am sitting on in a small screened room watching a tea master prepare the elements for the most iconic of Japanese experiences, the tea ceremony. Her fluid movements, preparing the (tea cup), measuring out powder, and carefully ladling steaming hot water from a (kettle) are as graceful as a ballet. When the tea is placed in front of me, I reach out for it as if reaching through history, executing a simple act that has been undertaken for centuries. No concessions have been made to modernity, rather this ancient tradition has stayed resolutely relevant as the world around it has changed.
