Chanoyu Tea Ceremony by the Japan Society of Detroit Women’s Club
$35 for the Tea Ceremony at the Frank Lloyd Wright Smith House
Please meet at the West Entrance of Cranbrook Institute of Science. Guests will travel by bus to Frank Lloyd Wright Smith House for the Tea Ceremony.
Seating is limited. Tickets must be purchased in advance online.
Advance ticket sales close Friday, August 24, 2018, at 12:00pm.
Join the Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research as we explore the history of Japanese tea culture, celebrating the ongoing revitalization of the Cranbrook Japanese Garden and the long connection between Frank Lloyd Wright, the Smith family, and Japan.
The Japanese tea ceremony, chanoyu (literally “hot water for tea”), is a ritualized, secular practice of hosting and serving guests. The act of preparing and drinking matcha, the powdered green tea, is a choreographed art requiring years of study to master. The centuries-old ceremony is intimate, usually in a quiet setting, surrounded by a garden where one can focus on the functional objects used in the ceremony and the nature around them. For the ceremonies in the Smith House, guests will be seated on the sheltered banquette in the living room with a view of the pond and trees providing a serene, natural background. Following the demonstration, the tea practitioners, in elegant kimono, will prepare and then serve the ceremonial tea and traditional sweets. Narration introducing the ceremony and commentary on the intricacies of its many steps will accompany the presentation.
Frank Lloyd Wright was introduced to Japanese art and architecture in Chicago in the late 19th century through prints and the 1893 World’s Fair, and his early attraction and interest in Japanese design would continue throughout his long career. Wright’s organic architecture took lessons from his observations about Japanese architecture’s relationship to nature. First visiting the country in 1905 and in residence there between 1916 and 1922, Wright built a handful of structures in Japan and amassed a large collection of Japanese art: prints, screens, scrolls, sculptures, textiles, and ceramics. These objects would be woven into the architect’s own Wisconsin home, Taliesin.
Wright’s love of Japan often extended into his clients’ lives, and Melvyn and Sara Smith became interested in Japanese culture after building their small Usonian-style Wright house in 1950. The Smiths hosted many Japanese visitors to the home, and received many small tokens of appreciation in the form of Japanese ceramics and prints.
JAPANESE TEA GARDENS AND TEA HOUSES: FROM JAPAN TO FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT AND TODAY
This intimate Japanese tea ceremony is offered in conjunction with a free lecture on Wright and his relationship with Japanese art and design by Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research Collections Fellow Kevin Adkisson, followed by a presentation by Japanese horticulturalist Chisato Takeuchi titled The Japanese Tea Garden – The First Step to Tea. Following her presentation on Japanese tea gardens, including their design, features, and role in the tea ceremony, Ms. Takeuchi will demonstrate the techniques involved in creating karesansui, a Japanese dry landscape garden.
To learn more and register for the free lecture and presentation, please click here. Paid reservations are required for the Tea Ceremony and may be made through the REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT button below.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Please meet at the West Entrance of Cranbrook Institute of Science fifteen minutes before your scheduled tea time to board the bus for the Frank Lloyd Wright Smith House. Visitors may not use personal vehicles to reach Smith House. Guests will be asked to remove their shoes and wear a pair of slippers, which will be provided at the house.
Cranbrook Institute of Science is located at 39221 Woodward Avenue in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Free parking is available in the Institute’s parking deck.
For more information, please contact the Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research at 248.645.3307.
PHOTO CREDITS (FROM TOP TO BOTTOM)
Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect. Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan. Vintage Postcard, circa 1923 (detail).
Vintage Photograph of Melvyn and Sara Smith in yard of their home, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Smith House. Smith House Collection, Cranbrook Archives, Gift of The Towbes Foundation and Anne Smith Towbes; Courtesy of the Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research.