Chado Urasenke Tankokai SF Association Tatezomeshiki Tea Ceremony
The Chado Urasenke Tankokai San Francisco Association held its annual Tatezomeshiki New Year’s Tea Ceremony on January 22, 2023, at Kanso-san Tea Room of the Hokka Nichi Bei Kai (Japanese American Association of Northern California) located in San Francisco’s Japan Town. This tea ceremony gathering was to celebrate the New Year and was the first one of the sort to be held by this Association after the Covid 19 pandemic hit the world.
The tea ceremony was hosted by HAGIWARA Sojin and her students. They offered three thick tea seatings on the 3rd floor in the tea room with tatami mats. Each guest was served koicha in an individual bowl (kakufuku).
MATSUDA Soboku served as the teishu (host), HAGIWARA Sojin as the hanto (assistant), and Sochi Takeda Flynn was the first guest during the first seating of thick tea which began at 10:00 am.
IWAO Somi served as the host, HAGIWARA Sojin as the assistant, and Sokyo Tiscornia was the first guest during the second seating.
HAGIWARA Sojin served as the host, IWAO Somi as the assistant, and Soei Bartlett was the first guest of the third seating. Mr. NOGUCHI Yasushi, the Consul General of Japan in San Francisco, and his wife attended this seating as Special Guests of Honor.
HAGIWARA Sojin also offered four thin tea seatings on the first floor using Misonodana, a table and chair style which was invented by Tantansai, the 14th generation Grandmaster of Urasenke School of Tea.
Kae Gutierrez served as the host and IWANAGA Nobuo as the assistant of the first seating. Sokei Wooster served as the host and TAKESAKA Kazu as the assistant of the second seating. TAKESAKA Kazu served as the host and SEKIMOTO Keiko as the assistant of the third seating. SEKIMOTO Keiko served as the host and Nobuo Iwanaga as the assistant of the fourth seating.
After the tea was served, all guests, tea teachers and students had a luncheon in Kabuki Hotel also located in SF Japan Town. Mr. NOGUCHI Yasushi and other guests of honor gave speeches as well as HAGIWARA Sojin, Chief of Administration of Chado Urasenke Tankokai SF Association. Its vice president, Mr. Allen Okamoto, gave a cheerful toast for the happy occasion.
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