News

East meets West
Lexington's own authentic Japanese tea room opens

By STACEY GRIJALVA

Washington and Lee University unveiled its authentic tea room to the public last Saturday.

Tea Master Larry Tiscornia performs a traditional tea ceremony.

This traditional tea room, made by a third-generation Japanese carpenter with great attention to detail, may seem out of place on a campus that struggles with diversifying its WASP-dominant culture.

But Janet Ikeda, associate dean at W&L, says that is exactly why the university and the Rockbridge area needed a tea room.

"The basic premise is how to take people out of their comfort zone," she said. "[This is] how to raise levels of awareness and sensitivity and understanding and also learn something new at the same time."

Ikeda, who has taught a W&L class on food and tea in Japan for the past seven years, was the force behind the unusual classroom. The tea room is the only functional one at a university in Virginia.

The grand opening involved tea masters from across the country, W&L students and a member of the Japanese embassy.

Guests were quiet as they walked from the lighted walkway and sat in front of a small room supported by rocks.

The "Tea Gala" presented the six-mat classroom to the public and involved a tea ceremony, complete with a sweet and highly-caffeinated Japanese green tea.

A volunteer from the audience climbed into the raised tea room and experienced an authentic tea ceremony, while more than 15 others watched.

"For me, it was a moment when you slow down for a bit and you shut out the rigors of life," said law professor Sally Wiant.

The serenity of the ritual is often a very good stress reliever, said Boston tea master Glenn Pereira.

"The tea room was a stroke of good luck," Ikeda said. "It crossed my mind that it would be nice to have a tea room, but there are very few universities in the United States that have a tea room."

"I encourage students who would only take one art class to take the class because tea can teach them so much about Japan," said Joan O’Mara, art professor at W&L.

Ikeda's class teaches appreciation for other cultures, attention to detail and discipline.

Traditionally, hosts and guests sit Japanese style, with their legs tucked under for hours, said Ikeda. Before this school year, students learned the ceremony at a table while sitting on chairs. Now, they sit Japanese style on the mats for as long as they can during the hour and a half lab.

"After the first cultural lab, it's kind of funny -- they sort of walked out of the Watson Pavilion limping as if they had just gone through this ordeal,” said Ikeda. Now, they come in and do warm-up yoga exercises to become more limber, she said.

As part of the initiative to raise awareness, W&L has received a grant for an outreach program to local children. They’ve developed "Tea in a Box," which includes visits to elementary schools. The university students share with the children a simple tea service through storytelling and examples.

In a few months, schools as well as the general public will be able to schedule visits to the tea room for demonstrations taught by the current Japanese food and tea class at least once a month.

Pereira hopes that the tea room will have a lasting impact on visitors as well as students. "You take what you learn and incorporate it into everyday life to appreciate each and every moment."