Bridging Cultures through Tea, Memories, and Serendipity
Our guests came for a tea ceremony experience, and Renata kindly introduced them to my tea room, Komurasaki An. Renata runs a guesthouse called “Murasaki House” in Kyoto and also works as a tour coordinator.
Usually, Renata brings the guests to Komurasaki An herself, but this time she must be busy because I received this email from her: ‘Thank you so much, my guests would like to go (4 people) on the 16th from 10:00 to 12:00. But this time I can’t go with them, so could you please meet them at Hankyu Arashiyama Station?'”
As I stood in front of the station holding a sign with the Hungarian flag printed on it, four smiling people appeared after a little while.
It was Father, Tibor, Mother, Judit, and the adorable twin sisters, Sophie and Olivia.‘Welcome to Arashiyama!’ Finally, the tea ceremony workshop at Komurasaki An is about to begin.
Tibor used to do business with Japanese companies in Hungary and still remembers the names of Japanese people he worked with, like Kobayashi and Yoshida.
Judit was born and raised in the United States and teaches English to children aged 10 to 15 in Hungary.
Sophie and Olivia are high school students. They will likely use their talents in mathematics and languages to thrive in the future.
The sight of Sophie and Olivia happily experiencing the tea ceremony reminded me of my students from Doshisha Girls’ Junior and Senior High School, where I dedicated 27 years of my career. Every single one of those girls had overcome a difficult entrance exam, and they were all incredibly gifted. In particular, I will always cherish the memory of the class I taught in 1994. It was Father’s Day. As someone without children, Father’s Day was a day I usually felt disconnected from. However, on that day, the class representative approached me and presented me with a box. When I opened it with curiosity, I was met with letters from all 45 students in the class. Each one had carefully chosen their own stationery and filled it with heartfelt Father’s Day messages. Overwhelmed with surprise and joy, tears streamed down my face. They had taken valuable time to select stationery and sit down to write those letters just for me. Even now, picturing that moment brings tears to my eyes. For me, who had no children, what should have been the ‘most solitary day’ transformed into the ‘most joyful day.’ Thirty years have passed since then, and the box holding those letters remains on my desk, a cherished treasure.
The Tibor family truly embodies warmth and strong bonds, leaving a wonderful impression of a close-knit family. Tibor clearly cherishes his two daughters, as I noticed him looking towards them with concern multiple times during the tea ceremony experience. The daughters themselves were remarkably well-mannered, offering sweet smiles and soft “thank you”s each time I passed them a plate or did something for them. Their mother, Judy, made a noticeable effort to create a relaxed atmosphere during the tea gathering, consistently chiming in with affirmations and asking questions about my and Naoko’s remarks. Their interactions painted a beautiful picture of a loving and considerate family.
As they were leaving, Judy mentioned to me that although she currently lives in Hungary, she was born and raised in Ohio, USA. I couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wow!” When I told her, “I actually studied English at Ohio Wesleyan University when I was 25,” her eyes widened in surprise. “I went to Ohio State University!” she said. What an incredible coincidence! I find these miraculous encounters so fascinating and they bring me such joy. By the way, the Ohio State University Buckeyes were the champions in college football this year.
