Today was the first day that might be able to compete with April 11th, 2005 as one of the awesomest days ever.
Let me start by briefly introducing the concept of a traditional arts course at Ritsumeikan. These courses, unlike every other course offered, are not taught on campus by Ritsumeikan teachers. They are taught by very well respected figures in their fields, often lifetime masters of the art, whom are completely inaccessible to the general public. I’m not sure how the school manages to gain access to these accomplished individuals on behalf of their foreign students, but for a mere $100 course registration fee I’m grateful that they do.
As an example, here is a picture from one of our weekly shamisen courses. You might notice that it’s slightly different from the typical college classroom. That’s because it’s the first floor of our sensei’s house.
Enter Ota Sensei. Ota Sensei is our wagashi instructor (wagashi literally means “Japanese confectionary”) and also a master of tea ceremony. His unique ability to create works of art out of sugar and sweet beans has earned him fame nation wide, as well as the ability to spend many years traveling the world and learning about the history and diversity of sweets. Not to mention enough money to purchase homes in Japan, Nepal, Paris, and elsewhere.
As a matter of fact, not just one home in Japan, but several. One of which is the tea house that I mentioned in my last post. I simply didn’t know that it was his. The fact that it ordinarily costs $300 to attend a short tea ceremony there, though, is indeed true.
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