At the Executive Salon on the 9th floor of Fukujuen’s main store, a “Ki-oke Tea Room” (a tea room made of Japanese wooden buckets) by ki-oke craftsman Shuji Nakagawa was exhibited for a limited time. As part of the exhibition Rings of Time, Layers of Beauty: A Cup of Tea and the Memory of Craft, held at Art Space Fukujuen, three tea gatherings took place in this tea room between July and August.

Sharing a cup of tea.
Sitting in a circle and talking beyond the boundaries of social standing.
And exploring new forms of tea culture while carrying on tradition.

Through three gatherings, each with its own character, guests enjoyed the many kinds of time that arise when a ki-oke tea room meets tea culture.

“A Small Tea Gathering in a Large Bucket”

On July 3 and August 1, Shoen Mizuguchi, heir to the Hoen-ryu school of sencha-do, hosted “A Small Tea Gathering in a Large Bucket.” Two spirits that grew in different ways came together in one space. One is the spirit of sencha-do, in which a cup of tea is shared equally with everyone. The other is the idea behind Shuji Nakagawa’s ki-oke tea room, in which people sit in a circle, beyond their positions, and enjoy conversation. The result was a calm and rich time in which guests spoke naturally, at a comfortable distance from one another.

The utensils and arrangements were chosen with care as well. A toy praying mantis placed casually, and a hand bucket adorned with an object made from a knot of wood and a ceramic ayu (sweetfish), brought scenes of the season to the tea room. In this unique space, an intimate conversation and a cup of tea came together, and the craft of wood and the culture of tea resonated with each other.

“Natsu no Hate no Oke Chakai” (A Bucket Tea Gathering at Summer’s End)

On August 29, En Itteki, a group of the Hoen-ryu school of sencha-do, hosted “Natsu no Hate no Oke Chakai: Cool Down and Mindset.” It was the third gathering held by the Hoen-ryu, and with Shoen Mizuguchi looking on, it became a refreshing and elegant session fitting for the lingering heat of late summer.

En Itteki has been active since Reiwa 7 (2025), with the aim of “enjoying cultural exchange” at its core. Through the tea setting, it creates a place where Japanese tradition and new values meet, and explores the future of sencha-do.

The gathering began with a cold-brewed lemon sencha as a welcome tea. After a lecture on sencha-do, guests, having come into contact with tea culture, entered the ki-oke tea room. There they were served reien, a cold gyokuro made from Fukujuen’s finest gyokuro, “Kinun” (Golden Cloud), together with special sweets by a long-established confectionery in Kyoto. Wrapped in the warmth of wood and the quiet atmosphere of the tea room, guests enjoyed a cup of tea at the end of summer, calming their minds and feeling a moment of coolness in the lingering heat.

Tea Culture Carried Forward, and Beyond

What the three gatherings had in common was the richness of time in which people meet and share culture over a cup of tea.

Sencha-do was layered onto a tea room born from a craftsman’s hands. Each tea host’s taste and each generation’s sensibility added something new, so that the same space showed a different face each time. In particular, the gathering by En Itteki, led by younger practitioners, followed the one by the heir to the school. It can be seen as one picture of how inherited tea culture expands through the sensibilities of a new generation.

The phrase “Rings of Time, Layers of Beauty” carries more than the handcraft and tea culture passed down over long years. It also holds the hope that new people and new sensibilities will join them and lead into the next era.

Through encounters between tea and art, craft, and other cultures, Fukujuen shares the richness and possibilities of tea culture. We are glad that these three gatherings, held through the ki-oke tea room and a cup of tea, became a time in which culture connected from the past to the present and toward the future.

We sincerely thank everyone who took part, and everyone who helped make the gatherings possible.