Host

Mr. Sen Sooku, successor to the Mushakoji Senke Tea School, who leads the world of Japanese Tea Ceremony and is well versed in Buddhism and Japanese traditional cultures.

 Course Details

Date: 3rd October 2023·
There will be two sessions – morning and afternoon, each with an optional tour·
Number of participants: 3 guests·
Tea Ceremony Fee: 330,000 Yen/person per session·
Approximate time required for each session: 3.5 to 4 hours

Morning Tea Ceremony Session – tea ceremony begins at 10:00, optional temple tour follows at 14:30

1)  Tea ceremony begins at 10:00 with thick tea and a sweet at the ‘Haginoma’ special tea room
2)  Thin tea with a sweet at the ‘Haginoma’ special tea room
3)  Traditional Cha-kaiseki Japanese cuisine at Toshodaiji Honbo
4)  Tour of Toshodaiji Temple starts at 14:30. This is an optional tour – you can decide whether to join or not – and will be held in English and conducted by a Buddhist monk and an interpreter.

Afternoon Tea Ceremony Session – tea ceremony begins at 13:00, optional temple tour is in the morning and begins at 10:30

1)  Tour of Toshodaiji Temple starts at 10:30. This is an optional tour – you can decide whether to join or not – and will be held in English and conducted by a Buddhist monk and an interpreter.
2)  Tea ceremony begins at 13:00 with thick tea and a sweet at the ‘Haginoma’ special tea room
3)  Thin tea with a sweet at the ‘Haginoma’ special tea room
4)  Traditional Cha-kaiseki Japanese cuisine at Toshodaiji Honbo

Please Note: Guests will be guided during the tea gathering by an interpreter and assistant tea host. We ask you to join us wearing plain and clean clothes with a pair of white socks and without any accessories. We will prepare chairs for you. Please advise us if you have any food allergies when you reserve. For more information or to make a reservation, visit our website: https://nara-teaceremony.com

Toshodaiji Temple is located in what seems today to be the outskirts of Nara, but this area was a central block of the city when it was the capital of Japan about 1250 years ago. It was in 759 that the Emperor at that time granted the former residence of Emperor Tenmu’s son, Prince Niitabe Shin-No, for the establishment of Toshodaiji Temple. The name is derived from the facts that its first abbot Ganjin was from Toh, or the Tang Dynasty in China, and that it was founded as a place for Buddhist training under his guidance. Toshodaiji was the first temple in Japan to be devoted to one of the Chinese Buddhist denominations — namely the Nanzan school. Even today Toshodaiji is regarded as the head temple of Japan’s Ritsu-shu denomination of Buddhist teachings. Toshodaiji was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1998.

For more information of Toshodaiji.

https://toshodaiji.jp/english/index.html