Tea house serves up friendship
A Japanese tea ceremony generally takes an hour but if you happen to kneel in the traditional fashion it will feel like two.
In a small back section of a house in New Plymouth Masashi Iwata hosts a traditional tea ceremony every year as part of the Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular.
The ceremony takes place in an authentic tea house built in a traditional Japanese style surrounded by a highly manicured garden. To the uninitiated the tea tasted like a mixture of seaweed and spinach but to veterans it was good enough to go back for another bowl.
While it’s a very peaceful ceremony with strict dos and don’ts, tea drinkers are encouraged to slurp the tea at the end - the louder the better. Iwata said green tea played an important role in Japanese culture and that most people drank it every day.
A traditional Japanese tea ceremony is a symbol of peace, harmony and happiness and is a spiritual experience that demonstrates respect through etiquette and grace, which are integral facets of Japanese culture.
‘‘I hope you like the tea,’’ Iwata said.
Iwata still lives in Japan but bought his New Plymouth house with a large section more than 25 years ago.
After retiring from his job as an English teacher in Japan, Iwata decided to set up the tea house on the section.
‘‘I had dreamed of a way to enhance the friendship and cultural understanding between New Zealand and Japan,’’ Iwata said.
That dream became a reality when 19 tradesmen brought out the structure from Japan and assembled the tea house at the back of the property, a project that took three months to complete.
When Iwata, who only visits Taranaki once a year, is in Japan the property is managed by Naomi Wilson and her husband Ian.
‘‘Everything was bought in from Japan specifically, including the rocks on the footpaths and in the gardens,’’ Naomi Wilson said.
Tea Master Kazue Takahashi has trained as a tea master for 20 years and said she was still constantly learning but also teaches students on how to prepare the traditional Japanese tea.
The tea house performs two tea ceremonies a day during the garden festival, one at 10.30am the other at 5pm and bookings are essential. Each ceremony can host around 10 people and runs for about an hour and cost $5.
‘‘Each ceremony we’ve had so far has been full so we advise people to ring and book,’’ Wilson said. To book - phone Wilson on 06 753 8804, 0274 926 121 or email naomi.wilson@xtra.co.nz
The garden and tea house are open throughout the Spectacular which runs from 27 October November 5