Hagi: Kumaya Art Museum, Tea ceremony and garden tour – Chugoku Region, Japan

EXPERIENCE

Delve into the traditions of Japan with a tea ceremony experience (Sa-do) at Kumaya Art Museum in Hagi, Yamaguchi pref. Find out how to use tea utensils, taste wagashi (Japanese sweets).

The museum’s collection is displayed in three large storehouses (kura) on the grounds. The Kumaya family, wealthy merchants and official purveyors to the M?ri lords during the Edo period, collected items such as ink paintings, tea utensils, documents, and books. Notably, the museum features Japan’s oldest piano, a British-style pianoforte gifted by Dr. Philipp Franz von Siebold in 1828.

The meticulously kept Edo-period gardens feature holly trees and a trio of pine, fir, and Elaeocarpus trees pruned in the “round, triangular, square” (maru sankaku shikaku) format favored in Zen art. A 600-year-old cycad and a 300-year-old Y?g? pine tree also grow in the garden.

HIGHLIGHTS

Experience a traditional Japanese tea ceremony at the Kumaya Art Museum
Learn about the history of the museum and the Kumaya family
Discover the museum’s collection of ink paintings, tea utensils, and books
Taste wagashi, a traditional Japanese sweet, and learn how to make it
Explore the museum’s meticulously kept Edo-period gardens

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