On June 14 and 15, we held a cultural event titled “Incense, Flowers, Tea, and Fans: Chanoyu and Traditional Games”. Each day featured two different programs - incense and flower arrangement in the morning, and tea-guessing and fan-tossing games in the afternoon.

Participants joined either or both sessions on the day that suited them.

Incense and fan-tossing games were guided by a teacher who had helped us in the past.

The first program in the morning was "Ogusa Ko”. This time, the teacher chose four incense names from the poetic world of Tsuyukusa (dayflower): “Utsushi-kokoro,” “Ai-kusa,” “Hanada,” and "Yorazukoi”. Those who answered all the questions correctly received a certificate of dedication with applause from everyone.

In the next session, Mawari bana, first-timers enjoyed the changing appearance of the flowers depending on which ones they chose and who arranged them.

The morning session ended with thin tea and sweets. Those who wished

were able to see a Koma, a compact tearoom, through the Nijiriguchi.

In the afternoon, the guests had sweets and participated in cha kabuki. We were worried that for someone who had never experienced koicha before might find the thick koicha a bit overwhelming but they cheered for the winners when the prizes were announced.

This time, the main guests answered all the questions correctly on both days. We congratulated the second and subsequent guests who answered all the questions correctly with a round of applause.

Finally, the guests were split into two teams: “Murasaki Shikibu” and “Sei Shonagon,” for the final performance of the fan tossing. After experiencing the game one at a time, the teams finally competed in the real game. The audience cheered each time the fan hit the butterfly target, and the beautiful trajectory of the fan attracted everyone's attention.

On the second day, a butterfly target that had fallen miraculously stood back up again and the event was very exciting.