The public is invited to join a Japanese tea ceremony to be presented in the renovated and expanded U-M Museum of Art. It is scheduled for noon and 2:30 p.m. June 5.
Kazu Ogoshi and Mitsuko Yoshida, two revered tea masters who have been practicing the Sekishu-style of tea for 65 years, will travel from Japan to UMMA for the occasion. This will be their third appearance at UMMA following visits in 1997 and 2001. Yasuo Watanabe will provide interpretation and narration.
The Sekishu-style of tea was the orthodox style of the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate (1615–1868) and also is known as the “warrior style” tea. These demonstrations will be followed by a limited sampling of tea and Japanese sweets.
The ceremony is presented at a time when UMMA offers three Japan-themed exhibits. They are “Turning Point: Japanese Studio Ceramics in the Mid-20th Century,” through Aug. 22; “Wrapped in Silk and Gold: A Family Legacy of 20th-Century Japanese Kimono,” through July 25; and “Art, Anti-Art, Non-Art: Experimentations in the Public Sphere in Postwar Japan, 1950-1970,” through June 6.
