THE BODY SHOP “Fuji Green Tea Bath & Body Care” 25 year Limited Release Event – ethica.jp Interview

Japanese tea and aesthetic sense recognized around the world – Interview with Kobori Fuyuko, a tea master of the Kobori Enshu school

THE BODY SHOP celebrates 25 years in Japan with limited release of “Fuji Green Tea Bath & Body” ~ Tea ceremony demonstration by tea master Fuyuko Kobori

“Chanoyu” is a world that all Japanese people should know about. While many are fascinated by this word that can be said to be the essence of Japanese culture, many people hesitate to join due to the image that it is high-class and the etiquette is difficult. However, “Japanese tea” is now attracting attention and gaining popularity from around the world, not only from the culture and aesthetic sense of “chanoyu” but also from “Japanese tea” and the ingredients of “tea”.

This time, we spoke to Kobori Fuyuko, who began learning the tea ceremony from her father, Kobori Soen, the 16th head of the Kobori Enshu school, at the age of six, and has continued to study the tea ceremony and bonseki for about 20 years to the present day. She is active in a wide range of fields, including collaborations with music and dance, tea ceremonies at contemporary art exhibitions, and performances overseas. We spoke to her about the tea ceremony demonstration she held at The Body Shop Shinjuku store, as well as how to enjoy tea.

ethica Editorial Team:Nice to meet you, I am Ethica, an online magazine. The concept is “Good for Me, Good for the world”. 70% of our readers are women, mostly in their 20s and 30s, and we are a lifestyle magazine with a socially good worldview that attracts female readers who are interested in natural, eco-friendly, and sustainable products.

At Ethica, we have been covering traditional Japanese culture such as kimonos and Japanese cuisine, which are highly regarded overseas as “Japanese cool culture.” However, for our domestic readership, especially the younger generation, these topics tend to be new and of high interest. In this issue, we would like to ask Ms. Kobori Fuyuko, who is also a member of the Ethica readership generation but has been familiar with Japanese culture since childhood and is proactive in trying new things, about her work and her thoughts on “chanoyu.” First of all, you actively hold chanoyu demonstrations overseas. Could you tell us the reason for this and the reaction to chanoyu overseas?

 Mr. Kobori:Even before I started my personal activities, I had the opportunity to hold tea ceremonies in the United States and Jordan as part of Kobori Enshu-style events. What I felt when talking to the guests there was that people overseas are also very interested in the tea ceremony. Not only people who are already interested in Japanese culture, but even those who knew nothing about Japan as a country are very interested in the art and food culture. This also gives them an opportunity to focus on traditional Japanese culture and, ultimately, Japan itself. I felt that the tea ceremony, which includes many elements such as architecture, crafts, art, and religion and is said to be a comprehensive art, was the perfect way to introduce Japan.

As part of my own activities, I went to Europe in 2014, where I learned that people abroad are not bound by stereotypes, and therefore people have different perceptions even more than people in Japan. For example, there are people who appreciate the tea ceremony as a dance, people who enjoy it as conceptual art, people who find religious meaning in it, people who see it as food culture, and people who simply look at strange things out of curiosity.

What I want to convey through my tea ceremony demonstrations is its beauty. Not just in tea ceremony, but in all things, I believe that the true beauty of things has a universal power. I cannot yet say that I am able to express that true beauty, but as someone who aspires to the way of tea, I hope to be able to convey even a small part of the beauty of the tea ceremony, and so I am active not only in Japan but also overseas.

The reactions of people from overseas vary greatly depending on the direction of each person’s interests. Overall, the questions are interesting and sharp. Some of the questions are difficult to answer, such as “Why is the fukusa folded in this way? Is it for aesthetic or rational reasons? Who decided on this and why?”, “Has this method really remained unchanged since the founder of the school?”, and “Why is it considered that men are dominant as heads of tea ceremony schools?”, but they give me a new perspective and are very educational.

Ethica Editorial Department:It’s a very new perspective from an overseas perspective. Now, as with your demonstration at the Body Shop, you are pioneering a new world of tea ceremony through collaborations with art and music. Why is that?

Mr. Kobori:First, because it’s fun. Personally, I don’t really think I’m doing anything new. I’m just doing what I can and want to do in the field that I’m interested in. That being said, I’ve had a lot of hesitations up until now. But then someone told me, “Chanoyu won’t be destroyed by things like that, so it’s okay,” and it suddenly opened my eyes.

I also believe that developing chanoyu in new fields and ways that have never been done before and letting more people know about it is very important for the continuation of the culture. If there is anything I can do in my current position, I would like to actively do anything I can.

Ethica Editorial Department:I think that because of this unprecedented method, many people have had the opportunity to experience the tea ceremony. Also, there are many young people who are interested in the tea ceremony but have not yet taken the first step. Do you have any message for those people?

Mr. Kobori:Through the tea ceremony, you can learn a lot about Japanese culture, and what’s amazing is that what you learn is directly connected to your life. To give a familiar example, if you learn the tea ceremony, your perspective on choosing your everyday tableware will change. If you change the tableware you use every day, the food you put on it will change, and if you change the food you cook, your whole life will change. It may sound cliché, but I think it will make your life even richer and more enjoyable.

On the other hand, even if you don’t learn the tea ceremony, if you maintain your own aesthetic sense in small things, I think that is also “tea”. If you are interested, why not start by drinking matcha at the dinner table every day? If you start to think, “I want to know how to drink it,” or “What is the etiquette for making tea,” why not knock on the door of a tea ceremony class that you have a connection with?

Ethica Editorial Department:It was a very refreshing perspective to learn that what you learn in the tea ceremony is directly connected to your life. It can be incorporated more easily into your daily life. Now, Ethica’s main concept is “Good for Me, Good for the world,” but please tell us what “good for me and good for the world” means to you.

Mr. Kobori:I would be very happy if it would be an opportunity for viewers to learn about the world of tea ceremony and traditional Japanese culture. Even if you don’t end up learning tea ceremony, I hope you will become at least a little interested. I would also like to support traditional Japanese techniques, however small, by buying and using them, such as kimonos, Japanese sweets, and the crafts used in tools. It is difficult to buy expensive traditional crafts, but for example, “drinking delicious matcha every day” and “eating delicious Japanese sweets every day” are not only supporting the techniques of tea and confectionery, but also indirectly supporting the traditional techniques of tea whisks and raw materials production. I would like to continue to do so to the extent that I can.

Ethica Editorial Department:After talking with Mr. Kobori, I realized that the world of tea ceremony doesn’t have to be so intimidating, and you can get into it in your daily life. First of all, I would like to incorporate tea into my life in whatever way I can. Thank you for your cooperation.

This time, the tea ceremony demonstration by Ms. Kobori Fuyuko was held at The Body Shop Shinjuku store. To commemorate the release of the new series “Fuji Green Tea Bath & Body Care” inspired by Japan’s proud tea culture, an elegant tea room was set up in the usual Shinjuku store, providing a rare opportunity to see Ms. Kobori’s world of tea ceremony up close. Many people were fascinated by Ms. Kobori’s graceful movements during the demonstration, showing a high level of interest. Everyone was smiling while sitting upright as they enjoyed authentic matcha tea in the street.

Article by Harumi Miyazaki, translated from Japanese from https://www.ethica.jp/16272/, posted on April 25th, 2015.