A chakai is a gathering to which many guests are invited, less formal than a chaji and without the full meal. The common form, oyose chakai, offers several sittings in one day — thick tea, thin tea, and a light meal — as an open occasion marking something in the life of a study group or a school. Because numbers are large, it is far more approachable than a chaji for someone new to the practice.
When they are held
Typically a few times a year: the New Year gathering, spring and autumn gatherings of a teacher's students, and events marking anniversaries of a school or a region. Large temples and public tea rooms host them, and it is not unusual for several hundred guests to pass through in a day.
What happens
Guests receive tickets at reception and move through the sittings in order. Each sitting is short, and because the host and assistant are receiving many guests in succession, the flow is standardised. Thin tea is often prepared in the preparation room and carried out rather than made in front of the guests.
For a first-time guest
This is the right place to start. Ordinary clothes are acceptable at most gatherings unless stated otherwise; clean white socks are usually expected. The people around you will show you what to do, and asking is normal rather than embarrassing.
Sources
- 大寄せ茶会（デジタル大辞泉 / 世界大百科事典） / コトバンク
Supports: 薄茶（または濃茶）部分だけを取り出し、一日に多数（1000人ほどになることもある）の客を数か所の茶席に分けてもてなす形式が「大寄せ茶会」と呼ばれること。千利休時代の「会」と現代の略式の茶会とを区別するために生まれた呼称であること
About this article
Edited by the operator of Chaen (a one-person operation) / Last updated:
Tea ceremony descriptions can vary by school and source. Where interpretations differ, this glossary avoids definitive claims and focuses on broadly shared understandings. If you notice an error, please let us know viaContact. To learn about our organization, seeAbout Chaen.
Term info
- Category
- Etiquette
Related terms
- Temae (the procedures of preparation)temae
The choreographed sequences for handling utensils and preparing tea; the substance of what students practise.
- Usucha (thin tea)usucha
Matcha whisked lightly to a foam and served one bowl per guest; the form of tea most people meet first.
- Koicha (thick tea)koicha
Matcha kneaded with a little water into a thick paste, traditionally shared from a single bowl; the centre of a full gathering.
- Chaji (full tea gathering)chaji
The complete four-hour form — meal, charcoal, thick tea, thin tea — regarded as the most demanding expression of tea practice.
- Shogo no chaji (noon gathering)shogo no chaji
The standard form of the full gathering: entry around 11am, departure around 3pm, covering the complete sequence.