Tea Ceremony at the Reception Celebrating the Emperor’s Birthday in France 2016

I was deeply honored to be given the opportunity to perform a tea ceremony demonstration at the opening of the reception celebrating His Majesty the Emperor’s Birthday in the French Republic.

For approximately fifteen minutes, I performed temae before portraits of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress, while being watched attentively by distinguished French officials, business and educational leaders, and representatives of Japanese companies in France, including the Chairman of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in France.

I still remember my hand trembling as I held the hishaku.

Of all the occasions on which I have had the privilege of working with people from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its diplomatic missions overseas, this was by far the most significant undertaking I have ever been entrusted with.

I believe this opportunity was made possible by the trust and thoughtful consideration of Consul Kobayashi and his wife, Deputy Consul Egashira and his wife, as well as all the members of the Consulate who have kindly supported me year after year.

After the ceremony, I was approached by many guests who kindly offered their greetings, and I was also presented with a number of concrete possibilities for future collaboration.

Every one of these conversations was exciting and meaningful, making this an especially valuable occasion. In addition to plans already being discussed for next year and the year after, I can now begin to see possibilities extending even further into the future.

I could not have accomplished this performance on such a prestigious stage without the generous assistance of Takaoka-sensei of Urasenke Paris, who came all the way from Paris to support me, together with my tea friends in Tokyo, the members of the Kōjitsuan tea group, and, above all, the support of my wife.

The many wonderful photographs capturing this occasion were taken by Yoshiko Yoda.

I once again offer my deepest and most heartfelt thanks to everyone who made this memorable opportunity possible.