Tea activities at Tanabata festival
Experience a Japanese tea ceremony in the open air!
The tea ceremony is not just about preparing a cup of tea. It is a tradition that is more than four hundred years old, combining aesthetics, hospitality, concentration and the ability to fully experience a unique moment. At this year’s Tanabata, you will have a unique opportunity to gain insight into the world of the Japanese Tea Journey under the guidance of Markéta Sókei Reiter Fujita, a certified teacher of the Urasenke school, who has been dedicated to the tea ceremony for more than thirty years and has long presented traditional Japanese culture to the Czech public.
The demonstrations will take place in the Unohana style, a summer outdoor variant of the tea ceremony (nodate), which was created by the 11th Grandmaster of the Urasenke school specifically for preparing tea in nature. All utensils are stored in a portable tea box (chabako), thanks to which the entire ceremony can be transferred to gardens, parks and under the treetops – exactly where the summer Tanabata belongs.
During the day, you can choose from two unique experiences:
🍵 Become a guest at a Japanese tea ceremony
Take a seat as a guest at a traditional Japanese tea ceremony and watch the tea being prepared up close. The experience includes traditional Japanese sweets (wagashi or higashi) and a freshly prepared bowl of fine matcha usucha tea.
Each tea ceremony is limited to 4 people to maintain an intimate atmosphere and allow each guest to truly experience the ceremony.
➡️ Tickets available via smsticket here
🥣 Workshop – Become a disciple of the Way of Tea for a while
Want to go a little deeper? Sign up for a practical workshop, during which you will try out the very basics of the Japanese tea ceremony for yourself. Led by Markéta Sókei Reiter Fujita, you will learn, for example: the correct way to accept a bowl of tea and basic etiquette, traditional sitting and movement during the tea ceremony, folding a silk scarf, handling tea utensils, and the basic warigeiko preparation that tea ceremony students in Japan begin to study. The workshop is intended for complete beginners and anyone who wants to get to know the tea ceremony actively and up close.
The workshop capacity is 6 people.
➡️ Tickets available via smsticket here
👥 Come and see
The entire program at the tea stand will also be available as a spectator. Advance ticket purchase is only required for participants of tea meetings and workshops.
At the end of the afternoon, you can also look forward to a lecture on Japanese tea and the Tanabata holiday, which is open to all visitors and no reservation is required.
Tea stall program
11:15–11:45 Tea meeting (4 people with a reservation + spectators)
12:00–12:30 Workshop Journeys of Tea (6 people with a reservation + spectators)
12:45–13:15 Tea meeting (4 people with a reservation + spectators)
13:30–14:00 Workshop Journeys of Tea (6 people with a reservation + spectators)
14:15–14:45 Tea meeting (4 people with a reservation + spectators)
15:00–15:30 Workshop Journeys of Tea (6 people with a reservation + spectators)
15:45–16:15 Lecture – Tea and the Tanabata holiday (no reservation needed)
