Pasadena residents can step inside the Niko-an Teahouse at Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden on Sunday, Sept. 27, for a 45-minute Japanese tea ceremony led by practitioner Yuki Wakino.
Wakino, who has practiced the tea ceremony since age 12 and studied for seven years with the Mushanokoji Senke school of tea in Kyoto, will lead two sessions at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., according to ColoradoBoulevard.net. Each demonstration includes an introduction to Japanese tea etiquette, known as otemae, along with traditional sweets called wagashi and a bowl of freshly whisked matcha.
The garden, at 270 Arlington Drive, has recently begun offering seasonal tea ceremony demonstrations. Tickets are $40 per person, which includes garden admission. Reservations are required.
The garden said on its Instagram page that the Niko-an Teahouse is one of the few places in Southern California where visitors can experience a Japanese tea ceremony in the setting of a traditional teahouse and strolling garden. Guests are encouraged to arrive 15 minutes before their session.
A teahouse with deep roots
The Niko-an Teahouse, whose name means "Abode at Two Ponds," was originally built in Japan to the specifications of landscape designer Kinzuchi Fujii, then disassembled and shipped to Pasadena for reassembly. Its 12 tatami mats, each 3 by 6 feet, signified a teahouse of great importance in Japanese tradition.
The original burned in 1981. It was later rebuilt by owners Jim and Connie Haddad, whose family acquired the estate at a 1950 auction, using Fujii's original architectural plans and photographs.
Fujii designed and built the 1.45-acre garden between 1935 and 1940 for Charles and Ellamae Storrier Stearns, wealthy Pasadena arts patrons. According to Visit Pasadena, it is the only intact example of a major Japanese-style garden created before World War II for a private residence in Southern California. The garden was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
The Mushanokoji Senke school, the smallest of Japan's three major tea ceremony traditions, traces its lineage to 16th-century tea master Sen no Rikyu.
If you go
- What: Autumn Tea Ceremony Demonstration
- When: Sunday, Sept. 27, at 11 a.m. or 12:30 p.m.
- Where: Niko-an Teahouse, Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden, 270 Arlington Drive, Pasadena
- Cost: $40 per person (includes garden admission)
- Reservations: Required; book online at japanesegardenpasadena.app.neoncrm.com
The garden is open to the public on many Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in a residential neighborhood just east of Orange Grove Boulevard.
