The authentic Japanese Tea Room was dedicated by Urasenke Gyotei.
Mochizuki Cultural Center (MCC) grand opening of the Tea Room in Cypress, Texas.
As the attendees enter the Great Atrium, they were filled with awestruck amazement. A true international experience, as the guest walks through to gander at the Italian wall tiles, Spanish floor slate, and flowing carpet custom-manufactured in Alabama. However the piece-de-resistance is the incredibly elaborate MCC Tea Room. The Gyotei, Mr. Soho, remarked “this is the most elaborate Tea Room worldwide, outside of Japan”.
Unique to the MCC Tea Room, there are actually a collection of three tea rooms the Yojohan, Ryokujo, and Hachijo. This means 4.5, 6, and 8 respectively and denotes the number of Tatami mats per room. Typically any “tea room” has only one area and one collection of mats. This represents the scale and size of the MCC Tea Room which is more than three times the size of most tea rooms.
To execute such elaborate construction, Jay Mochizuki enlisted the help of Millium which is a Japanese tea room constructor with highly trained Japanese carpenters, masons, and rock gardeners. Every piece of the Tea Room was hand-selected and hand-crafted from uniquely Japanese materials. For example, the wood beams used to hold up the Tea roof were made from trees grown purposefully for a Tea Room The tree branches were shaved off during growth over years of development. The minimized branches of these trees exhibited knot-free trunk surfaces so the length of the beams are without blemish. The walls of the Tea Rooms are made of mud and straw imported from Japan, and harvested at an authentic mountain source. All the wood and specialty materials are hand-sewn, hand-sawed, and fit together with notches not screws/nails.
Mr. Mochizuki’s attention to details created these amazing Tea Rooms. The finely constructed Rooms treated the honored VIPs and guests to an unsurpassed experience. They were overwhelmed with excitement to participate in an authentic Japanese Tea event, in the heart of Texas.
“THE most elaborate Tea Room outside of Japan.” - Urasenke Gyotei, Mr. Kazuo Soho
MOCHIZUKI CULTURAL CENTER, SUNDAY OCTOBER 21, 2018:
All attendees were brought back at the Mochizuki Cultural Center for the final day of Commemoration. All guests were again greeted warmly by the gracious hosts Mr. and Mrs. Mochizuki.
The final day was the drawn out lessons in the intricate art of performing the Japanese Tea Ceremony. The designated Workshops appeared as if all the adult participates were “going back to school”. However, considering the awestruck excitement of the Tea members and dignitaries, the guests behaved as if they were “kids” visiting Disneyland for the very first time.
The ostentatious MCC Tea Room was the “playground” for attendees with detailed lessons from Konarai in the morning, to Shikaden in the afternoon. The seven Workshops of Warigeiko, Gogyodana Usucha/Gogyuodana Nakaoki Koicha, Chaire Kazari, Karamono, Daitenmoku, Wakindate, and Bondate filled the day with practice and teaching from the Gyotei, Mr. Soho himself.
Mrs. Mochizuki’s resolve to study and teach the traditional art of Japanese Tea has run full circle. Her strength and determination has organized and maintained the Urasenke Tankokai Houston group and helped spread the joy of Tea to the greater Houston area. Her husband Mr. Mochizuki has made her dream a physical reality with the brand new MCC Tea Room, surpassing all expectations, while bringing the genuinely authentic part of Japan to the Heartland of America.
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