video clip of Ms. Akeyo Takeda, a teacher (Sensei in Japanese) of the Ueda Soko style of tea is provided below. This video was taken in 2003 at Takeda Sensei's tea house at the Hiroshima Technical University. It was taken using a handheld videocamera by Dudley Moon. The resolution was reduced for posting onto the internet and some segments were edited to reduce overall running time. The video is about 18 minutes long and shows the basic pattern of the tea ceremony. However, the viewer should be aware that there are many variations on this basic pattern depending the time of year and the event being celebrated. We hope you enjoy this glimpse into the tea ceremony. Video of Takeda Sensei performing Cha-no-yu * Please note that this video may not be copied, sold or used on other webpages without the written permission of Dr. Dudley Moon.
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