Hatsugama - The New Year Tea Ceremony

Continuing with the New Year traditions in Japan, today we attended a Hatsugama, which is the first tea ceremony of the New Year. The ceremony was held in a tea house located in the grounds of the Ikegami Honmonji Garden in Ota ward, Tokyo.

We were in one of three groups who enjoyed the tea ceremony, which was followed by a meal of traditional Japanese foods, and then a short stroll through the garden. The plum blossoms were just starting to appear on a few trees in the garden. The gate keeper told us that all the trees should be in full bloom around mid-February and the garden will be thronged with visitors coming to view the new blossoms and perhaps enjoy tea in one of the three tea rooms on the grounds.

For those who have never observed a Japanese tea ceremony here is a brief introduction. The tea ceremony is quite ritualized, yet it has the pure essence of harmony. Every move or every component about the ceremony encompasses serenity. The ceremony originated 700 years ago when Zen Buddhist monks began to explore this art form.The tea room itself was simply decorated with branches and sprigs of blossoms arranged artfully in the tokonoma, which is is a traditional Japanese style alcove reserved for the display of Japanese wall-scrolls, art objects, or flower arrangements.

Water for the tea is heated in an iron kettle over a charcoal brazier. The guests kneel down (for those with legs supple enough - for those who are not sitting cross-legged is acceptable) on the tatami mats and wait to be served tea. We faced the kama (the kettle) and the brazier. The host arranged the tea tools in a ritualistic manner that reflects the tea ceremony's values of harmony.

Then the ritualistic and prescribed movements began. First, Japanese sweets (wagashi) are served to the guests and eaten prior to drinking the tea. The sweetness offsets the slightly bitter taste of the tea.

The person making the tea uses a bamboo whisk to mix the tea powder and water in the tea bowls. Guests are served individually and the tea drinking ritual also includes set movements. First the bowl is accepted with the proper words. Next it is set on the mat slightly to the guest's left. After telling the person on the left that you will go first the bowl is returned to center, then picked up and rested on the left palm, and then turned a quarter turn clockwise, then another quarter turn, and finally the tea is drunk. After finishing the tea the guest rotates the bowl counter clockwise back to the starting position and then puts it down and carefully admires the design of the bowl, its colors, and contemplates these things to bring further serenity to the mind.

Photos of the ceremony and the garden are in the video files below.

Walking for the 7 Lucky Gods

January 6, 2008. The day dawned bright & clean in old Edo (Tokyo) - well, I assume the dawn was bright & clear because that's how it was when I awoke at 07:30 to begin preparations for our pilgrimage to the six different shrines & temples we need to visit today to gather our collection of the 7 lucky gods.

90 minutes & three trains after leaving home we met our friends, Michael & Chikako, at Horikiri train station, which is waaayyy over on the other side of Tokyo from where we live. From there we set off on our course along the Sumida River to find our seven little friends who are going to bring us all good

fortune & good luck in this new year. The pilgrimage trail we chose to follow was devised in 1804 by Sawara Kiku, a retired curio dealer & a man who liked to dabble in Chinese culture. Sawara owned land in the vicinity that he had turned into a garden, Hyakkaen. He installed a small statue of the Chinese deity

Fukurokuju. Once this task was completed he searched the temples and shrines in the vicinity to complete the set of the lucky seven gods and so the pilgrimage was born.

Stop one was at the Tamon Temple (Tamonji). Tamon is another name for Bishamon, the Lucky Deity of this temple. Bishamon/Tamon is known as a protector of Buddhism from evil forces and he also serves as the guardian of the other six Deities of Good Fortune. Tamonji Temple stands in the northern part of Mukojima, which means the "Side Yonder of the River," and therefore acts as the protector of the area. The temple sports a nice thatched gate, the only one left in the whole of the metropolis. (See the attached photo slide show for pictures - not exactly Japanese New Year music, but hey, these 7 little guys do sail on a sloop!)

Before we got to the next stop we spotted what must be the original JC Penney - can't be anything but, right, given the locale & the age of some of these temples? Not sure what they sell since they were closed (it was Sunday), but gotta wonder about that name!

Next stop, Shirahige (White Whiskers) Jinja (Shrine), where we bought (yep, they actually do NOT give these little statues away) Jurojin, the deity of longevity. Shirhige is a deity of Korean origin. However, he is not one of the 7 gods of good fortune, but like Jurojin he sports a long white beard so the two are easily associated with each other. Jurojin was originally a Chinese god of longevity and he also carries a long staff and is dressed in the clothes of a scholar.

From there we headed for Hyakkaen (of Mr. Sawara Kiku fame, noted above). The garden area covers about 3 acres and the plants and flowers of the garden were all selected based on association with Chinese literature. This is because of the Chinese centered interests during the Edo period, which was the era when this garden was completed. There is a small shrine in the garden dedicated to Fukurokuju, the Chinese deity of Good Luck, Fortune and Long Life.

Out of Hyakkaen we spotted this baby (doll) in a glass case (see the pictures). We figured they probably were not selling babies there, but we had to walk around the corner to find out that the place is actually for maternity yoga and baby massage courses. Ah well, at least it is an eye catching display!

On to Chomeiji, the temple of long life and the home of Benten, the only female of the 7 lucky gods. Benten is the deity of music and fine arts. She is not of Chinese origin, but harks back to an Indian water sprite. Chomeiji also has a link with water and there is a sacred spring on the grounds. It is purported that the water from this spring cured Iemitsu, who was the third Tokugawa Shogun (war lord) of a stomach ailment. Yep, we drank the water, so the old tummies should be in great shape for this new year of the rat (according to the Chinese Zodiac).

A short 50 meters from Chomeiji put us at Kofukuji, a Chinese style temple that was founded in 1673 although the present day buildings were done in 1933 after the destruction of the 1923 earthquake. This temple houses Hotei, the jolly Chinese priest with a huge belly and a big smile. Hotei is the god of happiness and contentment. He dispenses gifts from his treasure bag - sort of the Chinese Santa Claus!

We're almost there - the last stop on the pilgrimage - which is Mimeguri Jinja. Mimeguri was founded in the 14th century, but its history goes even further back. However, the central structure that stands there today was built in 1850. This shrine possesses two of the 7 lucky gods. Ebisu is the patron of fishermen, commerce, and good fortune and carries a fishing rod as well as his catch, a large sea bream. Daikoku, the god of wealth, farmers, and the kitchen is a mingling of an Indian god and the Japanese Okuninushi. He stands on rice bales and carries a mallet that he uses to scatter money around. Both gods are very cheerful and extremely popular in Japan.

Now we have our 7 gods and we even have the boat, their treasure craft, that they sail into the harbor every New Year's eve.

Finishing off our tour we decided to take a different route home so we boarded the water taxi in Asakusa and floated (powered of course) on down the Sumida River to Hinode Pier which is at the mouth of the river. From there a couple of trains rides later we were back home & putting our 7 lucky gods into their treasure craft where they are working hard to bring their treasures of health, wealth, good fortune, and happiness to us and all of our friends throughout this year.

Shirakawago - a World Heritage Village

Last weekend we decided to escape from Tokyo for a long weekend & our trip took us west, then north, and up into the Japan Alps to Gifu prefecture.
We spent the first night in Hidayu in an onsen (hot springs spa) enjoying the hot natural spring waters bath inside the onsen as well as the "rotenburo" (outdoor bath).

On Sunday we drove to Takayama (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5900.html) & walked around the old town & from there we went further into the mountains to Shirakawa where we stayed in the Toyota Eco-Institute (http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/community_care/sirakawa-go/index02.html)

This is a great place for nature hikes with good quality western style rooms, a decent restaurant (the head waiter is a bit of a wine expert - ask him for some good choices), and a nice hot springs ofuro (bath) - both inside & rotenburo style. They even remind you that you are in the middle of nature and you're probably going to find a few bugs floating in the rotenburo. As the sign (in English, as many of the institute's signs are), just scoop them out with the net - they won't hurt you!

When we woke up on Monday there was about 5 inches of fresh snow, but by the time we drove down the mountain at 10:00 it had melted from the road. At the bottom of the mountain we came to Shirakawago, a village of thatched roof houses that became a world heritage site in 1995. You can read more at http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5950.html

These houses were built about 200 years ago. We toured one where the 6th generation of the family still lives. The houses were built in this valley to keep their gunpowder making, which was an illegal activity, secret. They made gunpowder from the feces of the silkworms they raised in the top floor, plus human urine, plus a couple of other ingredients.
We have seen pictures of these houses many times with snow on their roofs and lights glowing from the shoji covered windows. That is only done during the "light up" which runs for about 7 weeks starting in January. While not as pretty a sight as those picture it was still quite lovely to see the thatched roof houses with snow melting on the roofs and steam rising from the melting snow.

The thatch on the roofs are changed every few decades and to our surprise we found out it only takes about two days to change a roof. Of course, it also involves the helping hands of around 200 people - all neighbors - who pitch in to help each other at no charge to their neighbors.
If you're in Japan and want a memorable site to visit then Shirakawago is definitely on the recommended list.