No-da-te in the park
野点 ~ NO DA TE Picnic day ~
Open Air Tea Ritual gathering in the Park
The Japanese word for the tea ceremony is 茶の湯・cha-no-yu・which means nothing else than ‘Hot water for tea’.
野点 no-da-te is called an open air tea ceremony, in which one can enjoy a powdered green tea and which happens outside and not in a tea house.
The rules are less formal than practicing 茶の湯 cha-no-yu indoor on tatami mats, but it might be quite an adventure to perform a tea ritual in the open air
The rules are less formal than practicing 茶の湯 cha-no-yu indoor on tatami mats, but it might be quite an adventure to perform a tea ritual in the open air
野点 no-da-te way.
The natural surrounding is an important participant which will influence the experience to prepare a macha tee outside:
The guests, the utensils to make the tea, the view, the scents of the environment and the light, the weather – everything melt together. The concentration needs to focus on all elements. Since one cannot plan each detail in advance, one has to be aware and attentive of sudden surprise guests like sounds, sudden wind, rain, thunderstorms, animals and others! The challenge of 野点・no-da-te・ is about exactly that, dealing with the unexpected… for sure one will have to improvise.
The guests, the utensils to make the tea, the view, the scents of the environment and the light, the weather – everything melt together. The concentration needs to focus on all elements. Since one cannot plan each detail in advance, one has to be aware and attentive of sudden surprise guests like sounds, sudden wind, rain, thunderstorms, animals and others! The challenge of 野点・no-da-te・ is about exactly that, dealing with the unexpected… for sure one will have to improvise.
Utensils:
Instead of preparing the boiling water with a 茶釜・cha-gama・, the traditional japanese cast iron kettle one can use a Thermos with hot water. Sometimes we used also a camping stove.
Here you can experience a bit of our Nodate picnic at the Wörlitzer Park. Dessau, Germany.
The Wörlitzer Park is an UNESCO World heritage cultural landscape near Dessau which dates back to 1769. The amazing concept of the time was to bring together landscape design and agriculture including gardening and architecture as well as art and philosophy in a wider environmental scale.
more infos about the Park, here is the link: