 Japanese tea practice, called chanoyu, to explore its evolution from the past into the present. From its beginnings in fifteenth-century Japan as a cultural pastime for elite men, chanoyu (literally, “hot water for tea”) has become a globalized practice that facilitates cultural exchange and artistic creativity.
Roundtable discussions and lectures with tea practitioners, collectors, curators, university professors, architects, and artists reveal how cross-cultural connections have been crucial to historic and contemporary Japanese tea practice.
This series is held in conjunction with the exhibition Reasons to Gather: Japanese Tea Practice Unwrapped, on view now through April 26, 2026.
NMAA, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Gift of Gregory Kinsey, Kinsey Chanoyu Collection, in honor of Dr. Julian Raby, in appreciation of his dedicated service to the National Museum of Asian Art, F2021.3.6.1a–w–2a–i |