温故知新 [pronounciation: on ko chi shin] is a Japanese proverb, meaning「故(ふる)きを温(たず)ねて新しきを知る」. In English, it means "knowing new things by visiting old ways."I went to Japanese Tea Ceremony at First Presbyterian Church today. By looking at Sensei's performance, I had a little 温故知新 experience.
It reminded me of home. But the sensei (teacher in Japanese) was an American man and he analyzed and explained Japanese Tea Ceremony through Christian perspective, which was fascinating to me.
Chanoyu (Traditional Tea Ceremony), which attained greatness under Rikyu, has been handed down for over 400 years at Omotesenke's Fushin'an. Fushin'an is the name of the tea room that was run by Rikyu and which has been inherited by the successive Iemotos since then. The sensei said that half of Rikyu's disciples were Christians and it was deeply influenced by Christianity even though the truth had been hidden. That was because under Tokugawa's power, Christians were greatly persecuted. During that era, one fourth of SAMURAI were Christians according to the sensei from Omotesenke.
If you want to discover new things by visiting old ways regarding tea ceremony, go to the website at: http://www.omotesenke.jp/english/chanoyu/2_1_1.html.
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