"I chi-go Ichi-e”

One time, one meeting

A tea ceremony is viewed the way we look at life.
One time, one meeting

You seize that moment, using the best elements, for it can never be reproduced.

Tea Leaves of History

This Japanese expression was derived from the experience of early tea masters in Japan. Tea may have originated in China but tea ceremony became a social institution peculiar to Japan.

The tea ceremony or "chanoyu" underscores the serving and the drinking of “matcha.”

Matcha is a powdered green tea. Uji, not far from the ancient city of Kyoto, is where the best grade of powdered tea is produced. The tea seeds were brought by the same man who introduced Zen Buddhism to Japan from his trip to China, Eisai Zenji. He attempted to use tea to propagate Zen.

Tea was originally drunk for its medicinal and stimulant properties. Priests drank it to counter drowsiness during their long hours of meditation.

By the 14th Century, under the influence of formalities and manners regulating the everyday life of the Samurai, procedures were introduced. The rules had to be observed by the participants in a tea party. At first glance, tea ceremony is seen as the serving of tea and sweets by host to guests but it is actually a ritual strictly governed by tradition and formal procedures.

Sen no Rikyu followed his master, Takeno Joo’s concept of ichi-go ichi-e, so that in 1522 he codified tea ceremony in its present form. There is a set of rules prescribed on how to enter the tearoom, where to put the slippers, when to sit down and rise, how to bring utensils to the tearoom, how to serve and receive tea, how to handle and inspect articles, how to open and close sliding doors, among others. The etiquette in tea ceremonies may be viewed as burdensome and meticulous but is in fact calculated to achieve the highest possible economy of movement.  The etiquette instituted by Rikyu has been taught in schools that sprung after his death.

Young ladies are encouraged to take up lessons before they get married to cultivate the poise and refinement that characterize tea ceremony etiquette.    

But some ladies were far from being apprentices. The geishas became the descendants of the old tea masters. They learned the exact course of tea ceremony in special schools.

Green Citea of Kyoto

Kyoto is not the stereotype ancient city of ruins and bricks. It may have been besieged by earthquakes, fires and a decade-long civil war but it bears no prominent ugly scars of its past.

From the gardens of Nijo to the lush mountainside of Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto is a land rich in natural wonders and natural beauty.  A climate-change conference dubbed The Kyoto Protocol, could not have picked a better location, a place whose name will forever be remembered in the history of climate change initiatives. The objective of the Kyoto Protocol was to establish a legally binding international agreement, whereby, all the participating nations commit themselves to tackling the issue of global warming and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In a place teeming with nature’s gifts, it would be great to sip a natural drink famed for its natural medicinal properties, the green tea.

Tea Houses abound in the district of Gion. While I was scouring the area for tea houses and searching for geishas who are said to come out for an afternoon tea, I passed by narrow passageways called roji that run between teahouses.

Black Citea of Kyoto

Long ago, Japan was hidden in the mists of legends and myths. The mists like those that often shroud the mountains surrounding the old capital of Kyoto have slowly vanished at dawn with Japan opening its doors to the world. 

However, there are areas that still seem grey and dark to first-time visitors. In my effort to take a sneak peek at the tea houses, I suddenly remembered the open tascas of Europe where people kiss, sip their coffee, and gulp down their cerveza out in the open for all to see. Here, the people and places are well concealed.  To begin with, I did not spot a geisha. Then, the tea houses offer partial views but rarely full ones. Reed screens and bamboo blinds hang outside tea houses. There is a bamboo fence covering the outside gutters, which serves to create distance and privacy. There are also dark-stained windows designed to achieve privacy. But all these symbols of the quarter’s concealed world only add up to the mystique of the place, making visitors like me crave to know more.

Curious as a cat, I asked around.  In the more exclusive tea houses, where Gion’s top geishas entertain, admittance does not depend on one’s financial capability but on a formal introduction through a trusted customer. That made an outsider like me, who knew not a soul in Kyoto, barred from entering for the purpose of this writing. Thankfully, a visit to the Japanese Library with an unusually kind librarian, who gave me a book on tea ceremony, provided the answers.

What’s brewing behind the tea ceremony?

For these geishas to properly perform their duties and for visitors to appreciate tea ceremony, they must first know the philosophy behind it, and that is “Ichi-go Ichi-e.”

It means that each moment is a  unique set of variables that come together for that one time, one meeting only, and that it has never happened before and it will never happen again.

This expression traces its roots in the Japanese appreciation for impermanence. It is manifested in their appreciation for the changing seasons like spring when they hold parties underneath cherry blossoms and autumn when they admire the changing colors of the leaves. Within the tea ceremony, guests admire the “chabana” or the flower arrangement used for this particular gathering. They contemplate on the flower’s short life as the flower symbolizes the transience of human existence.

The observed fondness for innovation and change is another manifestation of the ancient religious concept that emphasizes transience and rebirth.

When you have this mindset of impermanence, you make the most out of each meeting and moment, preparing the best utensils and arrangement.

Even if the host was to call the same guests, using the same arrangement and utensils, the gathering would be a different moment in the lives of the host and guests as well as in the life of the tearoom and its environment.

A tea bag string of symbolic elements

The Ise Shrine is the most venerated of the Shinto shrines. It is approached by long, quiet road that winds through woods. A person who sets foot on this trail will feel purified especially after a rainfall. Likewise, the host of a tea ceremony attempts to recreate a similar atmosphere and feeling in the garden and garden path leading to the tearoom. The setting has to be conducive to introspection and reflection. It is an occasion when man, nature, and spirit are brought together.

Chanoyu after all was developed not just for refreshment. Under the influence of Zen Buddhism, it aims to purify one’s soul by becoming one with nature. 

There are other elements that bear symbolic representation. Before the guests enter the tearoom, they pass by a stone basin where they wash their hands and rinse their mouths. This happens twice during the ceremony – before kaiseki or light meal is served and before koicha or thick tea is served. The washing symbolizes purification. I wasn’t aware of this when I was in Tokyo so I just dismissed the practice as one of the country’s unique sights, seeing people rinse their mouths with the same water they used to wash their hands.  

The entrance to the tearoom is small requiring the guests to crouch on hands and knees symbolizing humility.

Instead of verbally informing the guests, the host sprinkles water around the gate to symbolize that preparations have been completed and that the guests could now enter.

The use or even the absence of words is governed by rules, much as their actions. Guests make sound to let the host know they’re inside the house or done eating by closing the sliding door with more sound or by dropping something.

Tea ceremony in itself is a symbol of the many things the Japanese appreciate in life. Tea ceremony does not just involve appreciation for tea but also for the room where it is being held, from the garden adjacent to the room, to the utensils used in serving tea and food and to the decorations inside the room like the hanging scroll and chabana.

History shows that Japan’s architecture, interior design, garden landscape, gardening, and ceramics have been influenced by tea ceremony.

First thing that strikes a guest when entering the tearoom is the fragrance of incense. It is an occasion when all your senses come alive.

“Ichi-go Ichi-e” is not confined to the walls of the tearoom. If your life has been marked by boredom and purposeless living such as dragging yourself day after day to work, then you need to take a sip of this drink that will not just perk up your mind and body but also your zest for life. The tea ceremony concept will baptize you into really living and not just merely existing. The best lesson I derived from tea ceremony is not  how to mix it nor where to put it but the realization of the uniqueness of each moment, which can never be repeated. So drink up and live it up!