Japanese Tea Ceremony
There are many different traditions of tea practice, each with its own style and lineage of teachers. Visitors to the museum's tea program have the opportunity to learn from experts trained in five of these traditions—Dai Nippon Chado Gakkai, Mushakojisenke, Omotesenke, Urasenke, and Yabunouchi. Join us in the museum's traditional tea room to watch and learn about the Japanese tea ceremony. Teachers will serve Japanese sweets and bowls of whisked green tea during the lesson.
Upcoming Gatherings and Tastings
Please check back for updates.
To see pictures of past tea programs, please visit the museum's Flickr site.
Watch a video about the making of the museum's tearoom.
Discover more resources for learning about the Way of tea.
This program has been made possible in part by a grant from the United States-Japan Foundation. Tea programs also sponsored by Ito En.
Location:
In the Japan Galleries, 2nd Floor, South Wing.
Background:
The Japan Galleries of the new Asian Art Museum have space devoted to two major art forms: the tearoom and the bamboo basket. This space includes a fully functioning example of a traditional tearoom custom built for the new museum. The tearoom and related items allow the museum to offer educational programs focusing on the time-honored Japanese tea ceremony. An introduction to chanoyu—the Japanese way of tea—is held bi-monthly in the tearoom.
Tearoom Architect:
Architect Osamu Sato designed the Asian Art Museum's tearoom. Mr. Sato, who has worked in the United States with the firm of Pei, Cobb, Freed, designed a similar tearoom for I.M. Pei's Miho Museum in Shigaraki, near Kyoto, Japan, which opened four years ago.
Tearoom Construction:
The tearoom was constructed in Kyoto by the distinguished firm, Nakamura Sotoji, long famous for refined traditional Japanese architecture built by specially trained carpenters and artisans. The components of the tearoom were precut by Nakamura Yoshiaki, a highly skilled carpenter in Japan. The tearoom was deconstructed and shipped to San Francisco where four carpenters from Kyoto reconstructed it in the museum under the supervision of Mr. Sato.
Tearoom Design:
The Asian Art Museum's tearoom was designed as a functioning tearoom, as well as a display case. It is a size called sanjo-daime or three and three-quarters mats, which will accommodate a tea host and three to four guests. It is complete with a tokonoma, or special alcove for the display of hanging scrolls, flowers or objects, an electric-powered well for a hot water kettle, and a functioning mizuya, or kitchen, for the preparation of the tea ceremony. The tearoom incorporates a variety of woods, bamboo, and reeds. Its three interior ceiling levels display three different ceiling treatments. The tearoom has a sliding glass front that secures the space as a display case, but can open fully when in use for live tea demonstrations.
Japanese Tearoom Podcast (audio only), 2 MB file | Listen | Help
