Two Cultures United by Tea

The Banqueting House, Whitehall
London, SW1A 2ER

Sunday 15 September 2013

Review by Michael Sullivan

This year has seen Japan400 commemorating the start of diplomatic, trading, scientific and cultural relations between Britain and Japan in 1613 when a ship, the Clove, arrived from England and started up a trading post in Hirado. Today, you can still view a gift from the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu to King James I in the Tower of London, a samurai suit, while one of King James I’s gifts to the Shogun, a telescope, has been lost over time. As part of Japan400 a replica of the telescope was made which will be given as a gift to the Japanese people, however before that it was possible to see this replica at a special event about how the UK and Japan are united by tea. This took place at the beautiful Banqueting House, created for James I in Whitehall; this building was constructed at the beginning of the seventeenth century and includes masterpieces of art by Sir Peter Paul Rubens.

On a rather typical cloudy and cold British day the Banqueting House slowly filled up with its lucky guests, those there early enough were fortunate  in being able to view the magnificent telescope as well as the preparations for the tea ceremony itself. Places for this event went rather quickly and this was demonstrated by how many people arrived to attend this prestigious event, so it was with rather bated breath that we wait for the proceedings to begin. We were welcomed to the tea ceremony by Nicolas Maclean, Co-Chairman of Japan400.

After Mr Maclean had made his introduction he handed over to HRH The Duke of Gloucester. His speech took us through the history of the Banqueting House, which included witnessing the execution of King Charles I, and then on to the object of affection for many Japanese and British people – tea.

We were introduced to the Japanese tea ceremony by Mr Akira Matsura, a direct descendent of the first Lord of Hirado, one of whose ancestors welcomed the first English sailors to walk on Japanese soil. Mr Matsura is Head of the Chinshin School of Tea Ceremony and was assisted by many others who had come from Japan just for this event. The guests eagerly craned their heads to catch a glimpse of Mr Matsura performing the tea ceremony, for those further back there were TV screens so that everyone could see the intricate ceremony. The first bowl of tea was presented to the souls of King James I and the brave English sailors by Nanko Suzuki from the Japanese School in London, while the second bowl was presented by Christopher Hyde of Chatham Grammar School for Boys and placed in front of a scroll portrait of Hoin Matsuru, the Lord of Hirado 400 years ago. This was followed by row after row of guests being first served sweets to help offset the bitter taste of the tea. The assistants were beautifully dressed in Kimonos and imparted a real feeling of being in Japan to the event.

As the sweets and tea was served we were entertained by music, first of all by talented singers; Robin Thompson (Sho), Danae Eleni (soprano), Jason James (alto), Oliver Hamilton (tenor) and David Entwistle (bass). After this we were able to listen to the beautiful music of Adam Spiers with a cello, Meg Hamilton with a viola, and Michael Spencer and Bogdan Vacarescu with violins. Finally, we listened to the surprising story of tea told through writings, diaries, histories and poetry, which was read alternately by Reiko Takashina, William Horsley and Jenny White. The event ended with some concluding remarks by Professor Timon Screech, Co-Chairman of Japan400.

Following the proceedings, guests were free to walk around and admire the tools used for the tea ceremony as well as some other beautiful items, including the telescope, and everyone was invited to the Undercroft. We were able to sample a number of different teas, as well as eat a very British scone, and reflect on the beautiful ceremony we had just seen.

Notes on speakers

Nicolas Maclean is Co-Chairman of Japan400. In 1976 he initiated the British prototype on which the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET) is modelled and was made Honorary Chairman of the William Adams Association, the Miura Anjinkai. He served as Vice-President of the Japan Society, Coordinator for the Sponsors of the Royal Academy’s “Great Japan Exhibition,” Chairman of the 1991 Japan Festival Education Committee and later Vice-Chairman and Chairman of the Japan Festival Education Trust. He was Vice-President of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs and is a Fellow Emeritus of the British Association of Japanese Studies.

HRH The Duke of Gloucester was elected a corporate member of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1972 and he is President of the Society of the Architect-Artists, he is also the patron of many organisations such as the Japan Society.

Professor Timon Screech, Co-Chairman of Japan400. He is a permanent Visiting Professor at Tama Art University, Tokyo, and has published some dozen books on Edo visual culture. He is currently working on the history of a ship of the English East India Company which left for Japan in 1615, and will be entitled The Cargo of the “New Year’s Gift.”