Interviews

1. Introduction to the Tea Ceremony (Japanese)

2. Featured in a movie: "Japanese War Bride" (Japanese)

3. Tea at the San Francisco Peace Treaty (Japanese)

4. Passing on the motto of the Way of Tea into the next generation (Japanese)

5. The hand-made Tea house (Japanese)

6. Recognition as a National Living Treasure (Japanese)

Sosei Matsumoto

(1916-2019) Master of chado.

Passing on the motto of the Way of Tea into the next generation (Japanese)

(Japanese) Tea isn't just about preparing tea and drinking it. For one cup of tea, all of the preparations must be done by yourself. You need to pump the water, start the fire, boil the water, and make sure everything is clean. The first cup prepared must be offered to Gods. Then, you offer one to your counterpart, and have your own drink as well. So there is this feeling of purity that is the motto of the Tea Ceremony—"wakei-seijaku". Of course, back in the day, the Way of Tea was such a novelty that only the wealthy can participate in. After the war, our daily lives have moved further and further way from nature, but in the Tea Ceremony, everything is in relation to nature. Everything is hand-made with care. You arrange the flowers picked form the field with respect to nature. You give your thanks to the preparers—the most important thing is "appreciation"—yes, appreciation. I think that such a wonderful Japanese cultural tradition is exactly what we need in the world today, a noisy world in constant discussion about tsunamis and earthquakes, or murders and armed robberies. Perhaps the Way of Tea is more important now than ever. So that's how I feel, and I want to pass this on to the younger folks, the next generation, as much as I can, and I think it will be realized.

tea ceremony

Date: December 19, 2005

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Nancy Araki

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

Sosei Matsumoto was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 21, 1916, but grew up both in Japan and in Los Angeles, California, where she spent her teenage years. She began studying Chado, or the way of tea, and moved to Kyoto, Japan to train in the Urasenke School of Chado under its grand masters. After the war, she returned to the United States with interest in popularizing tea in America. This proved difficult at first, as the Japanese American community was still struggling from experiences of World War II and internment. However, her knowledge and dedication helped to gain interest and she has been considered the authority for Chado in the United States and has appeared in exhibitions, in film and TV. She has taught over 3000 students, including about 300 who have gone on to teach Chado themselves.

She has received several honors, including the highest teaching certificate, giving her the title of Meiyo Shan (Honored Master) from the Urasenke School of Chado, the Fifth Order of the Merit (The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Rays) from the Emperor of Japan in November 1990 for her lifelong service to preserving Japanese culture, and the prestigious U.S. National Heritage Fellowship in 1994 – awarded to the nation’s most accomplished artists who have worked to preserve, shape and share cultural traditions.

She passed away in February 2019 at age 103. (March 2019)