{"id":59279,"date":"2020-03-07T22:00:42","date_gmt":"2020-03-07T13:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=59279"},"modified":"2024-04-11T14:00:44","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T05:00:44","slug":"tea-ceremony-samurai-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/tea-ceremony-samurai-town\/","title":{"rendered":"Tea Ceremony in the Izumi Samurai Town"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Izumi (Kagoshima prefecture<\/strong>)<\/a> is a city with many surprises. After my experience staying in a traditional rural house <\/a><\/strong>and seeing the Izumi’s cranes<\/strong><\/a>, it was time to explore the samurai town. It was a complete immersion in Japanese culture: I took part in a Japanese tea ceremony<\/strong> inside of a traditional samurai residence <\/strong>while wearing a kimon<\/span>o<\/strong><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Samurai Quarter of Izumi <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Izumi is a border city between prefectures and it was once a strategic geographical location for sea and land transportation. For this reason, Izumi maintained a samurai town<\/strong> which was used for managing the regions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Today, there are 150 samurai residences<\/strong> that remain. The vast majority are private residences, but there are two houses open for visitors. Since the government designated Izumi as an Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings in Japan<\/em>, there are strict rules for people living there governing changes to the physical appearance of houses, gardens and trees. The result? We are able to virtually travel back 400 years ago<\/strong> to see how the structures were like back then. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Japanese Tea Ceremony with Kimono<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We began our journey through time by choosing a kimono<\/strong>. The people in charge of this experience are members of the Izumi Kimono Association<\/strong>. When I arrived, two friendly women dressed in kimono were waiting for me. They let me choose the one I liked the most, then they dressed me in it, making me feel like I had become a real Japanese person. At the end of this experience, surprisingly, they let me keep the kimono, obi and the tabi socks!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After I got dressed, I walked towards the samurai residential area, just a 2-minute walk. The street had an exquisite beauty. I had never seen such an authentic traditional Japanese area. We went to Saisho’s residence<\/strong> open to the public for our second event: a Japanese tea ceremony<\/strong> in one of the rooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When I entered the house, I couldn’t believe it. It really felt like I was going back in time<\/strong>! There was near silence and the only sound I could hear was a Japanese instrument played gently. As I kept walking, I discovered the room where I was going to do the tea ceremony. There was a lady playing the koto<\/em> (the Japanese harp) and the tea ceremony teacher<\/strong>, both of whom were wearing a kimono. With all these elements, I felt I was in a very special atmosphere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you participate in tea ceremony, you must follow some rules. But don’t worry, throughout the tea ceremony they explained the procedures I had to follow. After the ceremony, the lady playing the koto gave me an opportunity to play a song <\/strong>with the instrument and she patiently explained to me how it was played.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After that, I toured the house and learned a little about samurai life. What amazed me the most was an underground tunnel<\/strong> that was used for evacuating children and women if there was any immediate danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Experience Information<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n