RAKU CHA RYU

Pay respect to the place Almost two years ago, I started to study the tea ceremony. More than a study, it became a practical, aesthetic and even ethical question. I practiced in my tea master’s pavillon but also in many places without any tools : in the Parisian subway, in a park of Omotesando or even at the top of a temple in Ayutthaya, Thailand. One of the very first versions of the tea room Soon, my room in Paris was emptied of any superfluous thing. I put some mats on the floor and then tatamis. A woodboard served as a tokonoma (alcove), some other woodboards were there to hide a plug in the wall. I had the leisure of thinking every single detail in the place.  Now, I would like to pay my respect to this space. It is the room where I grew up and never quite felt at home. I tried to make it into a personal space, one in which I could welcome my friends as I would like them to welcome me. No place had me question so much what « to inhabit » means.

In tea ceremony, slowness is much appreciated. The host must have a perfect knowledge of what s/he is doing, use items with care and treat guests with respect. One may think that it is merely an choreographic aesthetic. But I think that what is at stake is related to a certain definition of « the virtuous man » that one can find all around the globe. Gift as a virtue a Zen monk from Sasama village Wether these men are priests or warriors, wizards or beggars, many men from different culture share the ability to give without any fear of the futur. Hence Saint-Martin whom, in the depht of the desperate freeze of winter, gives half of his coat to a hobo. In the same way, there is this buddhist tale of a Zen monk whom, as he meets a thief in his house, seeing that he is depressed by the rather minimalist decoration, offers him his robe and his food while sighting : « I wish I could give you the moon ». Pierre Clastres teaches us that the same goes in some American indian