The art of tea – a global ritual
[ The University of Melbourne Voice Vol. 1, No. 1
19 March - 2 April 2007 ] By Andrea Hurt
Participating in a seemingly everyday custom, the participants in Chado, the Japanese tea ceremony, transcend the commonplace to celebrate the moment and the value of human relationships.
The global significance of tea, its history, origin and travels, its medicinal properties, and the cultural importance of the every-day cup of tea, are among some of the many themes to be explored in an exhibition opening tomorrow entitled Tea: the Global Infusion.
The exhibition has been put together by the University’s Cultural Collections Group to coincide with the 2007 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and will run at the Baillieu Library until Friday 18 May.
The exhibition opening will be preceded by an afternoon symposium commencing with a talk by Associate Professor Antonia Finnane on the ‘birth’ of tea in China and its rediscovery in recent times.
Professor Finnane will be followed by Frances Salenga, a representative from Ito En Australia, who will focus on green tea, the processes involved in the production of green tea and growing it for the international market in Victoria.
Queensland artist Adele Outteridge will talk about the use of tea in making artists’ books, before a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, with commentary, performed by members of the Urasenke Foundation, Melbourne.
The symposium will be limited to 50 participants, and the exhibition opening by invitation, but the public is encouraged to visit after 20 March.
Chado, the Way of Tea, is commonly known in Western society as the Japanese tea ceremony. By participating in a seemingly everyday custom, the participants transcend the commonplace to celebrate the moment and the value of human relationships. This is summed up in the phrase ‘ichigo ichi e’ meaning one chance, one meeting. Both the host and guest realise that the moment is unique and may not come again.
Participants immerse themselves in the preparation and while sharing a bowl of tea, rise above their daily affairs to concentrate on their true inner self and creating a harmonious and peaceful experience.
The 15th generation grand master of Urasenke, Dr Soshitsu Sen, advocates the motto ‘peacefulness through a bowl of tea’. The essence of the phrase is the spirit of sharing, to contribute to world peace and to the happiness of the human race though Chado.
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