Tea Ceremony Demonstration – Omote Senke

MTC: Polsky Theatre

Tea Ceremony Demonstration – Omote Senke

Demonstrated by Yoko Hiraoka

Attendees will have the opportunity to witness, and several attendees will have the opportunity to participate in, a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony.

The Tea Master who will perform this beautiful and special ceremony is Ms. Yoko Hiraoka who is a native of Kyoto, Japan and who currently resides in Colorado. Ms. Hiraoko will perform the Tea Ceremony dressed in a formal Kimono. Attendees will all have the opportunity to learn about the history and practice of the Tea Ceremony.

This is a special opportunity to see the traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony performed by a Japanese Tea Master whose training started in Kyoto as a young child.

Yoko Hiraoka began her study of the Japanese Tea Ceremony at the age of 14 in the Ura-senke style, later moving to the Omote-senke tradition in Kyoto Japan. Her core training took place in Shõgaku-ji Temple in Hyogo prefecture. She is an Omote-senke licensed teacher with the tea name: ‘Sôrei’, meaning ‘Clear Awareness’.

She now teaches tea from her home in Colorado where she has a traditional tea garden and teahouse named ‘Busshin-an’ (House of Buddha’s Heart). She is a senior master performer/teacher of classical Koto, Biwa, and Shamisen music.