Ichigo ichie: every encounter is once in a lifetimeTaste is enjoyed by one person, mind is understood by two, colour is added by three and tea is performed by four or five.

Ichigo Ichie

The new year comes with the vanguard of the first streak of daylight accompanied by the burnished dawn wind, in a stately and majestic way. The new year is decked out awe-inspiringly, faultless and graceful. Tea people are pious, serious and peaceful as they welcome it. A new year brings about the gift of myth, classicality and delight. Tea people receive them with admiration, nostalgia and ecstasy. As everything is full of celebration, gratitude and joy, tea people are busy but happy.

The Preparation for The New Year

Chado the Way of Tea: A Japanese Tea Master's Almanac is a translation of the Japanese classic Sado-saijiki, first published in 1960. Covering tea-related events in Japan throughout the year, Master Sasaki provides vignettes of festivals and formal occasions, and as well as the traditional contemplative poetry that is a part of the tea ceremony. Each chapter covers variations in the tea ceremony appropriate for a single month, including:<ul><li>Themes and sentiments—tea gatherings at night, under the moon, on snowy days, and many others.</li><li>Special events—describing major tea festivals such as Hina-matsuri and yasurai-matsuri.</li><li>Flowers with tea--a list of 250 flowers, divided by season with an explanation of how they are incorporated into the tea ceremony.</li><li>Cakes—descriptions and ingredients of moist and dry cakes and toffees used in the tea ceremony.</li><li>Meals for tea—the meal, kaiseki, accounts for almost a third of any formal tea ceremony. This section includes at least two proven menus for each month.</li><li>Words—seasonal words, poetic names for utensils, and nature words used in the tea ceremony.</li></ul>The book also includes reproductions of almost 100 Japanese paintings produced by the famous tea practitioner Hara Sankei, with over 1,000 Japanese poems, and a glossary of over 500 specialized terms related to the tea ceremony.

Chado the Way of Tea

Ichigo Ichie

The Preparation for The New Year

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