Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony 2009
The Heisei Grand Tea Ceremony: the spirit of harmony; the spirit of tea.
Outline
The Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony 2009 is designed to provide an opportunity for anyone to experience the Japanese tea culture. Its purpose is to familiarize the citizens of Tokyo with traditional tea culture, and to introduce tourists visiting the Tokyo area to the Edo/Tokyo way of life throughout culture in which the tea culture has been cherished.
An introduction of basic tea ceremony etiquette will be provided for those who have never attended a tea ceremony and for overseas tourists so that they can experience the Japanese traditional culture of the tea ceremony.
Enjoy drinking Japanese tea and spend a luxurious autumn day at Hama Rikyu Gardens and Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum.
Synopsis
The Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony 2009 is the first large-scale tea ceremony to be held at the Hama Rikyu Gardens and the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum. The ceremony will feature an “Indoor tea ceremony,” a “Casual outdoor tea ceremony,” and an “Introduction to the tea cultures of China, England, and Russia and the culture of Edo/Tokyo.”
While sipping tea, visitors can enjoy fine views of the landscaped garden surrounding Shioiri Pond, which has an assembly hall on an isle, as well as Nakajima Green Tea House and the Hobai-tei building, all within the Hama Rikyu Gardens.
In addition to an introduction to how to make a delicious cup of tea, performing events will be offered as an attraction for the many guests. These include elegant dance performances by geisha girls and the performance of traditional Japanese music in cooperation with the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.
The event will feature a “Nodate Outdoor tea ceremony in English” for non-Japanese visitors (only at the Hama Rikyu Gardens) and Kid’s Tea ceremony.
Various historic structures built between the Edo era and the early years of the Showa period are preserved at Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum. Visitors can enjoy an indoor tea ceremony and an outdoor tea ceremony in these historic surroundings.
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With the full collaboration of the Tokyo Association of Flower Arrangement and Tea Ceremony, the Koganei City Culture Association and the Kokubunji City Association of Tea Ceremony, various tea ceremony schools will participate in this tea ceremony.
* Details will be updated on official homepage of Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony 2009
Venue (1) *This Program has ended.
Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum (3-7-1 Sakuramachi, Koganei-shi Tokyo, inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Koganei Park)
Schedule
Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11, 2009 10:00 - 15:30
(＊Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: open 9:30 - 16:30, Last admission at 16:00）
Fee
Entrance fee:
Admission free during the Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony
Tea ceremony fee (with ticket for Japanese sweets)
Nodate Outdoor tea ceremony: \200, Kid’s Tea ceremony: \200
Access:
From the North Exit of Musashi-Koganei station on the JR Chuo Line, take a Seibu bus and get off at Koganei Koen Nishiguchi (5 minutes)
or take a Kanto bus and get off at Edo-Tokyo Tatemono-en Mae (5 minutes)
From Higashi-Koganei station on the JR Chuo Line, take a CoCo bus and get off at Tatemono-en Iriguchi (6 minutes)
From Hanakoganei station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line, take a Seibu bus and get off at Koganei Koen Nishiguchi (5 minutes)
Venue (2) *This Program has ended.
Hama Rikyu Gardens (1-1 Hama Rikyu Teien, Chuo-ku, Tokyo)
Schedule
Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18 2009 9:30 - 16:00.
（＊Hama Rikyu Gardens: open 9:30 - 16:30, Last admission at 16:00）
Fee
Entrance fee：
Adults: \300, Seniors (65 and above): \150, Elementary school children and middle school students who live or go to school in Tokyo are free.
Tea ceremony fee (with ticket for Japanese sweets)
Nodate Outdoor tea ceremony: \200, Nodate Outdoor tea ceremony in English: \300, Kid’s Tea ceremony: \200
Access (Otemon Entrance):
7 minutes walk from Tsukiji Shijo station or Shiodome station on the Toei Oedo Line, or Shiodome station on the Yurikamome Line
15 minutes walk from Shimbashi station on the JR Line, Ginza Line (Metro) and Toei Asakusa Line
Contact
Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony Executive Office
info@bh-project.jp
Organizers
Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo Culture Creation Project (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture)
About Tea Ceremony
The tea ceremony is a gathering where guests are received and tea is served in accordance with the art of ceremonial tea-making.
At the tea ceremony, the host and guest place a great deal of importance on their meeting which may be a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.
In October 1587, the feudal warlord, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, hosted a tea ceremony occasion at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto, serving tea to his guests whether or not they were interested in tea. It is said that he created over 800 place settings and brought a golden tea room into the shrine and showed off his fine tea-making utensils.
The Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony, inspired by the famous “Kitano Grand Tea Ceremony,” which was held in October 1587, will observe and carry on the tradition of the Japanese tea ceremony.
About Hama Rikyu Gardens
Hama Rikyu Gardens opened in 1946. The park is a 250,215.72 m2 landscaped garden surrounding Shioiri-no-ike Pond and two kamoba, wild duck hunting sites. The park, with 6,077 trees of varying kinds, is a typical Daimyo (Japanese feudal lord) garden of the Edo period.
Until 1644, the whole pond had been reed fields and had been used as a falconry site for Shogun families.
Matsudaira Tsunashige, a younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, the fourth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, built the first villa on the premises, and since then, the garden had undergone landscaping and repair work several times by successive shoguns.
After the Meiji Restoration, the garden and villa became the detached palace of royal families. In 1945, the garden was donated to the Tokyo Metropolis, and was opened to the public the following year.
In November 1952, this garden was appointed as a Special Place of scenic beauty and a Special Historic Site, based on the Cultural Properties Protection Law of Japan.
Hama-rikyu Gardens Nakajima Green Tea House
Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum
Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum is an open air museum opened on March 28, 1993. Located inside Koganei Park, this 7-hectare facility showcases 27 reconstructions of various buildings from the Edo era up to the early years of the Showa period. Historic buildings of great cultural value that could not be preserved in their original locations have been transferred here for restoration, preservation and display. The museum aims to pass on these historic buildings as part of our valuable cultural heritage to future generations.
Takahashi Korekiyo residence
