Interviews
Introduction to the Tea Ceremony (Japanese)
(Japanese) I was born in Hawaii. Later on, when I was still young, my parents and I moved to Los Angeles. In 1941, we then moved to Japan. We stayed near Kyoto, in Shiga prefecture by Biwako Lake, where we happened to have a close relationship with the iemoto (head master) of the Urasenke school of tea ceremonies. The Pacific War happened to break out on December 8th that year, so we were unable to return to America. So I spent a great deal of time in tea houses around Kyoto and was able to learn about many traditional Japanese arts. Times were very unsettling during the war, with people unsure of what to do with themselves... and especially because it was in this chaotic setting, I felt that the Tea Ceremony was such a powerful, wonderful thing. As I was learning, I constantly felt the urge to take this tradition back to the States and introduce it to everybody in America.
Date: December 19, 2005
Location: California, US
Interviewer: Nancy Araki
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum