Tea ceremony session by NUS Sado Club

On 7th January 2015, we attended a tea ceremony conducted by NUS Sado Club. The NUS Sado Club is a student interest group under the NUS Department of Japanese Studies. Established since 1989, the club practises the traditional Japanese tea ceremony in the Enshuryu style. We were excited to be given an opportunity to attend a tea ceremony and look forward to learning more about the preparation of tea.

We were brought to their club room by some of the NUS Sado Club members who came to fetch us from Kent Ridge MRT station. After entering the room, we were told to take off our shoes before stepping on the tatami mats. We were also informed beforehand to avoid wearing denim jeans or anything rough that will damage the tatami mats. The Sado Club members were all dressed in yukata. Taking care of the tatami mats is necessary in order to maintain their lifespan. Once all of us were seated down, we started off with a simple self-introduction. We were then served each a piece of wagashi, which is a traditional Japanese confectionery made with refined sugar.

Demonstration

Finally, one of the Sado Club members, Di Long, who is also a member of JAC, started to begin a demonstration of the tea ceremony. Thin tea was being prepared for this tea ceremony session. Although we were told that we need not sit in seiza, most of us still tried to sit seiza-style. However, we soon realised how difficult it was to maintain the position for even a minute and quickly gave up.

There was an instruction sheet, which shows step by step the proper way of drinking tea, placed in front of each of us. When the tea is served, we followed the instructions provided to drink the tea. The Sado Club members also provided assistance to us by explaining some of the steps.

Q & A Session

After the tea ceremony, the NUS Sado Club conducted a Q&A session. Many of us expressed interest in the wagashi that had simply melted in our mouths. We also learnt more about the making of tea and were taught how to fold the fukusa, which is a cloth used in tea ceremonies to purify the utensils.

The Sado Club members then showed us their collection of books about tea ceremonies. and various Japanese architectures, which show the different layouts of tea ceremony rooms. They even had a recipe book on making wagashi. We had fun interacting with the Sado Club members. However, it soon came to the time to say goodbye.

It was a memorable day spent with the Sado Club and we hope that there will be more opportunities for JAC members to experience a Japanese tea ceremony.

Written by Tong Wan Ling
Edited by Jessel Eng
Photos by Tong Wan Ling