History: Mito

✿ Konnichiwa!

In Mito we had the opportunity to see a traditional tea ceremony. The students did a spectacular job in demonstrating for us. Tea ceremony, in my opinion, is a very elegant affair. The wagashi was presented first with a wooden utensil. I had previously read that sticking or stabbing any food with chopsticks in Japan is considered rude, so wasn’t sure how to proceed. Eventually I got the hang of it. I noticed as they were serving that the girls had red handkerchiefs and the boys had purple. I wondered if that was because of gender or just coincidence. I also observed that the presenters had a certain way of rising to their feet. They would propel themselves up with their feet without the help of either hand, which I do not have the ability to do. The whisking of the tea is something I had heard about and seen in anime and manga but seeing it in person was incomparable. In conclusion tea ceremony was an amazing experience that I will never forget.

Sayonara!