Filed under: Blog Post | Tags: ceremony, Culture, order, ritual, society, tea
One of the most special experiences was the tea ceremony. The entire setting was perfect, we had a great view from the 65th floor of the tallest building in Japan juxtaposed to the traditional tearoom with its simple elegance. I had a general idea of what a tea ceremony entailed due to my extensive knowledge of Karate Kid Part 2, but the explanation of the importance of the details was great. As with many things it is the attention to detail that makes this ceremony special: the practiced movement, the protocol and the respect for the guest. When I saw the ceremony in the movie I had no idea what the importance of rotating the cup was, it’s to show off the design, or the purpose for the elaborate procedure. The tea ceremony is a very spiritual thing that is an important part of Japanese culture. Japanese culture is built on ritual and order; this need for order seems to permeate to all aspects of their society.
One of the greatest things about this trip was the mix of technology and culture. The Buddhist temples served as a perfect balance to the great technology companies that we visited. The tranquility of these temples also gave us time to slow down and just enjoy Japan, after hectic travel. Miyajima Island was one of my favorite visits and the Daisho-In Temple was one of the nicest temples we visited. Going to the island was quite an experience, it all started with a peaceful ferry ride. While on the ferry we could see the famous O-torii Gate, which is a common gateway to Shinto shrines. Miyajima means “Shrine Island,” this is due to the many shrines on the island. The island houses Itsakashumi Shinto shrine, the national language of Japan, as well as Daisho-In temple, which is a Buddhist temple. The variety on the island made it a great place to see many aspects of Japanese religion, which to my untrained eye appeared the same until I did further research. This is where the culture component greatly expanded the trip. It is very easy to be amazed by the technological advances in Japan, but being immersed in Japanese culture gave us the ability to begin to understand the country.
