Tea Ceremony: Davide Licata, University of Ferrara, Italy

Davide Licata (front row, second from left) with members of the AIU Tea Ceremony Club

Davide Licata is a first-semester exchange student from the University of Ferrara in Italy.

AIU Tea Ceremony Club

One of the most fascinating activities that I was able to do here at AIU was the tea ceremony club, or sado in Japanese.

Experience Japanese Culture in an International Environment

AIU is a very international environment, therefore, in your everyday life within the campus, sometimes you might almost forget you are in Japan, a unique country in the world. The tea ceremony club is one of those activities that makes you realize you are living in a country with a very different and charming culture.

I have been wondering about what the Japanese Tea Ceremony really is for years, since the first time I heard about it. Finally here at AIU I had the opportunity to discover this intriguing world.

The Tea Ceremony is a perfect picture of what Japanese people are told to be: kind, polite, elegant, taking care of every small detail. That is exactly what the Tea Ceremony is: in extremely simple words, a polite, elegant, beautiful and meticulous way to serve tea.

Tea Ceremony Club Activities

Tea Ceremony Club members after the final practice of the semester.

We practice twice a week, on Monday and Friday. Sometimes a tea ceremony master comes from the town to teach us, sometimes older students help us to practice. We prepare matcha, Japanese green tea, using traditional tools and trying to follow all the rules of the ceremony. Then, we enjoy our cup of tea together with some traditional sweets.

Last but not least, in June we had the opportunity to join a big event in Akita city where to watch several Tea Ceremony masters performing different styles of this art.

Japanese Culture Clubs: an Ideal Companion to Your Studies

During the semester I joined many courses, all related to business and economics, since this is my major. I have often been busy with homework, assignments, presentations, meetings, and so on.

That is one of the reasons why I joined the Tea Ceremony Club: if your academic career in your home university does not allow you to join one of the many courses about Japanese culture offered at AIU, joining the tea ceremony club or other cultural clubs (shodo, ikebana, kimono, and many others) is the greatest way to learn about Japan and at the same time spend some good and relaxing time and make new friends.

I would definitely recommend you to attend this club if you’re interested in Japanese culture!