2025年今年を振り返る

いよいよ今年もあとわずかとなりました。

2025年の今年を振り返ってみると、茶の湯ワークショップの名称を「季節の小さな茶ノ会リンデ」と新しくし、2ヶ月に一度のリズムで、6回の小さな会をひらくことができました。

毎回、利休が残した七つの心得「利休七則」を手がかりに、茶の湯を通して日々の暮らしを見つめ直す時間となりました。紐解いていくほどに、ささやかな日常の中にも気づきやヒントが隠れていることを実感する一年でした。

また、世界的な抹茶ブームの影響で、これまで手ごろに購入できていた抹茶が手に入りにくくなる出来事もありました。そんな中、以前から親しくしている京都のお茶屋さんでは、登録してある名前と住所を伝えるだけで、変わらず大切に対応してくださり、信頼関係が商いへとつながっていくことを、あらためて感じました。

生活面では、今年前半は感染性胃腸炎やケガなど、思うようにいかない時期もありましたが、
9月から4年半ぶりに再開したジャザサイズをきっかけに、週2回体を動かす習慣が戻り、少しずつ調子も整ってきました。仲間に支えられながら、ライフワークとして続けていきたいと思っています。

仕事では、AIの活用が日常のものとなり、「こんな時代が来るなんて」と驚きながらも、事務作業をあっという間に助けてくれる心強い存在となりました。20年続けてきた記念のイベントも無事に終え、
社会貢献の仕事は「続けること」にこそ意味があるのだと、しみじみと感じています。

来年は、明治39年（1906年）にニューヨークで刊行、世界中で翻訳され読み継がれてきた岡倉天心著『茶の本』をテーマに、川口葉子さんによる意訳本『本のお茶』（角川文庫）の言葉のエッセンスを季節ごとに味わっていく予定です。

社中の皆様と2ヶ月に一度、真心をこめて一椀の茶を点て、季節を感じ、きものを楽しみ、心を整える時間をご一緒できたことが、何よりの励みとなりました。

今年一年お付き合いいただき、ありがとうございました。

室内の水耕栽培のヒヤシンスとベランダの球根から小さな芽が顔を出しました。小さな庭から明るい春を感じます。 

どうぞ佳いお年をお迎えください。

As the year draws to a close, there are only a few days left.
I will be returning to my hometown and spending the New Year holidays in Niigata.

Looking back on this past year, I renamed my tea workshop Seasonal Small Tea Gatherings "Linde" and was able to hold six gatherings, maintaining a rhythm of one meeting every two months.

Each gathering became a moment to reflect on everyday life through the Way of Tea, guided by the seven principles left by Sen no Rikyū, known as Rikyū's Seven Rules. The more deeply I explored them, the more I realized how many quiet insights and gentle hints are hidden within ordinary daily life. It was a year of such discoveries.

This year also brought changes brought about by the global matcha boom, making matcha—once easily available—more difficult to obtain. Even so, a tea merchant in Kyoto, with whom I have long shared a warm relationship, continued to welcome me simply by recognizing my registered name and address. Once again, I was reminded that trust built over time naturally becomes part of meaningful commerce.

In my personal life, the first half of the year was marked by setbacks, including illness and injury, and things did not go as smoothly as I had hoped. However, after resuming Jazzercise in September for the first time in four and a half years, I gradually regained a habit of moving my body twice a week. Little by little, my balance has returned. With the support of my companions, I hope to continue this as a lifelong practice.

At work, the use of AI has become a part of everyday life. While I still find myself thinking, "I can't believe such a time has come," it has become a reassuring presence, swiftly assisting with administrative tasks. The commemorative event I have continued for twenty years also came to a successful close, and I felt deeply that social contribution lies in the simple yet powerful act of continuing.

Next year, I plan to explore The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo—first published in New York in 1906 and read and translated around the world—through the seasons. I will savor the essence of its words using Tea of the Book, a modern interpretive translation by Yoko Kawaguchi (Kadokawa Bunko).

Above all, sharing time with members of our tea circle every two months—preparing a single bowl of tea with sincerity, feeling the seasons, enjoying kimono, and quietly centering our hearts—has been my greatest source of encouragement.

Thank you very much for accompanying me throughout this year.

Small shoots have begun to emerge from the hyacinths grown indoors in water and from the bulbs on the balcony. Beyond the end of winter, I can already sense the brightness of spring.

Wishing you a very happy New Year.