Introduction of Japanese tea ceremony

When starting tea ceremony, the first thing you learn is how to sit, stand and make a bow in a beautiful posture.

Having a beautiful posture is a manner and a care for other people. And it is easier and smoother to move (with kimono) in a good posture. It calms your mind and helps to have a deep breathing.

Bow is a way of showing respect to others. 

Originally it was a gesture of showing you have no hostility by offering your neck. 

There are many occasions to make a bow in Japan : as a greeting, expressing appreciation or apology, religious bow, sports bow, performance bow, from employees to customers ...

There are three levels of bowing up to how much you bend your waist. (both when sitting and standing)

The most casual bow is the "礼 rei" / "会釈 eshaku" bow (about 15 degree).

The regular bow is the "拝 hai" / "敬礼 keirei" bow (about 30 degree).

The most polite bow is the "最敬礼 saikeirei" bow (about 45 degree).

In tea ceremony, we use the term, "真 shin"(formal), "行 gyo"(semiformal), "草 so"(informal).

And each level of bow is used for the proper situation.

"正座 seiza" (literally means "proper sitting") is the one of traditional formal ways of sitting in Japan. It is a formal way of sitting in Japanese tea ceremony as well.

It's said that seiza hasn't always the proper style in tea ceremony in the history and it became a custom as a formal way of sitting on Tatami floor around Meiji period.

It is physically hard for foreigners and an increasing number of Japansse to sit in seiza style for a long time until you get used to it. Men are allowed to sit in cross-legs style as a guest. There is "立礼 Ryurei" style which is performed with tables and chairs instead of sitting on Tatami for making tea ceremony more approachable.

For me seiza is a part of traditional Japanese tea culture. You can naturally concentrate in seiza style. In zen (Buddhism), seiza is one of  "座禅 zazen" (zen meditation). You can meditate as sitting in seiza but you can also stand up instantly and be back to the daily life.

Learning the forms is the first step. Then you wouldn't be so conscious about the forms as repeating and getting used to them. It means you acquire the forms. And you learn how to ignore(not to persist) the things you have learnt next. The most important fact is the spirit of harmony : to enjoy the moment of having tea with someone.

※To sit seiza-style, one must first be kneeling on the floor, folding one's legs underneath one's thighs, while resting the buttocks on the heels. The ankles are turned outward as the tops of the feet are lowered so that, in a slight "V" shape, the tops of the feet are flat on the floor and big toes sometimes are overlapped, and the buttocks are finally lowered all the way down. Depending on the circumstances, the hands are folded modestly in the lap, or are placed palm down on the upper thighs with the fingers close together, or are placed on the floor next to the hips, with the knuckles rounded and touching the floor. The back is kept straight, though not unnaturally stiff. Traditionally, women sit with the knees together while men separate them slightly. 

※How to stand up:

1. Sit in Seiza style.(Both hands are on the knees softly.)  2. Raise the heels of the feet upward.(The weight of the body is sifted to the balls of the toes.) 3. Raise the right knee. 4. As standing up, the hands are put down.

☆〔vocabulary〕姿勢 shisei (posture), お辞儀 ojigi (bow), 正座 seiza, 所作shosa (the way you move), 振る舞い furumai (behavior),