Although I have an hour and forty minutes in between the end of Japanese and the start of Tea Ceremony, I do like to pretend that it's only a brief interval and thus requires me to be quick and decisive in my actions. Makes it a bit more exciting, though how one leisurely reads quickly and decisively is something of a tricky idea. Tea Ceremony this week was a bit different; we learned about arranging flowers for the tea room. This is called 茶花/chabana, which differs from normal flower arrangement (生け花/ikebana), though as I've not studied the latter I'm not sure exactly how... Chabana is apparently a lot more simple and involves putting only a few flowers together in a pot rather than getting lots and tying them up in knots.
As a result of the flower arrangement the ceremony proper was faster paced than usual, but we managed it alright. This week's sweets were called 菊/kiku, and looked a bit like those biscuits that are white and pink, with a sprinkly kind of texture on top (and whose name I obviously can't remember). I also learned about usage of Japanese pipes, though I did not inhale.
Nothing too special to speak of in Classical Japanese, though it's probably the lesson where I feel most able and most appreciated. Of course, the ability part is largely due to having learned it before, but seeing it taught in a different way (as I always mention) often allows me to remember things that were a great challenge before much more easily. I quite like the idea that if I learned C.J. well enough I could say that I speak three languages, two living, one dead.
The evening flowed by slow and mellow, but there was a house meeting in which various sundry matters were discussed... I think the most relevant one is that there's a party coming up on the 22nd. Priorities - we has them.
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| Japanese Snacks Vol. 5 - Potato Croquettes: Mashed potato and mixed vegetables, presumably fried in breadcrumbs. "More-ish" |
