Japanese Tea Ceremony

Setting of a Tea Ceremony

When guests come in, they enter by the door, which is to the left...When guests enter, they must one by one, bow at the entrance of the 'house', then they must bow by the area by the scroll, then they must bow by the area where the tea is made.

Closer view of the scroll.

Area where the hostess makes the tea.

As you can see, the guest sit quietly until spoken to by the host.  There is usually one main guest

with whom the hostess interacts with.  There is a plate of 'treats' by her.  She waits until the hostess

says it is ok to have one.  The treat is usually meant to clean the palate before tea.

The hostess starts conversation while she is making tea.  They usually talk about weather or events

going on in town (aka Cherry Blossom Festival).  They do not discuss politics.  The hostess will tell

the guest "you may join  me in tea now" and the guest knows to drink their tea.  Guests eat and drink

one by one.

Note the kimonos worn by guests...

After the ceremony, everyone gets to join in the tea, but first they must have a cookie!

Treats handed out before tea to clean the palate.

Ceramic bowl that tea is served in.

Our gracious tea hostess

*Special thanks to the Urasenke Foundation, Washington DC Branch for performing this ceremony!