Chapter 44: Let’s Have Tea

At that moment, Matsuyama Shoko just wanted to disappear into the ground.

She had originally just wanted to go to Big Sister Yuka’s house to play, see her room, check out her usual hobbies, and maybe even secretly roll around on her bed… but how did things turn out like this?

Although her surrounding friends were excitedly discussing the tea ceremony, Shoko couldn’t feel happy at all.

She had indeed studied Chado, but she was scolded by her teacher every single time.

Even she knew clearly that she was absolutely not cut out for the tea ceremony.

And now, she actually had to demonstrate this skill—the one she was worst at—in front of everyone.

In the past, she could always find a way to decline such invitations, but this time there was no escape, and it happened to be at the worst possible timing…

She absolutely could not make a fool of herself in front of the Big Sister Yuka she admired.

But with less than two weeks left until the tea ceremony, how much use could cramming at the last minute really be?

Had she known it would come to this, she should have practiced properly from the start.

Moreover, the audience wasn’t just Big Sister Yuka.

The followers who always trailed after her, calling her “Shoko-sama” and “Big Sister Shoko,” would also see her pathetic state.

If they witnessed her clumsiness, would they be utterly disappointed and leave her?

This unease spread through her heart.

The only consolation was… she stole a glance and noticed that Kiyohisa Tachiki was also visibly restless.

It seemed Tachiki was equally poor at the tea ceremony and etiquette; this discovery allowed her to breathe a small sigh of relief.

If she were the only one performing poorly, it would be a unique humiliation, but having a companion meant they could at least look out for each other.

That said, Tachiki might actually be quite decent at it.

A person’s lack of confidence didn’t prove they were actually incompetent.

As expected, she still had to do some last-minute practice… just as she was thinking this, the conversation centered around Fujiwara Keiko was proceeding heatedly.

“I’m going to wear a newly made visiting kimono for this tea ceremony.”

“Really?”

“I’ll probably still wear my previous one…”

Because Keiko said she wanted to show off her new kimono, everyone was drawn into a conversation about traditional dress.

This gave Shoko an even bigger headache; she wasn’t even good at wearing a kimono.

While everyone likely wouldn’t be dressing themselves, Shoko particularly hated the restrictive feeling of a kimono, which made it hard to move.

However, when everyone planned to attend in kimonos, it would be unacceptable for her alone to wear a Western-style dress.

There was nothing wrong with a dress in itself, but since she knew everyone else was wearing kimonos, declaring she would wear a dress would be out of place.

Since she had already joined the discussion, she couldn’t choose not to wear a kimono on her own.

“The Main Guest will obviously be Shoko-sama, right?”

“Uh…”

Keiko’s matter-of-fact statement turned Shoko into stone instantly.

The Main Guest—the Shobun—is the center and representative of the guests; in Chado, they must interact with the host, which requires the guest to possess rich knowledge and keen observation.

A tea ceremony isn’t just the host entertaining guests; the guests must also participate in creating the atmosphere.

The role of the Main Guest, as the representative of the participants, is extremely important and carries high difficulty.

“That’s only natural.”

“How could anyone bypass Shoko to be the Main Guest?”

The group immediately agreed with Keiko’s suggestion.

Keiko had intended to flatter Shoko as the faction leader, but she had unintentionally driven her into an even more awkward position.

But since everyone took it for granted, it was already too late for her to say she lacked the knowledge and experience required for the Main Guest and request a replacement.

“Then who should be the Last Guest…”

“Hmm…”

When the discussion turned to the role of the Last Guest—the Tsume—who is just as important as the Main Guest, everyone fell silent.

Since the Main Guest was the faction leader, Shoko, who would take the important roles of the Second Guest and the Last Guest?

No one was willing to take those troublesome positions voluntarily.

It would be one thing if they were confident, but the others also had little faith in their Chado skills.

Everyone had originally just gone along with the idea because they thought these important roles wouldn’t fall to them, but as soon as they were actually being assigned, they all began to retreat.

“Then please let me serve as the Last Guest.”

“Keiko is doing it?”

“That’s wonderful!”

Keiko volunteered to be the Last Guest, and the others immediately handed the position to her with a sense of relief.

The Last Guest needs to return the tea equipment to the host after appreciation, which requires a certain level of knowledge.

Since Keiko volunteered for this troublesome task, no one objected.

“The Second Guest will naturally be Tachiki, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Eh?!”

Tachiki, who had thought she was safe and had relaxed while watching the Main Guest and Last Guest being decided, suddenly found herself designated as the Second Guest and panicked.

But at this point, she could no longer refuse, and finally, it was decided that Tachiki would be the Second Guest.

The Second Guest seat is right after the Main Guest; it is best filled by someone with some experience and knowledge.

However, it didn’t require as much mastery as the Main Guest, so it was somewhat acceptable.

Tachiki could only accept the arrangement with resignation.

But there was one person who could not accept this outcome.

No, accepting it was fine, but the problem was what to do next.

She had to start practicing the etiquette of the Main Guest immediately upon returning home today… Shoko’s mind was entirely occupied by this thought.

On the day of the tea ceremony, Shoko returned home after school, changed into her kimono, and immediately headed to the Ishikawa residence.

She didn’t tell her mother her specific destination.

Although she had mentioned attending a tea ceremony today and had been practicing as the Main Guest these past few days—and had requested help with her kimono and a car—it was impossible not to explain the situation.

But that mother of hers was truly unreliable.

If her mother knew she was going to the Ishikawa house, there was no telling what she might say.

It would be fine if she were just scolded, but she feared her mother would urge her to do something at the Ishikawa residence.

Therefore, she absolutely could not let her mother know the destination.

The related staff and the driver who knew the destination were all people close to Shoko and her father who were tight-lipped and wouldn’t reveal information to her mother.

She told almost no one, so there was no worry about the news leaking to her mother.

After meeting up with the group at the Ishikawa residence, they waited for a moment before walking along the roji path, purifying their hands at the tsukubai stone basin, and finally heading toward the tea room.

“Wow… as expected of the Ishikawa family…”

“Y-Yeah…”

Shoko answered Keiko’s exclamation absentmindedly.

Faced with such a magnificent mansion, asking her not to be nervous was simply asking for the impossible.

Although they were both high-society families, the gap in family status between the Ishikawa and Matsuyama families wasn’t that large.

She had thought there wouldn’t be a world of difference between the Upper Five and the Lower Seven, but now it seemed she had been too naive.

The actual Ishikawa residence she was visiting was like heaven and earth compared to the Matsuyama house; it was impossible not to be awed.

Just seeing this sight had already made her feel timid.

Shoko walked into the tea room stiffly, bowing to the hanging scroll and the flowers.

At this moment, her brain had stopped functioning, and she was merely repeating the practiced movements mechanically.

When everyone was seated and the host, Yuka, began her greeting, her elegant demeanor captivated everyone, drawing silent sighs of admiration.

“I am deeply grateful to all of you for coming from so far today.”

“……”

As Yuka gave her greeting, Shoko and the others also bowed in return.

From now on, it would be the interaction between the host and the Main Guest—between Yuka and Shoko.

“Ah, u-um… the hanging scroll is~~…”

The completely frozen Shoko was already at a loss.

Although even she didn’t know what she was saying, her brain simply wouldn’t function normally, and she didn’t know what to do.

“Pfft… Shoko, today is just practice. You don’t need to be so nervous; just relax. Everyone, today is just practice. Just show what you usually learn from your teachers in the classroom; there’s no need to be too formal. I think different schools might vary, but there’s no need to consider matching any specific school; just proceed according to the way you each learned.”

“Ah~… that’s great… you saying that is a huge help…”

“Isn’t Shoko recovering a bit too fast?”

“Hahaha!”

The atmosphere instantly lightened.

It turned out everyone had been more or less nervous, and those feelings vanished in an instant.

Hearing that they didn’t need to be too formal and that doing as they usually did was fine made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

“Regarding the hanging scroll, since today is practice, I chose ‘Kissako’ for the sake of clarity.”

In what the nobility call a tea gathering, the host and the Main Guest must exchange dialogue regarding the decorated scroll, flowers, utensils, and tea equipment, conveying this information to the other participants.

the Main Guest cannot remain silent just because they know; even if they understand the meaning and the items, they must take the initiative to ask so the other participants can hear.

At the same time, it is the duty of the Main Guest to subtly inquire about the purpose and significance of the tea ceremony, as well as the host’s intentions and considerations.

If the host were to talk non-stop about the day’s theme and intentions, it would seem overbearing.

Therefore, the Main Guest is needed to skillfully guide the conversation so the participants can understand these elements.

Consequently, the Main Guest must be someone capable of noticing these details and leading the topic.

Today’s scroll read “Kissako.”

This is a Zen phrase meaning “Go drink tea” or “Have some tea and then leave.”

However, in the tea ceremony, it is used to mean “Won’t you have some tea?” or “Please have a cup of tea.”

After the explanation was finished, the serving of tea sweets and tea began.

Since today was a simple gathering, it was Usucha (thin tea) paired with Higashi (dry sweets).

An orthodox tea ritual takes several hours, including a meal, and is very complex.

By contrast, a tea ceremony just extracts a part of the ritual for practice or light enjoyment.

Tea is divided into Koicha (thick tea) and Usucha; thick tea is more formal, while thin tea is more casual.

Thick tea is usually paired with fresh sweets (namagashi), and thin tea with dry sweets (higashi).

Dry sweets like rakugan might not be considered very tasty by children.

No, even after growing up, one might still find them just hard, dry, and slightly sweet—hardly a delicacy.

After the dry sweets were distributed, everyone began to eat, and Yuka began to whisk the tea.

“Mmm! It’s delicious!?”

“Really…”

The dry sweets, which they thought wouldn’t be very tasty based on experience, were unexpectedly delicious.

With just the right sweetness and texture, they were very easy to eat.

It is best to finish the sweets before drinking the tea.

By the time Shoko finished all her sweets, the tea was placed before her.

“Forgive me for starting first.”

Shoko turned to the Second Guest and the others, bowing her head in greeting.

Tachiki and the others bowed back, and then…

“Thank you for the tea.”

She picked up the tea bowl and rotated it clockwise twice.

The bowl has a front; it is presented with the front facing the guest.

Rotating the bowl is done to avoid drinking from the front.

There are various theories as to why this is done.

In short, not drinking from the front of the bowl is a way to show respect to the host.

But why avoid the front?

Some believe it is because the host carefully selected the bowl for the ceremony, and avoiding staining the front is a way of showing respect.

Others believe the front is the most beautiful angle of the bowl.

One avoids the front while drinking to focus on the tea, and returns to the front when appreciating the bowl to focus on its beauty.

Therefore, one should avoid distracting themselves by appreciating the bowl while drinking.

Perhaps some also believe that simply because it is the rule, it should be followed.

These explanations vary depending on the teacher, the student, and the school.

The only thing in common is that it is a way to express respect to the host.

After drinking the tea in three sips, Shoko made a “slurp” sound at the end.

This was not a discourtesy but a signal that she had finished.

She wiped the rim with her fingers and then wiped her fingers with the kaishi paper.

After rotating the bowl back to its original position, Shoko let out a soft “Whew…”

The burden on her shoulders was finally lifted.

Although she couldn’t be too lax, relaxing a little was fine.

Tachiki and the other participants drank their tea in sequence.

A thought suddenly occurred to Shoko: despite the fact that she was supposed to dislike tea, today’s tea had gone down smoothly.

Everyone else seemed to be safe as well.

Actually… inquiring about the tea and sweets was the duty of the Main Guest, Shoko.

If one developed an interest in the tea or sweets, they should take the initiative to ask and provide a topic, while skillfully drawing out information that others might want to know, as well as the host’s thoughtful efforts.

But demanding this much from the inexperienced Shoko would be far too harsh.

And perhaps no one even cared about those things.

Because…

“Yuka-sama is too amazing…”

“Truly… it is entirely Yuka-sama’s style…”

Everyone was mesmerized by Yuka’s elegant demeanor.

Whether the dry sweets were easy to eat or the tea was smooth had likely long been forgotten.

Since it was just practice, this was perfectly acceptable.

As long as they enjoyed the tea ceremony, that was enough.

Even Shoko herself almost let out a bit of drool, deeply etching Yuka’s figure into her mind.

And so, time flew by, and the first tea ceremony between Yuka and Shoko came to its conclusion.