Global Village is one of the most popular annual student events at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law; during Global Village, international students showcase and share their unique culture and heritages by preparing food, dressing in costume, and presenting activities that allow the Northwestern Law community to experience their culture. I was part of the Global Village Japanese student group; my contribution was to demonstrate a virtual Japanese Tea ceremony. Other members of the Japanese student group hosted additional activities, including cooking Japanese-style pancakes (Okonomiyaki), Sake tasting, and demonstrating martial arts.

When I was a kid, I always accompanied my mother to attend a traditional tea ceremony at my great aunt’s tearoom. My great aunt taught me two important things: first, that the tea ceremony is not only about preparing tea, but also allows guests in the tearoom to “feel the seasons.” Second, each tea ceremony has its own theme (Shuko), such as a season, a particular guest, or event.

Global Village was my first experience deciding the theme of the tea ceremony and selecting the tea bowl, tea utensils, and green tea itself. Usually, a tea ceremony has only one theme, but I decided to select two themes – “Spring Has Come” and “East meets West.” Because Northwestern Law students and their families have not been able to go out and feel the four seasons during the Covid-19 pandemic, I selected a green tea named “Hatsu Mukashi” because it is the first pick of the Spring.

Related to the “East meets West” theme, I chose tea utensils that represent a cultural fusion between eastern and western cultures. For the tea bowl, I decided to use the Hakuji Tea Bowl (Chawan) from Portland, Oregon, and for the teas container, I used the Kutani Tea Container (Cha-ire) from Saga, Japan. The tea bowl was made by an American female artist who used a Japanese technique for making white porcelain. The tea container was made by a Japanese workshop and painted with Miffy and Japanese Chrysanthemum designs.

The Japanese student group had a large number of virtual audience members at the Global Village event; the tea ceremony demonstration was popular!  As host, I had the opportunity to share the theme and meaning of each tea utensil with the participants. I also had a chance to explain the difference between regular green tea and green tea for the tea ceremony. I was thrilled to share the evening with a lot of my MSL classmates and other students from the law school; I received very positive feedback from them. I hope to have a chance to demonstrate an in-person tea ceremony with my MSL peers in the future.