Lecture at Grenoble Alpes University 2025

Once again this year, I was able to hold my lecture on the culture of the Way of Tea, together with an introduction to tourism in Japan, at Grenoble Alpes University in southern France. This program has continued since 2015.

With the generous support of the Consulate-General of Japan in Marseille and the Consular Office in Lyon, this year marked the eighth edition of the lecture series.

At the inaugural lecture, we were honored by the presence of Director Ogata and Deputy Consul Tsuzuki, who joined the Dean in offering opening remarks and participating in a demonstration of preparing a bowl of tea.

The primary purpose of these classes is not to teach students how to perform temae. Rather, the focus is on the origins and development of the Way of Tea, the spirit and mindset behind it, and the proper sequence for receiving and drinking tea.

In other words, these are not conventional tea lessons or training sessions.

At the same time, because understanding the process of preparing tea is an important part of understanding the Way of Tea, I do introduce the complete sequence of temae. This year, however, I decided to take a break from tatami and, for the first time in six years, brought out the Misonodana tea stand.

Amid a stream of questions from the students, one particularly enthusiastic student asked me to explain koicha, or thick tea.

Then came the inevitable request:

“Can we try it?”

As it happened, the tea generously provided for this occasion by Seishōen is also a variety suitable for preparing koicha, so it was perfectly possible to let the students taste it.

There was, however, one problem: I could not demonstrate the proper temae for preparing it.

This was because I had brought the Misonodana this year and had therefore not brought a chaire, the ceramic tea container normally used for koicha. Moreover, strictly speaking, koicha should not formally be prepared using the Misonodana.

I explained this point carefully beforehand. Then, in an unusually unorthodox move for me, I asked the students not to take photographs, scooped the tea from a hiranatsume, and proceeded to knead the koicha.

It was very much the sort of scene that would earn me a stern reprimand if my teacher saw it.

Nevertheless, I succeeded in preparing a bowl of koicha, whisked in an Asahiyaki tea bowl.

I asked the students:

“Is it sweet, or is it bitter?”

Their answer was:

“Sweet.”

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.