Taste of Japan

Overview

Taste of Japan is joining forces with Auckland Art Gallery to deliver a series of monthly events for you wonderfully cultured folk to enjoy. Until the end of October, these hands-on events will accompany the Fragile Beauty: Themes in Historic Japanese Graphic Art exhibition currently showing at – you guessed it – Auckland Art Gallery.

Auckland-based lovers of anime and green tea may now unite, because Taste of Japan offers up a bounty of interactive workshops, demonstrations and performances to give people of all ages a literal – or sometimes just metaphorical – taste of Japan. From origami and shodo (calligraphy) to traditional Japanese tea ceremonies (of which guests are taught the fundamental philosophy of chanoyu – the Way of Tea – of which I feel I’ve lived my entire life by), there are lots of excited feels to be had around this series of events. And while the laziest amongst us may object with a feeble excuse, a most adequate response would be ‘Ichi-go Ichi-e’, which translates as ‘one time, one meeting’, meaning one should treasure each and every encounter with paper-folding masters, as it may never happen again*.

In any case, the events are free but spaces fill up fast, so don’t dawdle with this one.

*Disclaimer: I’m not entirely sure if the traditional saying explicitly relates to origami experts, however it is certainly the meaning I intend, and that is all that matters.