Tadao Yoshimizu (left) and his disciple Shuichiro Yoshida at the Nichi Bei Kai tea room.

by KONAMI YODA
Hokubei Mainichi

The Omotesenke School of the Japanese tea ceremony, or sadō, continues to this day to teach the art of tea from generation to generation.

This style of tea ceremony is attributed to Sen no Rikyu, an important figure in Japanese history who lived in the 16th century. As a professor of the tea ceremony, Tadao Yoshimizu works actively to continue teaching the traditions as taught by the current 14th-generation tea master, Sen Sōsa.

Yoshimizu came to the Northern California branch of the Omotesenke School on July 18 to give a three-day lecture on tea ceremonies, at which time he met and spoke with the Hokubei.

Yoshimizu was accompanied on this U.S. trip by a disciple, Shuichiro Yoshida, and the pair planned visits to San Francisco and Los Angeles to give lectures to the local school branches. The theme of the lectures was shitsurai, or “settings and preparations for tea ceremonies,” covering everything from tea room decorations to placement of the utensils used.

Yoshimizu was born to a house in which the traditions of the tea ceremony have continued from the Meiji Era. He was exposed at a young age to the profound and charming nature of the tea ceremony. “Through the Japanese tea ceremony, one can experience Japanese culture while coming into contact with people from all over the world,” said Yoshimizu. “As a performer of the ceremony, you use your own sensitivity and do your best to make your guest enjoy themselves.”

Yoshimizu has a school in Japan where he matches his teaching style to the age and way of thinking of each pupil. “There is a need to teach the younger generations about Japanese culture and thought,” he said. “To teach them about the manners that live in the Japanese tea ceremony.”

The tea master expressed concern over the way modern life in Japan has taken people further from a culture that used to be an integral part of daily life. “The things that used to be learned from living in a household with tatami mats are now being learned at special places like tea schools,” said Yoshimizu. “Things like the correct way of bowing, this used to be taught at home.”

Having come to the U.S. four times to teach about the tea ceremony, Yoshimizu also said he admires the interest and insight of students that try to learn the depth of Japanese culture through the tea ceremony.

He also said that the philosophy of the tea ceremony has brought him a consciousness and sensitivity towards seeing the beauty of things. When asked about his hopes for the future of this uniquely Japanese art, Yoshimzu said, “I hope it spreads to the younger generations in Japan, and comes to appear once again in day-to-day life.”