http://www.cbcj.or.jp/eng/jcn/dec2007.htm#8


CATHOLIC MASS AND JAPANESE TEA CEREMONY MEET
Catholic Weekly, November 25, 2007


At the former St. Francis Xavier Cathedral of Kyoto, now removed to Meiji-Mura, an open-air museum for preserving architecture of the Meiji Era, the fourteenth-generation grand master of the Omotesenke school of tea, Jimyosai, performed a ritualistic offering of tea during a Mass celebrated Nov. 6 by Fr. Masachika Terada, pastor of the Chikaramachi Church of the Nagoya Diocese. Twenty-five members of the church choir sang Gregorian chants and about 350 members from the Omotesenke Domonkai, an association of tea ceremony practitioners, participated.

The idea of a tea offering during a Mass was suggested by the Aichi branch of the Omotesenke Domonkai for the branch's 40th anniversary. A curator of Meiji-Mura happened to know Fr. Terada, as the priest had once approached him for advice on the repair of an old organ on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his church. The curator passed the Domonkai's idea to Fr. Terada, who secured permission from the diocese based upon the Domomkai's "desire to present their sentiments to God."

Grand Master Jimyosai performs the tea ceremony at many religious places, such as Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, but this was the first time he had done so at a Catholic Mass. He used a new tea bowl marked with a silver cross. The tea ceremony followed the homily.

In his homily, Fr. Terada referred to the history of relations between Catholicism and the tea culture. Tea devotees accepted missionaries warmly, starting with St. Francis Xavier. A successful merchant and a tea devotee, Ryokei Hibiya in Sakai, Wakayama prefecture, opened up his house for use as a church. He took care of a sick priest, Luis de Almeida, and to celebrate his own baptism and the recovery of Fr. Almeida he performed a tea ceremony, which he finished with a thanksgiving prayer to Deus (God in Portuguese). Fr. Terada also introduced the "Rikyu Shichitetsu, seven sages of Rikyu's followers." Rikyu was the founder of the Sen family and the Omotesenke tea ceremony. Five of the seven were Kirishitan Daimyo, Christian feudal lords, inlcuding the famous Takayama Ukon.

Fr. Terada closed his sermon by saying, "Catholicism and tea culture experienced an historic encounter. We share virtues of harmony, mutual respect, purity, and stillness. Let us grasp how important it is today to live mercifully for neighbors and guests. May God's grace help us to live o these virtues so that we may become ourselves living signs to the world."

Later Fr. Terada reflected, "The Mass went well. Attendees filled the cathedral and all listened attentively to the liturgy and the ceremony. We received favorable comments like, 'It was quite new to me. Wonderful,' and, 'It was very good to know about the connections of Ukon or Rikyu with Catholicism.'"