December 11 - On December 5th, a Japan Omotesenke Tea Ceremony was held by the Faculty of Asian Language and Culture (FALC), and co-sponsored by Japan Women's Association in Guangzhou. Taught by Ms. Kagami, a teacher in Omotesenke tea, the ceremony was hosted by FALC teachers, Du Fan and Zhang Yanmin in the Sado Room.

In attendance at the ceremony were Lin Shaoxiong, Secretary of CPC Committee of FALC, Chen Duoyou, Deputy Dean of FALC as well as Deputy Director of Japan Research Centre, and Professor from the Department of Japanese in FALC in charge of the Sado Room, Liu Li.

Attendees arrived early and were seated in the Sado Room by 9:30 am. Mr. Chen Duoyou addressed the group at the opening of the ceremony.  In his speech he not only expressed his gratitude to the Japan Women's Association but also stated that he hoped that the completion of the Sado room would bring with it increased Sino-Japan communications. Following Mr. Chen's speech, Ms. Kagami briefly introduced the similarities and differences between tea cultures in China and Japan.

After the speeches, the Sado performance began.  As the host of the ceremony, Ms. Kagami gently made polite gestures to the guests, who received fabulous refreshments specially brought from Japan by Ms. Kagami. Delicate and graceful, each single movement in the performance resonated with the deep affection the host felt for her guests.   All the guests felt warmly welcomed and honoured by the gifts brought to them from Japan. The Sado performance was an on-the-spot cultural feast for the students where they not only got to enjoy refreshments but also were able to enjoy the Japanese tea ceremony where every step was developed in pursuit of perfection. 

The Sado performance ended at 5:00pm. A large majority of the success of this event can be attributed to the enormous amount of help from the Japan Women's Association. Students in FALC did, without a doubt, learned a lot from the ceremony, which above all, laid a great foundation for future activities.

Additional information on Sado and Sado Room in FALC

Sado is an essence in Japanese culture, which is blended with Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Within Sado, many procedures should be attended to, which are actually intended to free people from secular troubles and nervousness.

Since the establishment of the Sado Room in FALC in April, a number of guests have been received here. With this platform, FALC will continue to hold various programmes designed to enhance Sino-Japan communications.