Welcome to tsukimitei, our tea home.
且座喫茶
sit down.
have some tea.
At tsukimitei, we teach Tea.
There is the enjoyment, Chanoyu, and there is the path, Chado. We hope to share the spirit so essential to the matcha culture, so often overlooked.
tsukimitei instructors
Michael Hardy Sogetsu
Chado Instructor / Kyoto Guide
茶道専任講師 京都ガイド
Born in Kentucky, USA, Mike is a chado nerd now living in Kyoto.Mike enjoys each day a bit more through tea, and hopes to share that enjoyment with others.
米国ケンタッキー州出身、京都在住の茶道愛好者。お茶を通じて毎日をよりエンジョイできてて、その楽しみを他の人と共有したい。
Fumi Hirose Somi
Chado Instructor
茶道専任講師
Engrossed in Lacrosse during her college years. After graduation, since chado had also been part of her family life, Fumi entered the Urasenke Gakuen Profesional College of Chado. The profoundness in chado, along being able to meet people of widely diverse backgrounds left a lasting impression. She wants to share the appeal of Tea with others.
大学ではラクロスに夢中。家族が茶道をしてたこともあり、卒業後、裏千家学園茶道専門学校に入学。茶道の奥深さと幅広い分野の方と出会い、刺激を受ける。茶の魅力を伝えたい。
Tea is Good.
ええもんやで。
This is a line that finds it's way into every single introductory lecture I give. Not only is it good, it's SUPER good!
Kakuzo Okakura calls it the "Art of Living."
Chanoyu, the Enjoyment of Tea, is a culture of celebrating life, living, and all the things that humans do right. Art, philosophy, heart-to-heart communication - and some really good tea, of course - come together in one simple yet profound setting. This is what we call "Tea."
Chado, the Way of Tea, is the amazing traditional path of self-cultivation. When practiced, you discover that not only is there much enjoyment to be found in this tradition, but life, actual moment-to-moment living, becomes just as enjoyable and meaningful as the magical, Zen-like experience of a tea room. This is what we call the "Tea way."
Whether you simply wish to partake in the enjoyment of "Tea," or hope to find something more down the "Tea way," it's all good, all beneficial, and all something we look forward to sharing with you!
Harmony. Wonder. Awareness.
Reflection on the Past.
Hope for the Future.
There is so much (more) in matcha yet to be discovered...
The Tea tradition in Japan is so much more than drinking matcha.
Drinking matcha has exploded in popularity, and it is indeed delicious and quite healthy.
Matcha, powdered green tea, was at one time so overtaken by the newly evolved steeped teas that it nearly disappeared from the world, falling out of use everywhere but in Japan for hundreds of years. While most of the world forgot, it was in Japan that matcha's true potential for both mind and body was slowly, quietly unlocked.
Here we are in the 21st century, and matcha is now on the menu for beverage aficionados worldwide - and yet, somehow, the spirit behind the enjoyment of matcha has been left behind...