��Ƶ Japan Outreach Program announces fall cultural workshops

Proper applications of the tea bowl, bamboo whisk and spoon to prepare green tea will be explained over the next few months at the ��Ƶ Japan Outreach Program-sponsored Japanese tea ceremony workshops. (Photo by Beth Wynn)

STARKVILLE, Miss.—The Japan Outreach Program at Mississippi State again is sponsoring workshops on Japanese culture.

To begin next week, sessions taking place over a three-month period on the Japanese tea ceremony and Japanese calligraphy are free and open to all in Room 210 of the university’s Lloyd-Ricks-Watson Building.

Tea ceremony sessions during September are scheduled for Monday [the 14th] and the 29th, followed by Oct. 12 and 27 and Nov. 2 and 10.

Sessions at the introductory level will take place from 1:30-3 p.m. each day; at the experienced level, 3-4:30 p.m. Participants at both levels will learn manners of a guest and the proper way to drink tea. The experienced-level session also will involve the making of green tea.

All calligraphy sessions will be held 1:30-3 p.m. Sept. 22, Oct. 19 and 26, and Nov. 3.

Advance registration is not required, said Chieko Iwata, ��Ƶ Japan outreach coordinator.

Iwata will guide the classes, both of which are designed to provide a relaxing and culturally enriching experience. While registration is unnecessary, she said participants whose personal schedules might involve time restrictions are encouraged to contact her at 662-325-0918 or ci129@msstate.edu to discuss their situations.

“Calligraphy workshop participants will calmly concentrate as they learn to write Japanese characters with an ink brush, and those who participate in the tea ceremony workshops will experience harmonious tranquility and peace of mind while making a cup of tea for a guest and drinking a bowl of green tea the host made only for him or her,” Iwata explained.

She also said her demonstrations will correspond to the participants’ levels of experience and interest.

The Japan Outreach Program is a collaboration among ��Ƶ’s School of Human Sciences and the New York-based Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership and Laurasian Institution in Seattle, Washington. It seeks to promote awareness and appreciation of the island nation’s culture through exchanges at the K-higher education student levels, as well as with community organizations and the general public. For more, see or facebook.com/��ƵJapanOutreach.

��Ƶ is Mississippi’s flagship research university, available online at .

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