On April 30, 2023, the first Tea Ceremony class was held at RESOBOX East Village. Titled “Chanoyu for Everyone: Tea Time at the Table,” the class shifts away from the traditional seiza style of sitting on the floor, and instead participants sit on chairs, making it more casual and accessible to a wider audience. Held twice a month, this class has become popular through word-of-mouth and now attracts many New Yorkers.

The class is led by Mr. Yoshitsugu Nagano, a professor affiliated with the Ueda Soko-ryu school of tea ceremony, who came to New York in order to spread the culture of the tea ceremony.

Recently, a class was conducted for a group of graduate students at the Stern Business School at New York University. About 30 people learned about the culture of tea ceremony through lectures, and then practiced making and tasting matcha using traditional tools.

The ongoing collaboration between Mr. Nagano and RESOBOX continues to evolve through events such as this one. One day, we hope this will lead to classes in an authentic tea room in New York.