June 27 (Wed)
In the morning, the delegates split into groups to go on four different sightseeing tours in Beijing. The venue for the
major events this day was the Great Hall of the People. At 3:00 P.M., the delegates and approximately 650 others
gathered in an auditorium on the 3rd floor, and watched SEN Soshi conduct a ceremonial tea offering (chato-no-gi) to
the spirit of SEN Rikyu. Special guests on the Chinese side included the Minister and Vice Minister of Culture, SUN
Jiazheng and MENG Xiaosi, respectively. On the Japanese side, there were Ambassador ANAMI Koreshige and his wife, and
Minister MIYAKE Kunihiko and his wife. The tea ritual was followed by a Commemorative Ceremony, at which a videotaped
message from Japanese Prime Minister KOIZUMI Jun'ichiro was shown. After the ceremony, a "friendship tea gathering" was
held in the large hall on the 3rd floor, where eight chanoyu spaces had been set up. There was also a corner where
visitors could try their hand at making a bowl of tea, and an exhibition of photo panels showing the twenty-two years
of Urasenke's activities in China. The chanoyu spaces were respectively handled by the various Urasenke affiliates in
China, as well as the Urasenke study groups at universities in China. The Youth Cruise delegates were in charge of one
space, as well. In the evening, Urasenke sponsored a dinner party in the banquet hall on the 2nd floor, at which the
Youth Cruise delegates provided the stage entertainment which they had been practicing on board the ship.
SEN Soshi conducts ritual offering of tea to the spirit of SEN Rikyu |
Videotaped message from Japanese Prime Minister KOIZUMI Jun'ichiro |
Chinese Minister of Culture SUN Jiazheng at the Commemorative Ceremony |
Urasenke Beijing Association's tea space |
Urasenke Shanghai Association's tea space |
Urasenke Dalian and Hong Kong Association's joint tea space |
Beijing Foreign Language University's tea space |
Nankai University's tea space |
Tianjin University of Commerce Urasenke College of the Way of Tea's tea space |
Urasenke Youth Cruise delegates' tea space |
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