Photo/Illutration The Kian portable teahouse for use in any surroundings (Provided by Masayuki Inaida)

KYOTO--Seizan Toda, chief monk of Daijiin temple here, never goes anywhere without utensils to hold an impromptu tea ceremony, which means he lugs around a portable tea chamber created entirely of bamboo, even when he is overseas. 

It allows Toda, 54, to chat with people from all walks of life, although he studiously avoids talking about Buddhist teachings during these sessions, as he ritually prepares “matcha” powdered green tea--a practice rooted in ancient Japanese culture.

Daijiin temple is part of the Daitokuji temple complex in Kyoto’s Kita Ward that is famous for a witty monk named Ikkyu (1394-1481).

Toda also uses his mobile Kian teahouse to hold gatherings inside medical centers to listen to patients and their families.

His Kian consists of 30 bamboo slats, each measuring 2 meters long. The 2-meter-tall structure, which only requires an area about the size of two Kyoto-style tatami mats, can be erected in 15 minutes or so.

Once that is done, Toda simply has to lay a rush mat and boil water with an alcohol burner for outdoor use.

To date, he has presided over tea ceremony rituals in and outside Japan, ranging from the banks of the Kamogawa river in Kyoto to a site near the Eiffel Tower in Paris and a seaside area of Los Angeles.

According to Toda, traditional teahouses transport the participant in the ceremony ritual to a mountainous setting even when the proceedings are being held in a busy town or city area.

“While the notion of taking advantage of nature may sound like humankind is superior to it, I think people should come into close contact with nature on their own,” said Toda of the undertaking.

The idea of a portable teahouse came about in 2015 following a proposal to erect a teahouse in the garden of a Japanese restaurant in Rome.

To realize the proposal, Toda got in touch with Masayuki Inaida, 46, who works for a contractor called Yamanaka Komuten that carries out repairs to temples and shrines near Daitokuji.

The structure’s design was determined following multiple tweaks. It is called Kian because the word conjures up the notion of “returning to the starting point at which people recall they are solely part of nature.”

The components can be packed in a ski bag, so the portable teahouse can be dropped off at airport check-in counters.

Several years ago, Toda started holding tea rituals in the reception areas of hospitals. During a visit to the Osaka International Cancer Institute in Osaka this past June, he listened to patients and relatives talking about their illnesses and all sorts of topics.

Toda also held spring and autumn sessions at the Kyoto Okamoto Memorial Hospital in Kumiyama, Kyoto Prefecture, but stopped doing so after the global novel coronavirus pandemic struck in 2020.

Toda said he provides neither Buddhist teachings nor counseling at Kian unfolded in medical centers. He only pays heed to what individuals he encounters are saying.

“Seeing and talking with others is important for not only bodies but also mental health,” Toda said. “I want to be allies for people so they can talk about what is on their mind.”

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