Hatsudate at the Permanent Delegation of Japan to the OECD

Following the hatsudate (the first tea gathering of the New Year) held at the Permanent Delegation of Japan to UNESCO, another hatsugama was held on January 19 at the official residence of Ambassador Ando, Permanent Representative of Japan to the OECD in Paris, hosted by Mrs. Ando.

For me, this is a particularly nostalgic and familiar residence. I first visited in 2006, during the tenure of Ambassador Kitajima, and have returned there many times since.

The residence is housed in a magnificent building recognized as part of France’s historic heritage, alongside landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles. It was designed by a disciple of Le Corbusier, and I have also heard that old materials salvaged from the Palace of Versailles were incorporated into various parts of the building.

Mrs. Ando invited the spouses of the Ambassadors of Germany, Indonesia, Austria, Colombia and Ireland, as well as the husband of the British Ambassador, and Véronique Debrieuvre, President of the Association of the French Diplomatic Corps.

After everyone had enjoyed a bowl of tea, Dwayne Branch, husband of the British Ambassador, and Véronique Debrieuvre were given the opportunity to experience preparing tea themselves.

Following the tea gathering, we moved on to lunch prepared by the residence chef. The meal began with a traditional one-soup, three-dish (ichijū sansai) tea-kai­seki.

This simple and restrained style of Japanese cuisine, rooted in the essence of the tea gathering and originating in Zen culture, was warmly appreciated by all our guests.

For the tea utensils, I brought several pieces from the Mori family collection that are traditionally brought out only at New Year.

The hanging scroll was a calligraphy of “Dragon and Tiger” by Mori Tadanori, the seventh lord of the former Akō Domain.

In memory of Grand Master Hōunsai, who passed away last year, I also used a tea scoop bearing the inscription “Shiawase”, which he had personally presented to me during his lifetime.

I also brought out a black Raku bowl by Raku Sōnyū and a red Raku bowl by Raku Kōnyū, both of which are traditionally taken from storage only at New Year, together with another eight red Raku tea bowls.

As I mentioned in my account of the hatsudate at the Permanent Delegation of Japan to UNESCO, transporting these three particularly precious groups of objects was rather nerve-racking.

Even on the flight, I carried the hanging scroll and tea scoop in the overhead compartment, while the ten Raku tea bowls were carefully placed at my feet.

Thankfully, all of them have made it safely to this day.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Ambassador Ando and his wife, Yuka, of the Permanent Delegation of Japan to the OECD, as well as to the residence chef and all the members of the residence staff, for creating such a wonderful occasion.