Saturday, June 19, 2010

Sayonara --Lovers Tea Ceremony

Sayonara means Good bye My love and so much more

Sayonara, Japanese goodbye
Whisper sayonara but you mustn't cry
Sayonara, if it must be so
Whisper sayonara, smiling as we go
No more we stop to see pretty cherry blossoms
No more we 'neath the tree looking at the sky
Sayonara, sayonara
Goodbye 
 
                                                                                                
 

Sayonara is one of my favorite movies even though it is some what dated, this 1957 vintage classic film found it's way to my albeit small collection of DVD's.

Encase you have never seen this movie or long since forgotten the beauty without giving away too much of this story line, I invite you to watch this movie -- or at the very least listen to the beautiful melodious voice of Miiko Taka,  a Japanese American Actress, born in Seattle, Washington with the you tube displayed above.  

Sayonara  does a very good job in giving an accurate and educational tour of Japanese culture, including the main theatrical styles of kabuki, noh, bunraku and Takurazuka, and practices such as the tea ceremony.


A Lover's Tea Ceremony!

I cannot think of a more beautiful  way to celebrate your love with your partner then to make the effort to create  a meaningful ceremony or ritual then to learn the Art of the Tea Ceremony. 

I am not a purist on such rituals as I believe it is more important to set time aside to be with your loved one in a quiet space without the outside world intruding and develop your own ritual, perhaps derived from your own cultural roots. 

The Japanese Tea Ceremony first emerged, and was  created by a Zen priest named Murata Shuko. The ceremony is called Cha-no-yu, literally meaning “hot water tea” and celebrates the beauty and mundane aspects of everyday life.  
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Few activities in general are quite as thoroughly refined and thoughtful and yet evolved through such troubled times in human history. Complicated and yet utterly simple, at once straightforward and deep, the tea ceremony in my viewpoint is  a work of art and needs a  careful hand to bring out its noblest qualities.
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Teaism was a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order.


It is essentially a worship of the Imperfect, as it is a tender attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life.

It is paying attention to life's small gifts that will give us the greatest joy - practice gratitude.
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Happy Father's Day!
Fin