Tea Time at the Club

Members and special guests of Montecito Bank & Trust’s MClub, on a cultural tour of Japan, were treated to a rare invitation to visit and partake in a tea ceremony with Kobori Sojitsu, the 13th Grand Master of the Enshu Sado School in Tokyo.

The invitation, not normally available to the public, was made possible by Condor Express owner Hiroko Benko, a family member and cousin to the tea master, who performs the ceremony for the Emperor of Japan and other dignitaries.

The tea ceremony originated more than 430 years ago when Kobori Enshu was appointed Superior Grand Tea Master, ranking him at the top of the feudal lord tea practitioners of that period, bringing elegance to the culture of the tea ceremony and ushering in a new era of artistic refinement and peace.

The ceremony is routed in Zen Buddhism and love of beauty.