A New Style of Tea Ceremony for Self-knowledge and Insight, at a Historic Tokyo Mansion

Shota Yamada: Tea Ceremony Artist and Potter

This experience is led by Shota Yamada, a tea ceremony master with a buzz about him for his unconventional new style. Yamada conducts his tea ceremonies in various unusual places, such as outdoors beside the Seine River in Paris or on the summit of Mount Fuji. His tea ceremonies convey the unique Japanese aesthetic of mitate, a technique of artistic metaphor, using it in pursuit of sharpening one’s own perception and intuition rather than seeking answers from others.

Yamada is also a monk of the Shingon sect of Buddhism, incorporating Zen philosophy in his tea ceremonies

Yamada also works as a potter, producing tea bowls and sake vessels under the brand name Yamasho. Through his ceramics, he pursues the ideal of mu-i shizen (“nature unworked”), or letting things be as they are without intervention. Using several types of glaze and mixing them naturally, Yamada allows a unique beauty to emerge on its own without overly designing or controlling the process. This leaves room for the viewer to form their own interpretative relationships with each piece, and results in utterly one-of-a-kind wares. Enjoy them up close in this experience.

Each tea bowl is singular and handmade

Kudan House, a Gorgeous Treasure of Spanish-Japanese Architectural Fusion

The venue for the experience is the historic Kudan House in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward. Built in 1927 as the home of wealthy merchant Mankichi Yamaguchi the Fifth, this is a modern mansion enveloped by a lush garden designed to stylishly incorporate the Spanish architectural flourishes that were popular at the time. Iberian arches and roof tiles integrate seamlessly with traditional Japanese elements and tatami-floored rooms.

Classic dignity and a picturesque noble atmosphere, every way you look

Designed and built in the aftermath of the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, Kudan House is constructed of reinforced concrete and exceeds even present day seismic standards. For this supreme functionality within stunning architectural beauty and undeniable historic cultural value, it was registered as a tangible cultural property in 2018. Bask in its many charms as you walk through its main gates toward the entrance.

Experience tea ceremony on the semi-outdoor veranda and drink in the changing seasons

Perceiving in Touch and Sight, Interpreting and Expressing in Words

Yamada utilizes two areas of the house for this experience. First tea ceremony in a semi-outdoor veranda area to experience the changing seasons to the fullest. Yamada limns the differences between his mitate chakai and classical tea ceremony: whereas the latter emphasizes silence and a few seconds of considering the drinking vessels, mitate chakai, participants face their bowl for a full 5 minutes, and express in words the thoughts and feelings that arise.

Let the exquisite interplay of shape, color, figure, and abstraction draw you in

Choose your preference from the tea bowls presented. Various abstract images emerge from each – space, mountains, sea, and sky – speaking to each person’s sensibilities, feelings, experience, and childhood differently. Yamada describes “the individual’s mitate,” as something that “projects that individual’s mindset and values.” Enjoy your tea and sweets from your selection of tea bowl, and share your impressions when you are done.

Rare is the tea ceremony host who crafts the very teaware in which he brews and serves his tea

Mu-i shizen engages all five senses, beckoning the drinker to expand their inner world in a way that far exceeds classical tea ceremony. Relax, let yourself be, and embrace what emerges naturally – finding meditation and mindfulness through touching, seeing, feeling, smelling, and tasting. Yamada awaits your impressions.

Preparing Matcha in a Traditional Tatami Space

Move next into a spacious tatami quarters to learn about Japanese tea ceremony from Yamada as he guides you in the art of making and serving matcha.

Yamada’s explanations are immediately accessible

Tea ceremony matcha brewing is a simple yet profound pursuit, with a deceptively challenging grace of movement. Masters spend years of their life on it. Matcha itself is highly sensitive, with the brewer’s personal idiosyncrasies and the drinking environment itself manifesting in its flavor. No doubt you will discover differences between your own brewed matcha and Yamada’s – which, by noticing and expressing, will guide your meditation.

Yamada brews a surprisingly delectable matcha

“My tea ceremony is interactive, so let yourself be heard,” says Yamada. “The heart of tea ceremony is human connection through shared tea, which we call ichiza konryu (literally “building in unison”). By expressing our thoughts, we come to understand each other better, and grow closer together.” An opened mind and gratitude for connections made in the ceremony are the fruit of this process.

“The Self’s Own Aesthetic Sense” Rather than “The Right Answer”

“Liberation” and “openness” are the themes of Yamada’s tea ceremony. Slough off notions of obedience and acceptance of a “right answer” preached to you by an authority, and instead take an honest account of your own sensibilities and feelings. Let Yamada’s guidance into the unique, ancient, and profound beauty of Japan’s mitate aesthetic awaken you to a renewed and liberated individuality.

A handcrafted tea bowl is nourishment for the soul