WAGASHI / 和菓子:
THE ART OF JAPANESE SWEETS

Wagashi are traditional Japanese sweets typically enjoyed in combination with a cup of green tea. They are made in a wide variety of shapes and consistencies and with diverse ingredients and preparation methods. Some are popular across the country and throughout the year while others are only available regionally or seasonally. For the demonstration at Cranbrook, certified wagashi expert Toshiko Sugii Steffes will create a variety of wagashi, including the most traditional type, namagashi. Made of rice flour and a sweet bean paste filling, and delicately shaped by hand to reflect the season, namagashi traditionally are served at tea ceremonies.

The demonstration also will include an introduction to houji-tea presented by Takatomo Katagi. Katagi is a certified tea master and the seventh head of Katagi Kouka En, an organic green tea farm located in Asamiya, Shiga Prefecture. Following the demonstration, participants will sample both the wagashi and the houji-tea. Houji-tea also will be available for purchase, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research.

IKEBANA / 生け花:
THE ART OF JAPANESE FLORAL ARRANGEMENT

Ikebana (which means "arranging flowers" or "making flowers alive") is the Japanese art of floral arrangement. The tradition goes back to the seventh century when floral offerings were made at altars and reached its first zenith in the sixteenth century under the influence of Buddhist tea masters. There now are over 1,000 different types of schools of ikebana throughout the world today. A school is normally headed by an iemoto and often passed down within a family from one generation to the next. The demonstration at Cranbrook will feature three experts practicing three different schools. These include the oldest school, ikenobō, which marks its beginnings from the construction of the Rokkaku-dō, the second oldest Buddhist temple in Japan.

Ikebana International is a worldwide organization founded in Tokyo, Japan, in 1956, by the late Ellen Gordon Allen. Its members are dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and friendship between Japan and other countries through ikebana and other related arts of Japan. 

For more information on Ikebana International Detroit Chapter 85, please visit their website: www.ikebanadetroit.org/.

CHANOYU / 茶の湯:
THE ART OF THE JAPANESE TEA CEREMONY

The Japanese tea ceremony, chanoyu (literally “hot water for tea”), is a ritualized, secular practice of hosting and serving guests a bowl of tea. 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 Cranbrook’s Frank Lloyd Wright-designed 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 demonstrations, the tea practitioners, in elegant kimono, will prepare and serve the ceremonial tea and traditional wagashi sweets. Narration introducing the ceremony and commentary on the intricacies of its many steps will accompany the presentation. The tea ceremony does not include a tour of Smith House.