Hatsugama / 初釜 / boiling of the first kettle / Year of the Horse
This meeting is seen as something very special. Hatsugama is the only time when the tea teacher prepares tea for all her students. In most cases this tea ceremony is a complete Chaji meeting with Kaiseki meal, Nakadachi breaks, and the whole ritual done the way it was learned during classes. This year, for Hatsugama, we will have a light meal together before having tea. Sensei will prepare rice, main course (Nimono-wan) which is simmered fishcake or chicken cake in soup, a bit of sake, tea and new year's sweets. We will each bring a small something that contributes to the meal. It is impossible to teach the whole Chaji at once, therefore it is always broken up into practicing how to prepare Usucha, Koicha, and arranging the charcoal in Sumi-temae. Only this time will the whole ritual be performed by the tea teacher with some help from the senior students. In formal study of Chado it is an opportunity to meet all the other students whom might be studying on different days and for the teacher to point out some of the details about the flow of a full Chaji meeting. Typical for this meeting is the festive mood, exquisite cuisine, and the curved braided willow branches hung in the Tokonoma. The willow branches hint at the promise of spring by bringing yang energy into this yin time of year and the loop around the branches symbolizes the promise to return again next year. The willow also symbolizes long life and flexibility.
合掌,
Cody Kroll コーディクロール
Kuma Gama - Clay Studio 熊窯 - 陶工房
www.kumagama.com