Chaji in the Yoshimatsu House

Sadō is a cultural icon for Japan, which encapsulates many aspects of the nation's aesthetics, cultural ideals, and practices. In its most basic form it is a way for a host to greet guests, and simply enjoy peace over a cup of tea. In its most intricate it is a precise and intentional ceremony with slow, intentional gestures and the ability to move its viewers' hearts.

I was lucky enough to witness both of these extremes at the same time.

Staying at the Yoshimatsu house has been a balance of ceremony and fun, as we step through rituals and formalities then lope across casual conversations and comedy. The details of the former I won't share here, but what it comes down to is that it is a warm and welcoming atmosphere, in which ceremony and ritual feels more like a dance:

Practiced steps for the purpose of authentic expression and bonding.

After dinner Thursday night, when we had returned from Kumamoto Castle, we sat in one of the two Yoshimatsu washitsu, where a small assembly of wares lay, intentionally situated.

Alongside them were a couple pillows, to help comfort us as we sat seiza. Mrs. Yoshimatsu urged us to sit as she carried hot water maka and set it next to the tana, on which a small cup waited.

We ate sweets as instructed, with simple yet precise movement. I watched enraptured, as Ayumi's mother went through her practiced ritual of preparing the tea.

She has been practicing tea ceremony for twenty five years.

The apron-looking blue cloth she's wearing simulates kimono folds, so she can practice
full tea ceremony without actually putting on a kimono.

When she used the chasen to whisk the tea, her form was devoid of the larger bubbles. Flawless.

As the tea ceremony went on I felt a tingling on my neck as the hairs stood up, quivering with amazement.

Then Ayumi's dad joined in and said, "Make one for me!"

Which broke the tension of ceremony and put us all in a relaxed state.
Turns out Mr. Yoshimatsu also practiced tea ceremony for a few years.

And so the Yoshimatsu family made my night.