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They call this place 'horn island' because they say the island is in the shape of an cows horn. whatever, you can't really tell. Located in yamaguchi-ken, off the north-western tip of honshu, tsunoshima was to be our little weekend destination with me, nikos the greek, and some of my lab folks...they say the sea water looks like okinawa water...well, i have to say it was pretty clear stuff.
backseat: the greek, me and kiho-chan
frontseat: hana-chan and yokopi
right before entering honshu: kitakyushu fish market...
...so you know we had to stop for some kaiten-zushi!
off we were to the island, taking what is actually the longest toll free bridge in mainland japan.
yea, the camping spot was pretty much next to the beach. nice.
japanese style: lil' evening bbq. 
local camping folks: fun and games...
japanese obsession: the hana-bi session
of course, some of that beach fun in the sun...
tombo = dragonfly
with school just about over, i felt like i had to go to a place like this to make my summer break official . but at the same time, is summer break just a euphemism for going back home?..ahhh! already??
The long awaited tea ceremony! I was wondering when i was going to get to do or even see this... this is probably one of the really 'gaijin' things that foreigners always end up doing...fortunately for me i was invited by one of my lab members who is taking classes. As a matter of fact, many students from the campus take classes so, once at the place, i ended up seeing a lot of people that i knew. pretty cool stuff.
Green stuff: this is the tea guys...a powder that comes from grinding the leaves in between two large rocks. No Additives and no preservatives...the bright green color does magically come from the dark green leaves; i've seen it done...i've actually done it too...
The place: a local tenjin temple where i took the class.
No touch! : the beautiful interior of the place...the picture doesn't quite grasp the atmosphere, but everything looks so smooth you just want to lay a finger...
good preparation is key...
chadougu: tools of the trade...once mixed with water, the tea is stirred with the chasen, which are whisks made from one piece of bamboo.
chawan: tea bowls...now these are interesting because they have a direction. You might not be able to notice it on the bowl sometimes, but that is the reason behind the famous "turn the bowl around twice" thing...
why turn the bowl around twice? well, you must drink from a certain side.
"All the tools for tea ceremony are handled with exquisite care. They are scrupulously cleaned before and after each use and before storing. Some components are handled only with gloved hands."
well...only some components...
It might look like a capoeira cordao, but it's just a replacement 'obi'.
because it was a class, they don't have to always wear formal attire. So instead they have to wear this blue cord where they insert the fan and the napkin.
wow...you don't realize how painful the seiza position is, until you have done 40 minutes of tea ceremony 'practice'!
everything is carefully placed at a certain distance, in a certain place...placed in a certain order...
sweets: these are the little cakes served to you on a special paper. You don't eat these, you just stare at them for hours. just kidding...the bitter tea is tasty because of the sweets you eat right before...
...then comes the tea: well, you have to 'accept' it, and again, there is a special way to pick it up and drink it. when you accept the bowl to drink, you have to turn it around 2 times before raising it up to your mouth...and once finished, you have to turn it twice again to make it face the right way.
Don't forget to pay respect to the maker and check his name on the bowl...
sleeping legs:...were are legs killing us right about then...
in the end, we all had to clean the place up...cleaning tatami is not as difficult as you think. just wipe me now...
obviously, this tea ceremony wasn't as strict as the usual because it was only a class...and i wasn't the only one not knowing was was going on...
I have to say it was a fun little experience...and the tea was pretty good!
I can just imagine doing this for real though...it might seem strange but there seems to be more pressure on the guest than the host.
Assisting the tea ceremony is an interesting thing because you see how something that seems so simple like making tea and serving it, take a whole other dimension in japan...no joke, the ceremony consists of many little details im sure most people don't know: how to walk on the tatami, the flower arrangements, the calligraphy, how and where to sit...bref, precise little movements. Things that make no sense instantly do as soon as you're on the tatami.
Everything is done for the guest...i mean the tea has to be made well and in a certain way, but it seems as though the importance lies in everything that revolves around the tea and not the tea itself...?
So what exactly is going on here?? I'm trying to teach a 102 year old man how to say a few phrases in french, and he's not too bad!
Sensei decided to start some classes to brush up his french before leaving to Sénégal. Coincidence? Now, on the third class, as I entered the house, a camera crew started filming me from the moment i stepped in, and told me to carry on with the lesson as i would normally. Later i found out that 'NHK Hiroshima' were doing a special about sensei, and wanted to film one of the lessons, (as well as his trip to Senegal)...and they also said that it would air on the 15th of september: hmmm, i'll have to tape it.
"this man is amazing..." i kept thinking to myself.
he hey! what do you know, adding yet another language to his collection turned out pretty fun. As well as teaching a man who is over 4 times my age, I did a little brushing up myself in japanese; who learned from who?
yoshhhhh!
