Tea Ceremony

After returning to the trolley station, we walked the 30 or so minutes back to the home of the woman who fitted Nancy with her Kimono. I'm impressed with how Nancy could walk in all of these tight layers and wear an elegant silk gown while still being able to cover at least 2 miles altogether! In the heat and some rain! But we were having so much fun in a once in a lifetime experience.

Christopher Michel [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

We had a surprise waiting. Before Nancy changed back to everyday clothes we were given seats of honor and had conversation with several women who were there preparing green tea--a genuine Zen Tea Ceremony. It would have been disrespectful and clumsy to take any photos whilst the tea was being prepared but it was very nice to watch. We were served tea, which had been prepared with a whisk and in a wooden bucket as to tradition. 

delicious

enjoy

After Nancy changed back to her regular clothes we sat for a group photo with the women who had come to meet us and offer us the Tea Ceremony. What a great honor and so nice to see the traditions being kept alive!

The woman at front left prepared the tea and the woman to my left designed and made the Kimono that Nancy wore all day. This group of women meet and work regularly to study and keep ancient Japan culture alive.

Kimono Day~photo shoot at (Former) Chikurin-in Temple~旧竹林院

After we spent about an hour preparing Nancy with the layering on of clothes and decorative garments we hiked about a half mile, about a third of the way up the mountain, to the Chikurin-in Temple. Nancy is a real sport, the weather was warm and slightly damp, and she walked here with funny shoes and socks and all of those layers. 

a lovely walk to the temple,
to the left is fast moving run-off
from Shugendo Mountain

Entering for a garden walk and photo shoot

The overcast weather provided perfect lighting conditions which allowed us to get plenty of nice shots in the soft light. The Temple and gardens are nestled in the "Senbon" or middle area of the mountain. Nancy proved to be a patient model who thoroughly enjoyed the adventure.   

During this visit, there was a crew of gardeners cleaning and preening the trees and moss carpeting the garden area. I've never seen anything quite like it; the workers were master gardeners who pruned all of the evergreen trees and cleaned the moss as if it was a carpet in your home. Right down to the level of plucking off pine needles. I would have loved to photograph this process, but was focussed on my main task and did not wish to intrude upon the workers going about their jobs. We found this garden to be so peaceful and beautiful that we decided to make a return so that I could experience the peace and beauty again and photograph the beautiful grounds. 

check out my youtube video here:https://youtu.be/xGWbhXqV2fI

Kimono Day~part 1

gardens and beautiful foliage everywhere

Our awesome host is studying ancient Japanese culture, including tea ceremony and the making of Kimonos. She made arrangements for her mentor and teacher to fit Nancy with a Kimono so that I could do a photo shoot. This was the real deal and not some in-city tourist trap--where we later saw young women wearing Kimonos that weren't much better than cheap halloween costumes as opposed to real silk and fine tailoring...

this is part of the layering of undergarment, like an elaborate slip

After Nancy selected the Kimono she would be wearing, the women took her to a private dressing room where she put on the three layers of undergarment...on a hot day!

this time lapse speeds up the fitting and dressing process!

Next: touring and photo shoot!