Kuragano and the tea ceremony

On sunday just past i went on a guided walking tour of Kuragano with my friends Sarah, Megan and Kevin. Kuragano is a nearby town with lots of historic shrines and tombs situated amidst quaint japanese suburbia, which provided a surprisingly harmonious contrast. our guides were informative locals and did a good job filling us in on all the interesting historic landmarks. i was glad to have had them with us as i probably wouldn't have looked twice at some of the highlights. for instance, we came across a small hill which rose dramatically from the centre of a harvested rice patty. the hill, we discovered, was actually a gigantic tomb built for a prominant local leader at a time when the Kuragano area was at its economic height. apparantly, these kinds of tombs are dotted throughout japan in the thousands and were a common practise for prosperous communities as a sign of respect and show of stature for deceased dignitaries. the tomb was covered in autumn tinged trees and on closer look the colours were amazing. Australian trees have nothing in comparison to the vibracy of these colours: bight red, yellow and orange - beautiful!

After treking around the town for a while our guides took us to a small house where we were treated to a traditional japanese tea ceremony. it was a sort of awkward yet beautiful ceremony. awkward in that i had never felt like such an ignornant, inelegant foreigner in all my life; and beautiful because it was a truely japanese experience. a tea ceremony is a refined, highly ritualised, reflective procedure of specialised movements and behaviour. we somehow bumbled our way into the small, austere room, knelt on the tatami mats (which made our legs very sore!!) and watched it all unfold. our tea master was dressed in a kimono and was very friendly and welcoming. she explained the rituals of pouring and receiving the tea and even allowed us to take turns making the tea.
i had a really enjoyable, relaxing day and when i got home that evening, felt very content and refreshed. for all the pretty photos (and there are lots), look here.