Bao Ji Shan Tea House celebrates first anniversary with rare tea artifacts

Bao Ji Shan Tea House held a press conference at the Bao Ji Shan Art Center to celebrate its first anniversary, marking its efforts to promote the authentic Japanese Urasenke tea ceremony in Taiwan.

The event featured the debut of six rare, century-old tea ceremony tools, including a black tea bowl from 1802 and works by renowned artists such as Kitaoji Rosanjin and Living National Treasure Tokuda Yasokichi III. Tea House master Yan Ting-yu, who studied the Urasenke tradition in Kyoto for 13 years, emphasized the philosophy of ‘Ichigo Ichie’ (once-in-a-lifetime encounter) and the aesthetic of ‘Wabi-sabi’.

Unlike traditional museums, the tea house allows guests to experience these precious artifacts through practical use in a modern ‘Ririki-seki’ setting, which utilizes chairs instead of traditional kneeling to make the ceremony more accessible to contemporary practitioners.