Tame-san

The other night after I had gotten back from the Aikido seminar, I turned on my phone and realized I had missed two phone calls from Nishijima Sensei. Nishijima Sensei was a PE teacher at Sakurai High School (school I teach at), but was sent to another school in the area (which happens every 5 to 10 years usually for teachers in Japan). He was one of the first people I met, and one of my favorites. He was no average PE teacher, but used to wrestle professionally and was one win away from representing Japan in the summer olympics. When he worked at Sakurai, we would talk everyday, and we had built a strong relationship. It had been a while since we talked, so I knew his calls were about something important.

To be honest, I was a little hesitant to call and get caught up with something because I just wanted to relax and clean my apartment. But of course, I returned the call. He picked up and told me that he had someone he wanted me to meet; a tea man. Because it was a little late on Sunday night, he hung up the phone to see if this meeting could take place. I was very surprised with which the urgency Nishijima Sensei spoke, and thought it must be really important. He called back assuring me it was OK, and I was on the next train to his town of Namerikawa about 20 minutes away on train.

On the train I thought about how nice it would be to relax and go to bed early. I had no idea what I was getting myself into going across the region to talk with a tea man. But I have a great interest in Japanese tea ceremony, and realized that everytime I keep my eyes open for something unexpected I am approached by amazing surprises, and when I go to sleep early I usually miss them. I was trying to imagine what this man would look like. My image was of a slight man, peaceful, but very calm, composed, disciplined ... perhaps a little strict. I was worried about what I had worn, and the effect of my limited Japanese. But oh well, I was on my way.

Nishijima Sensei picked me up from the station and we headed to his house towards the mountains. We got out into the hot summer air, and walked over to his friends' house where the tea man was staying.

I walked into the house into a whirlwind of small kids yelling and playing with toys to their heart's extent. I met Nishijima Sensei's wife, and son who is 2 years old, and two other couples with kids who were having dinner. I met them, and Nishijima Sensei told me to sit and wait for a few moments. I played around with the kids and talked casually with the other adults, and then a man walked in.

He was built like an absolute solid stump or wine barrel and had a completely bald head that wrinkled as it met his neck in the back, and a long grey/black goatee protruding from his chin. His build was so particular, but I don't really know what name to give it. Perhaps an appropriate image comes to mind of Oddjob from James Bond. But he was about 5'5", wore traditional summer clothing, and had a great peaceful emminence about him.

Nishijima Sensei said "This is Tame-san, the tea man." When we shook hands, he had a very gentle grip and gave a very nice "nice to meet you" in English, while making eye contact the whole time. He did not fit my previous image at all. He walked away to take care of something, and Nishijima Sensei started spraying bug repellent on my bare arms. He then said, "It's time, let's go" and we walked outside into the night air, Nishijima Sensei, Tame-san, and I. We walked to the front of the drive way where there was a small tea room made of wood. I couldn't believe this house had a tea room in front just like that, and entered through the characteristically very small entrance inside.

This tea room was very clearly hand made recently, and I mean this in the best of ways. It had all the necessary parts to a tea room, like the very small tea room itself with a tatami mat, a tokonoma, which is a space for pieces of art, which in this case was a small lantern, a vase with a flower, and a strange unopened scroll. Also there was a very interesting window that was circular in shape with wooden designs in it representing a rising/setting sun with clouds, and water at the bottom. Then there was the small area where tea was prepared, with the needed tools and pot to boil water. That is where Tame-san sat while Nishijima Sensei and I sat in the guest tea room.

I was trying to think of something interesting to say about the room or tea ceremony, but Tame-san wasted no time (though certainly not rushed) and began talking. He started talking about the dichotomy humans create between "correct" and "incorrect" ( tadashii and tadashikunai). Society deems things correct or incorrect, right and wrong, good and bad, but there are two drawbacks to this categorization. First, it can be very aversive. People who are subjected to this phenomenon of "right" and "wrong" since birth have little choice but to follow suit until they realize that they do not have to believe in such a system, and decide to follow something else. People are initiatlly unnecessarily chained to this concept, and it's effects run the gamut of undesirable conditions. Secondly, Society's concept of "correct" and "incorrect" is only applicable to the agent that decides it. This concept is inherently arbitrary and subjective, thus not accurate to all. Tame-san brought up the question of what we should do when we confront something that is "incorrect" or "wrong" or "bad". Well, he smiled and said we should do nothing. If a thief wants to steal, then let him steal. Say "OK! Here you go!", and then Tame-san laughed some more. Tame-san commented on how dangerous and unfair it is to subject people to a rule system without asking if that's what they want to do. Or reprimanding people without giving explanations of why. We must learn for ourselves. We are experiencing our own particular individual reality and life. That is most beautiful. This is the purpose of Japanese disciplines and art forms, and of life: to learn for ourselves.

Certainly this is a complicated subject with no one answer, but here I hope to represent Tame-san's character (though of course, the conversation was in Japanese so my explanations are solely based on my limited undersanding ... nanto naku). After this first conversation, I've never experienced someone like Tame-san before. I've seen so many videos, and read so many books about these characters who seem to genuinely embrace Zen philosophies. He looked you in the eyes honestly and squarely, he listened when someone spoke, spoke with a softness, and laughed from his belly uncontrollably. I couldn't believe the person I was sitting in front of. This is the center of much of my interest in Japan. I'm so elated that he wasn't the strict image I had before.

Tame-san soon explained his current situation. He travels around, serving tea in society in his personal expression of cha no yu (freestyle as opposed to the strict discipline of other formalized tea schools of sado like omotoseneke and urasenke which he was apart of for many years before). Most of the time, he sleeps in the woods. He said that when he "goes home" to the woods after being away, he says tadaima ("I'm home") by howling to all the animals. At that point, he demonstrated his howl before Nishijima Sensei and I, which was as honest as could be. It was extremely loud and went on much longer than 99% of people would ever try to demonstrate a howl. Perhaps 99% of people would be very embarrassed or uncomfortable doing such a thing in front of a stranger (including me) but not Tame-san.

Do you think he's crazy?

All the while through these conversations, Tame-san had been preparing some tea for us. This is the way his tea ceremony goes. A small group sits together, talks, or doesn't talk as it comes naturally while he prepares tea, and then we drink it together. This is starkly different that the official disciplines of tea where every movement is preordained and abided by. I completely forgot what the name for the tea he served was called, but it certainly wasn't regular green tea most people are accustomed to drinking, and it was different from matcha, which is what I usually assumed was used in tea ceremony. He served us a couple different kinds of tea. All of which had the most wonderful quality I have ever tasted. Here is no place to go over the movements and happenings of all tea ceremony, but in this case, he would make the tea, pour a small amount into a bowl (which he made), and I would drink a few sips, and then pass it to Nishijima Sensei. One should empty onself so as to fully experience the tea. When I took a small sip, the warm and full flavor seemed to envelop the inside my mouth (is that possible?). Tame-san said after he takes a sip, the whole world through his eyes change, and gave a look as if it had been mushroom tea instead of green tea. This is a man searching for honesty. To him, it comes in a natural and informal fashion, peacefully and best expressed in joy.

I asked some questions about his past, and how he maintains such a lifestyle, but to be honest I don't remember exactly the answers he gave, and I didn't ask every possible question about such things. Instead, we enjoyed each other's company, having the experience we were having.

One important detail that I asked was, "Where do you sleep? Do you have a tent?" He answered, "I sleep right there." And pointed to where I was sitting. We were all a bit confused.

"I drive to where I want to sleep, park the truck, and sleep right there on that tatami mat."

"This is built on a truck." He began laughing roarously.

WHAT!?!?!?!?

I took a good look around to realize that, this tea room Tame-san had built was on the bed of a truck.

!!!

I don't care if he's enlightened, or crazy, or what. But that is the coolest thing I have ever seen.

Hey Dojo Rat! How about a traveling saloon???

Tame-san and Nishijima Sensei's friend came to join us, and we talked about the things Tame-san had in his truck, as well as other strange Zen philosophies. I couldn't believe this grouping of people. Tame-san, this stout bearded zen traveling tea man. Nishijima-Sensei, a very small but incredibly cut professional wrestler from Tokyo who looked more military than anything else and who was now a high school PE teacher in small-town Toyama. Their friend who looked more like a slightly built geeky science teacher. And then me, a strange blonde gaijin. All of us united, talking and laughing. All kindred spirits. All with our each distinct manifestation of the same desire for an interesting happiness.

When I returned home on the train, I've never felt more unsure if I was dreaming or not. This is one of the strangest experiences I have ever had.

I have a book recommendation for anyone interested in Japanese tea ceremony and Japanese culture. In fact, of all the wide variety of books I have read about Japanese culture, this is number one:

"the Book of Tea" by Kakuzo Okakura.

Thoughts On Etiquette in Japanese Culture

You're lucky tonight because they're not just mine, but also those of Inazo Nitobe. Mr. Nitobe was unarguably one of the best writers on Japanese culture, and is most famous for his book, "Bushido: the Soul of Japan." He was born into an old samurai family in 1862 in northern Japan. Though his father and grandfather died early on in Mr. Nitobe's life, he was raised by his mother and uncle, and was always reminded of the honor his heritage was known by. His life would be one of international education and deep study. Universities that Mr. Nitobe studied and taught at were: Sapporo Agricultural School, Tokyo Imperial University, Johns Hopkins University, an agricultural school in Germany, University of Halle, Kyoto Imperial University, and the First National College in Tokyo. This does not include the list of schools where he guest lectured, and does not include the many groups and councils he was part of, or the essays and books that he published.

What we are dealing with here is someone from the highest calibur of education the world could offer in his time, as well as someone from an old samurai family that would greatly effect the morals and philosophies of the worldly thinker. I think Mr. Nitobe's writing is absolutley beautiful and amazingly expressive of both emotion and factual detail. I think everyone concerned with the origins and meanings of martial arts should read his book, "Bushido: the Soul of Japan." However, I'm not sure everyone would enjoy it. The book is written in a scholarly style that is not regularly found in what most consider martial art books. In fact, it's not exactly about the martial arts of budo, but about the connections between the life of budo and the rest of the Japanese, as well as comparisons with other forms of warriorship in the world, especially those of the Occident. In this book, you read more about the social and cultural reasoning of why the samurai lived as they did, and how that affects Japanese culture.

Here I will highlight some of Mr. Nitobe's thoughts that deal with "etiquette" in Japanese culture.

Each country may have it's own factors that culturally shock it's foreign visitors, and I bet most of those gaijin who come to Japan find that it's usually with matters of politeness and courtesy (or maybe just weird pickled vegetables). Perhaps you walked into a room with your shoes when you weren't supposed to. Maybe you took a drink of your beer as soon as it was handed to you by the waitress, but you didn't wait to make your first drink a cheers with everyone else at the table. Or maybe even you answered your phone on a subway. All of these usually are accompanied by a gasp by the Japanese in close proximity as if someone was twisting their spine from the inside of their bodies. Actually a couple of my favorites are not walking on designated paths or sidewalks that wind unneccesarily, or trying to joke with Japanese, which always ends in confusion and some rule of conduct being broken. But anyway, let's hear a little bit from Mr. Nitobe:


"I have heard slighting remarks made by Europeans upon our elaborate discipline of politeness. It has been criticized as absorbing too much of our thought and in so far a folly to observe strict obedience to it. I admit that there may be unnecessary niceties in ceremonious etiquette, but whether it partakes as much of folly as the adherence to ever-changing fashions of the West, is a question not very clear to my mind. Even fashions I do not consider solely as freaks of vanity; on the contrary, I look upon these as a ceaseless search of the human mind for the beautiful."

These "certain slighting remarks" can very often expressed through great frustration. For me that's the length of meetings at school extended much longer due to "unnecessary niceties." For the same reasons, I am also kept from having some meaningful conversations with the Japanese I work with. What do these have to do with a "ceaseless search of the human mind for the beautiful"?


"Much less do I consider elaborate ceremony as altogether trivial; for it denotes the result of long observation as to the most appropriate method of achieving a certain result."

Well, that does seem to be the purpose, or at least a benefit of society.

"If there is anything to do, there is certainly a best way to do it, and the best way is both the most economical and the most graceful."

There is a sentence that should catch the eye of all mindful martial artists.


Mr. Nitobe then goes on to explain this theory through Sadou, the way of tea, as seen in Japan's tea ceremony. Japan has many cultural arts that are highly popularized in modern culture, usually of the martial quality, however I doubt many people would choose to sit through a tea ceremony. Tea ceremonies will often last a few hours, and consist of sitting silently with a few other people in a very small tatami mat room. There, conduct and niceties are strictly outlined and obeyed. For all those people enthralled with the idea of "Zen"; who want to buy products that are labeled "Zen", maybe your "Zen" daily planner, your "Zen" tea, your "Zen" t-shirt, or your "Zen" H4 hummer, maybe you should try to experience what is considered "Zen" in the tea ceremony.


"Mr. Spencer defines grace as the most economical manner of motion. The tea-ceremony presents certain definite ways of manipulating a bowl, a spoon, a napkin, etc. To a novice it looks tedious. But one soon discovers that the way prescribed is, after all, the most saving of time and labour; in other words, the most economical use of force,-hence, according to Spencer's dictum, the most graceful."


Here I think we have a wonderful ideal found in Japanese philosophy: beauty through design. This certainly underlines traditional Japanese culture as we have just read about, but is most certainly a driving factor in many modern facets of Japan. I think one of the most interesting (though I personally know so very little about) is architecture. If one travels to Tokyo, you will be able to see the pinnacle of artists striving to create beauty from design in the modern buildings that surround you. That may be one of my favorite things about Tokyo. Though it may not look similar to traditional culture, the modern creations follow the same theory as that in tea ceremony: beauty from design.


(above picture is from "dcafe" and can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/24062854@N04/3454086292/ )


Mr. Nitobe then proceeds to discuss about how this physical economy of motion relates to one's spiritual realm, which does not have a little to do with bushido.


"'The end of all etiquette is to so cultivate your mind that even when you are quietly seated, not the roughest ruffian can dare make onset on your person.' It means, in other words, that by constant exercise in correct manners, one brings all the parts and faculties of his body into perfect order and into such harmony with itself and its environment as to express the mastery of spirit over the flesh. ... If the promise is true that gracefulness means economy of force, then it follows as a logical sequence that a constant practice of graceful deportment must bring with it a reserve and storage of force. Fine manners, therefore, mean power in repose."

Did all you martial artists hear that? "...a constant practice of graceful deportment must bring with it a reserve and storage of force. Fine manners, therefore, mean power in repose." Talk about yin and yang; the warrior must contain the greatest amount of patience and repose where he builds his strengh and must also be able to explode into the fury of mortal combat. Or what about that "storage of force"? For all those with imaginations, where do you think that would physically be in your body? Your brain? Your foot? Or maybe your center, tan-tien, or hara, located a couple inches below your navel and into your body? Very interesting.

Let's return for a moment to the tea ceremony as an explanation of etiquette.

"Tea-sipping as a fine art! Why should it not be? In the children drawing pictures on the sand, or in the savage carving on a rock, was the promise of a Raphael or a Michael Angelo. How much more is the drinking of a beverage, which began with the transcendental contemplation of a Hindoo anchorite, entitled to develop into a handmaid of Religion and Morality? The calmness of mind, that serenity of temper, that composure and quietness of demeanour which are the first essentials of Cha-no-yu (tea ceremony) are without doubt the first conditions of right thinking and right feelings. The scrupulous clealiness of the little room, shut off from sight and sound of the madding crowd, is in itself conducive to direct one's thoughts from the world. ... Before entering the quiet precincts of the tea-room, the company assembling to partake of the ceremony laid aside, together with their swords, the ferocity of battle-field or the cares of government, there to find peace and friendship."

I think that this section well explains one stark difference between ideals of the Occident and those of the Far-East: in Japan one seeks to become the art, not just observe it. In Europe at this time, it would be considered of the highest culture degree to have elaborate paintings by famous artists hanging upon your walls as one plays fine music in the background while you stroll with your friends elaborating at length about the magnificent wonder contained in the things you own. This is contrasted with the silent practice of drinking tea in a seemingly bare room. However, in the tea ceremony, one becomes the art through the experience. From this deep well of strength nurtured by strict forms of etiquette, one's own creative power may emerge and dance with that of the other's in an invisible yet intoxicating realm beyond the crude senses.

Through reading this enlightening book, I hope to find the time to reveal more such thoughts from, "Bushido: The Soul of Japan."