Ubc Japanese Garden Tea Ceremony

The tea ceremony is a meditative practice with roots in zen buddhism.

Ubc japanese garden tea ceremony. Japanese culture has been transformed by both internal and external factors such as shinto beliefs the buddhist religion literature poetry and the tea ceremony. Within nitobe memorial garden visitors will see an authentic tea house and roji tea houses are structures created for the practice of the japanese tea ceremony known as chadō or sadō the way of tea visitors pass through the roji a garden that literally means dewy ground on their way into the tea house. Nitobe memorial garden was designed to create a reverence for and sense of harmony with nature. Learn about the different garden areas at ubc botanical garden below and don t forget a visit to our off site japanese tea and stroll garden nitobe memorial garden.

Summer is also an especially good time to visit as the nitobe memorial garden has an authentic tea garden and tea house with traditional japanese tea ceremonies for the public taking place once an hour from noon until 4 pm the last saturday of the month from may until september for a cost of about 10 in addition to the regular garden. A term long japanese tea ceremony course a one hour tea demonstration at ichibō an or a brief glance at the tatami and utensils displayed at the tea gallery in the asian centre. Millie creighton students learned the actual practice and performance of the japanese tea ceremony about japanese gardens the formal kimono attire and the study of. Perhaps they are sensing the japanese spirit that informs these spaces.

Students enrolled in an upper division credit course on the japanese tea ceremony had the opportunity to experience the traditional practice at the nitobe memorial garden. Ryo sugiyama is the curator of ubc s very own tea garden nitobe memorial. Visitors attending a tea ceremony can witness the formal preparation of tea and participate as guests. Sugiyama was in some way fated for the garden.

Initiated and taught by dr. Garden highlights ubc botanical garden is a place where visitors of all ages can explore and learn about plants from every corner of the world. The urasenke foundation of vancouver hosts tea ceremonies at nitobe memorial garden throughout the summer. Even the tea house suggests a space of intercultural understanding as visitors gather here to enjoy the japanese tea ceremony a practice in which a bowl of tea is passed with deep respect from guest to guest and from which each person drinks.

Ubc is versatile in offering this interactive cultural experience. Everyone is encouraged to partake in the soul cleansing ritual of chado. A japanese tea garden is the more functional of the two traditional japanese gardens it hosts the chado or tea ceremony and serves as a leisure space for the household.