News

Experience Kōdō Incense Ceremony May 21-22, 2022

3/25/2022

SaBi Tea Arts presents two days of public Kōdō (Japanese incense ceremony) gatherings to
celebrate spring and Asian Heritage Month. Guests will sample several kinds of aromatic
woods then try to distinguish among them in a traditional Kumikō exercise.

Sessions are hosted by a certified instructor of the Senzan Goryū School of Kōdō (Kyoto)
and are limited to 8 participants per session.

Go to registration page

This event is part of the explorASIAN Festival.

Arts of the Tokonoma lecture series

3/5/2022

We are pleased to be presenting the Spring 2022 virtual lecture series Arts of the Tokonoma in conjunction with the Canadian Society for Asian Arts over three sessions in March, April, and May.
Please visit the Current Programs page or click on the image below for more details.

Ocha Zanmai #2: The Tea Collections of Matsudaira Fumai

6/7/2021

The Ocha Zanmai series continues this Friday, with additional lectures each week through the end of June. The next four lectures will be in Japanese with optional English interpretation.

7th OCHA ZANMAI San Francisco International Conference
on Chanoyu and Tea Culture
-- Tea in the Edo Period (1603-1867) --
Lecture #2
Friday, June 11, 6:30 pm PDT
Register at: https://sfsu.simpletix.com/e/70203

MIYATAKE Yoshiyuki is author of numerous articles with special focus on tea utensil collections and the movement of tea objects during the Edo period, including a serialized column on tea utensils of the Mizoguchi collection (50-part series) in Sadō zasshi (2016-2020), a series on Yoshimura Kan'a in Enshū (7-part series) in 2018, and a column on Matsudaira Fumai (12-part series) in 2018.

Ocha Zanmai #1: Sencha Culture in the Edo Period

6/5/2021

Our heartfelt thanks to Dr. Patricia Graham for an in-depth examination of Japanese sencha culture during the Edo period for the first lecture of the 7th Ocha Zanmai series on Friday evening. If you missed the lecture, be sure to check out her book "Tea of the Sages: The Art of Sencha" at your local university library. Her latest book "Japanese Design: An Illustrated Guide to Art, Architecture and Aesthetics in Japan" is being released in a new revised edition this summer.

Ocha Zanmai 7 reboot: Tea Culture in the Edo Period

5/8/2021

image: "Chiyoda no ōoku: Chanoyu, mawaribana" by Toyohara Chikanobu (1838-1912), ōban triptych, 1895

７th Ocha Zanmai
San Francisco International Conference on Chanoyu and Tea Culture
Theme: Tea Culture in the Edo Period
ONLINE WEBINAR SERIES
Four Friday Evenings
June 4, June 11, June 18, and June 25, 2021
6:30 pm Pacific Daylight Time, 9:30 pm Eastern Standard Time

第7回お茶三昧: 茶の湯と茶文化に関するサンフランシスコ国際会議
テーマ：江戸時代の茶文化
ウェブカンファレンス
２０２１年６月５日(土)、６月１２日(土)、６月１９日(土)、６月２６日(土)
日本時間午前10時30分から

click here to register

Program

The official language of this conference is English.
Presentations in Japanese will be accompanied by optional English simultaneous interpretation.
Please note: Recordings of sessions will not be available after the event.

Friday June 4, 18:30-20:00 PDT
(日本時間6月5 日午前10時30分〜午後12時00分)
USD $15
Welcome Messages from the Co-hosts 主催者の挨拶:
Andrew Harris, Dean, College of Liberal & Creative Arts, San Francisco State University
Charles Egan, Chair, Department of Modern Languages, San Francisco State University

Lecture 1 (in English only)
Searching for the Spirit of the Sages: The Japanese Tea Ceremony for Sencha
by Patricia J. Graham
Research Associate, Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
「賢⼈の精神を探ねて: ⽇本における煎茶道」（英語のみ）
パトリシアJ.グラハム
カンザス大学東アジア研究所研究員

Lecture 2: Friday June 11 18:30-19:30 PDT
(in Japanese with optional simultaneous English interpretation)
(日本時間６月１２日午前１０時３０分〜午前１１時３０分)
USD $15
Keen Eye, Cultivated Taste: the tea tradition and utensil collections of Lord Matsudaira Fumai
MIYATAKE Yoshiyuki
Joint Research Associate, Kyoto and Tea Culture Research Center, Doshisha University
｢松平不昧公の茶の湯と茶道具 ─見極め、育てる─｣（日本語）
宮武慶之
同志社大学京都と茶文化研究センター共同研究員
　　　　
Lecture 3: Friday June 18 18:30-19:30 PDT
(in Japanese with optional simultaneous English interpretation)
(日本時間６月１９日午前１０時３０分〜午前１１時３０分)
USD $15
A New View of Kobori Enshū: exploring the concept of kirei sabi
FUKAYA Nobuko
Independent scholar, tea history
｢新しい小堀遠州像 ─『綺麗さびの茶』とは？｣（日本語）
深谷信子
茶道史研究家　
　　　　
Lecture 4: Friday June 18 19:45-20:15 PDT
(in Japanese with optional simultaneous English interpretation)
(日本時間６月１９日午前１１時４５分〜午後１２時１５分)
USD $10
The Roji Tea Garden as presented in Nanpōroku: with attention to Tachibana Jitsuzan's interpretation of the sōan ‘grass hut’ tea house
SAKURAMOTO Kaori
Doctoral candidate, Waseda University, School of Graduate Studies
Research Fellow DC2, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
｢『南方録』における「露地」―立花実山の「草庵」の解釈を手がかりとして―」（日本語）
櫻本⾹織
早稲田大学大学院博士後期課程・日本学術振興会特別研究員DC2

Lecture/Presentation 5: Friday June 25 18:30 – 20:30 PDT
(in Japanese with optional simultaneous English interpretation)
(日本時間６月２６日午前１０時３０分〜午後１２時４５分)
USD $25
Lecture: Hosokawa Sansai: tea of the feudal daimyo
and first-ever Hosokawa Sansai School Demonstrations of tea preparation procedures
UMEMURA Naoko
Deputy Iemoto, Hosokawa Sansai School of Tea
講義　｢細川三斎　〜大名の茶の湯〜」（日本語）
と点前実演（史上初めて公開）
梅村尚⼦
細川三斎流家元代理
　　
Advance registration is required for all sessions.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Purchase separate tickets for individual sessions OR
attend all five sessions for the Special Discounted Rate of $65.

Masterworks of Japanese Tea Tradition: Part 6

11/16/2020

The Yaburebukuro Water Jar:
Wabi in the Eyes of Furuta Oribe

live via Zoom on
Sunday, November 22, 1 pm
OR access recordings through a weblink afterward
single session $10 / six-session series $55 (CAD)

Important Cultural Property
Iga ware fresh water jar, known as "Yaburebukuro"
Preferred by Furuta Oribe, early 17th century
The Gotoh Museum, Tokyo

The final lecture in the Masterworks of Japanese Tea Tradition lecture series will explore the aesthetics of daimyo tea master Furuta Oribe. Considered a bit of an eccentric in his time, Oribe is known for having taken the wabi teachings of his master Sen no Rikyu to further extremes. This session will highlight famous tea wares that are representative of Oribe's taste and will consider them against the wabi aesthetic of Rikyu that was discussed in the previous lectures.

The series "Masterworks of Japanese Tea Tradition" is presented in conjunction with the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre. All lectures are presented by Maiko Behr of SaBi Tea Arts.

Recordings of all sessions are currently available for viewing to registered participants until November 30th. Please contact us for more information.

Masterworks of Japanese Tea Tradition: Part 5

11/9/2020

Embodying the Maker's Spirit:
Appreciating Rikyū's "Namida" and Other Chashaku Tea Scoops

live via Zoom on
Thursday, November 12, 7 pm
OR access recordings through a weblink afterward
single session $10 / six-session series $55 (CAD)

Bamboo tea scoop, known as "Namida," by Sen no Rikyu, 1591. Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya.

Following on the past two lectures, which explored the aesthetics of the late 16th-century tea master Sen no Rikyū through tea bowls and flower vessels for tea, part 5 of the Masterworks series will focus on the unassuming bamboo tea scoop. Arguably one of the most difficult tea utensils to appreciate fully, the chashaku tea scoop can be seen as embodying the spirit of the individual who made it. This lecture will examine the evolution of this humble utensil, culminating in what might be considered one of the most famous and most deeply revered examples, a bamboo scoop hand-carved by Rikyū just before his tragic death.

The series "Masterworks of Japanese Tea Tradition" is presented in conjunction with the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre. All lectures are presented by Maiko Behr of SaBi Tea Arts.

Masterworks of Japanese Tea Tradition: Part 4

10/20/2020

Sen no Rikyū's "Onjōji" and Flower Vessels for Wabi-style Tea

live via Zoom on
Sunday, October 18, 7 pm
OR access recordings through a weblink afterward
single session $10 / six-session series $55 (CAD)

Bamboo flower vase, known as "Onjōji," made by Sen no Rikyū. Tokyo National Museum.

Part 4 of our lecture series will look at flower vases -- particularly those created by the 16th-century tea master Sen no Rikyu -- and their stories. Join us as we continue our exploration into tea aesthetics through great works of tea arts from the past.

The series "Masterworks of Japanese Tea Tradition" is presented in conjunction with the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre. All lectures are presented by Maiko Behr of SaBi Tea Arts.

Masterworks of Japanese Tea Tradition: Part 3

10/7/2020

Ōguro: Black Raku Ware and the Tea Aesthetics of Sen no Rikyū

live via Zoom on
Thursday, October 8, 7 pm
OR access recordings through a weblink afterward
single session $10 / six-session series $55 (CAD)

Important Cultural Property. Raku ware tea bowl, known as "Ōguro" (Big Black), by Chōjirō. Private Collection.

In this third lecture of our series, we will look at the black Raku ware tea bowls preferred by the 16th-century tea master Sen no Rikyū and how they came to be seen as embodying the essence of Japanese "tea taste" ever since.

The series "Masterworks of Japanese Tea Tradition" is presented in conjunction with the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre. All lectures are presented by Maiko Behr of SaBi Tea Arts.

Masterworks of Japanese Tea Tradition: Part 2

9/17/2020

The Beauty of Age: Treasured Iron Kettles
as the Embodiment of the Sabi Aesthetic

live via Zoom on
Sunday, September 20, 1 pm
OR access recordings through a weblink afterward
single session $10 / six-session series $55 (CAD)

click to register

The second session of our series will examine the central role of the humble iron kettle in traditional tea gatherings through a number of well-known examples. Drawing on historical episodes surrounding the use and transmission of these treasured kettles and their associations with famous tea masters, this session will focus more closely on better understanding the differences between the complementary but distinct aesthetics of wabi 侘 and sabi 寂 in Japanese tea culture, with particular attention to understanding the concept of sabi through specific visual examples.

The series "Masterworks of Japanese Tea Tradition" is presented in conjunction with the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre. All lectures are presented by Maiko Behr of SaBi Tea Arts.

Above image: Ashiya iron kettle with hailstone pattern, shinnari type. Muromachi period, 15th century. The Gotoh Museum, Tokyo.