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Mikko Okita (left) commences the sacred Japanese Tea Ceremony by passing the first teacup to Darlene Kelly (right) in the Storrier Stearns Japanese Gardens on October 19, 2014 in Pasadena, Calif.  During the ceremony, Kelly is the only one allowed to communicate with Okita as per ritual. (Ryan Kevin / Courier)
Mikko Okita (left) commences the sacred Japanese Tea Ceremony by passing the first teacup to Darlene Kelly (right) in the Storrier Stearns Japanese Gardens on October 19, 2014 in Pasadena, Calif. During the ceremony, Kelly is the only one allowed to communicate with Okita as per ritual. (Ryan Kevin / Courier)

Everyone took off their shoes. There were creaks as they stepped up onto the wooden deck, their feet relaxing in relief from the painful rocks inlaid in the dirt. As they filed in one by one, everyone either took a spot on the floor cross-legged or kneeling, or on one of the few wooden stools. The walls were little more than decoration, being made of wooden slats that hid nothing from the outside world.

A woman dressed in a kimono stepped out of the room, knelt before the door, and bowed before re-entering, on her right foot.

No one ever enters a teahouse on their left foot.

Mikko Okita was the mistress of ceremony this past Sunday in South Pasadena. She, along with five others, performed and hosted a traditional Japanese tea ceremony for their guests.

“It’s usually a smaller group. The hostess will have made preparations a long time in advance,” said Darlene Kelly, a docent for the Japanese Gardens at the Huntington Library.

The unique setting for this ceremony was held at a Japanese Garden, on a residential plot, in the middle of a suburban neighborhood in South Pasadena. Connie and Jim Haddad inherited the place from Jim’s mother and have since restored it to it a semblance of its original beauty.

“My mother-in-law came to the auction, not planning to bid on the property, but ended up doing so on a whim. When she acquired this property, it was much bigger at that time. It was seven city lots,” Connie said. “She lived here until her death in 1985 and then she left it to her husband. And that’s very abbreviated. There’s a lot more to that.”

Normally, this would be held in a traditional Japanese teahouse and there would be fewer guests. But Okita is striving to keep the art form and tradition of tea ceremony alive. The Haddads have been more than willing to help by offering their Japanese garden as a venue to host such events.

“This is the second one they’ve had this year. Mikko-san, who is the mistress of ceremonies, is a personal friend of Connie and Jim, and she’s also affiliated with the Huntington Garden. This is a labor of love for her,” said Nancy Helleno, a friend of Connie and Jim Haddad. “She offers herself free of charge to keep the tradition alive here in this area. All of these other women are here also…they’re here at the invitation of Mikko, and they’re also here volunteering to keep the tradition alive.”

This ceremony is about more than tradition, however. It is also an art form. Those who host the ceremonies must train for about 20 years before they are considered more than novices.

Everything about the ceremony is linked to serenity and finding and being present in one’s calm. Right from the start, as a guest enters the grounds of their host’s home, they must sit and wait to be called upon to enter the teahouse. Before entering, they must purify themselves in a small bath that is placed outside. And of course, taking off ones shoes is required.

“[You are] dusting off the old world out there, [and] coming into a new world in the teahouse,” said Jose Salcedo, the teacher and translator for the ceremony.

Inside the teahouse, the only people to communicate with one another are the host and the first guest. No one else is permitted to speak. This is a part of the serenity and the guests are crucial to that.

“The guests play such a critical role in creating that tranquil atmosphere,” Salcedo said.

The ceremony is about sharing tea, tradition and respect in a neutral space of tranquility. It normally lasts for about four hours but these events are held both at the Japanese Garden in South Pasadena and the Huntington Library in a shorter time period and offer only a glimpse of the beauty of a true ceremony.

It is a unique art form that Salcedo said won’t die any time soon.

“Many of the art forms in Japan, they’re suffering…With this art form, there will always be people interested,” Salcedo said. “If you’re at all interested in the Japanese arts, the tea ceremony is a good place to start.”

Mick Donovan
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