Boukakuan Japanese Tea House

03/21/2026

Today at the Cherry blossom festive at the Cherry Hill Library.

12/28/2025

What does it look like when a family spends hundreds of years, generation after generation, refining a craft? Take a glimpse into the world of the artists who make utensils for Chado, the Way of Tea.

The Senke Jusshoku are ten legendary craft families that have been making tea ceremony utensils for centuries. We were given unprecedented access to their closely guarded practices for over a year.

11/17/2025

Today's Chabana:
Kiyosumi hydrangea
Mexican tarragon
Beautyberry
Mexican Heather
And wild cherry leaves

11/11/2025

Chabana for robiraki:
Kusa dogwood leaves, purple beauty berries and the bloom of hydrangea 'Kiyosumi' that take one a reddish hue as they age.
Vase: Ohi-yaki by Ohi Toshiro (10th generation)
Tray koma design Japanese lacquer with a home grown Ayote squash.

Scroll:
A poem about asking a little chewing insect to be quite so we can listen to the sound of the kettle.

11/11/2025

At the beginning of our Robiraki (opening of the hearth) celebration, we said good bye to a year's worth of Chasens (tea whisks) in a funeral pyre. (sorry they are hard to see)

11/07/2025

10/26/2025

Preparing Boukakuan for this afternoon's demonstration. Flowers: Tuberous Begonia and NJ Highbush Blueberry leaves. The scroll features a pumpkin and a poem. Regrettably, I've not been able to find a translation of the poem.

10/19/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15HmJoovCWR/

The city of Nishio lies in the Mikawa district of Aichi Prefecture, central Japan. Thanks to the elegance of its traditional architecture, the town has been nicknamed the "Little Kyoto of the Mikawa area." Nishio is one of the largest producers of matcha in Japan, and tea is widely grown across the....

10/17/2025

Lecture/demo today in Ridgefield

09/17/2025

How are tea rooms different from other spaces? Learn more in this short video from NHK
https://youtu.be/t-OvGImnDIA?si=Dh32SJqqJi500Fa8

All rights belong to NHKI'm uploading this simply because this episode of this wonderful series is nowhere to be found.

09/15/2025

Take an in depth look at Japanese iron kettles with NHK's Core Kyoto
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16Za4UTN4V/

08/14/2025

An interesting update on matcha production from our friends at Ooika

Learn what’s happening in the world of Japanese Matcha with Ooika’s Matcha Industry Report from July 2025.