Mr. Yoshitsugu Nagano, tea master of the Ueda Souko Style based in New York, had an online discussion with Mr. Masaaki Maeda, Vice President & Assistant Secretary of the Nippon Club about “Business and the Way of Tea.” Participants included members of Nippon Club in New York as well as those with connections with Chanoyu in Japan.
Mr. Nagano spoke in the first half of the presentation on the history of Chanoyu specific to businessmen in the Meiji period where they became aware of how important one’s own culture was in the context of deepening relationships with Europe and the United States and how they were drawn towards Chanoyu. In the latter half, he spoke about Mr. Kounosuke Matsushita, founder of Panasonic. Based on the principle that material and spirit are one, he spoke about how important the spiritual aspect of Chanoyu was to Mr. Matsushita as a businessman.
Participants were then able to enjoy a conversation between Mr. Nagano and Mr. Maeda. One particular question came up during the talk where Mr. Maeda asked Mr. Nagano “What’s your impression of Mr. Matsushita as a tea practitioner?” Mr. Nagano answered, “I can tell that he has been practicing a lot through the photographs. When I saw how he places the tea equipment, I got a sense that he is very meticulous and particular about certain things.”
Public Relations and Press Records:https://www.nipponclub.org/event/business-and-tea-ceremony/?lang=en
