Neil Walsh
（caption) Young member serves tea after the monthly service. The aesthetics that evolved around serving matcha, called wabi sabi, were born of poverty. Wabi sabi is about making do with what little one has and self cultivation in times of uncertainty. For example, wabi sabi means the ability to improvise practical artistic solutions from whatever happens to be at hand.
"A Visit to the Mikawa Branch Preserving Traditions during Turbulent Times"
April th, 2008
1.
2008 was a though year for the Japanese economy and as the yen gained value against the U.S. dollar, the Japanese export market fell into rapid decline.
Toyota, the largest Japanese automobile manufacturer, reported losses for the first time in 60 years. The Mikawa branch of Oomoto is just a few kilometers from Toyota City, home of the Toyota Corp.
Many members of the Mikawa branch work in manufacturing or technology development jobs related to Toyota, and everyone in Aichi Prefecture is concerned about the economic future of the region. Mikawa was my fourth Oomoto branch visit, for the monthly festival – called Tsukinamisai – in the past year. As with each previous visit, I accompanied Hiromi Yano, deputy chief of the International Department.
In turbulent economic times, it is a privilege to sit in a traditional Japanese tea room sipping a freshly whipped bowl of frothy matcha, powdered green tea. Tea ceremony, however, is not about privilege. The tea room is a classroom, not a salon.
Mitsutaka Inui, a tea master and Shinto priest, once told me, “Normally when you drink tea you only extract the essence from the leaves, but when you drink matcha, you ingest the leaves as well.
Nothing is wasted. That’s why the taste is strong and bitter. In tea ceremony, you don’t just take the part you want and throw away what you don’t need. You drink it, leaves and all!”
I once worked with a middle school principal and tea master in the Japanese countryside who put potted plants in the hallways and ikebana (flower) displays in forgotten corners, bringing some dignity to a dilapidated public school.
The wabi sabi world view, considered a quaint ideal during Japanese postwar economic expansion, had no place in Japan’s economic policies or industrial planning.
While many Japanese were joining the bandwagon of western-style modernization, Oomoto maintained its practice of tea ceremony and commitment to other Japanese arts.
A renaissance of the Japanese artistic traditions may best prepare Japan for the challenges of the 21st century.
(caption) Birthday party for Yoshi!
(caption) Barrels of Hatcho Miso under the weight of three tons of rocks. |
 3.About 170 members attended the Tsukinamisai – the largest branch meeting I have attended. Like most Oomoto congregations this one is an older group. A few young members did attend. The night before the Tsukinamisai I had dinner with two of the youth leaders from the branch, Tae and Michiko, both in their 20s. After the service some youth members and I took a short walk to a shrine on nearby Takeshima island, and later we had a small surprise party for one of the youth division members. Yoshitaka Tsutsumi had just turned 27. On the way to Takeshima I asked him about his experience in Oomoto. Yoshitaka was born in Kameoka, near Oomoto’s Tenonkyo headquarters. An active member until graduating high school, he moved to Osaka, where he attended Osaka City University. He disappeared from the Oomoto scene during his university years. It is only over the past two years, since getting a job in Aichi Prefecture, that has he become more active in Oomoto. “I think God’s calling me,” he said, “I am interested in Oomoto’s history and theology, but I am studying it very slowly. I think I will practice a Japanese art as well, but have not decided which one yet. I think the most important thing for me at this point is to find a balance between religion and my everyday life, rather than jumping into religious practice too fast.” Tae is the local youth leader, a voluntary position. She spent two years living at Baishojuku, Oomoto’s training school for young members. There she studied Oomoto’s theology and history, tea ceremony, and other traditional Japanese arts. Tae has recently become interested in international politics, especially in conflict resolution, and keeps up on Japan/Korea relations as well as the Middle East conflict. She is interested in developing her new found interest by contributing to Oomoto’s work in international conflict resolution and interreligious dialogue. I have met many Oomoto members in their 20s whose stories are similar to Takafumi’s. Tae’s story is also familiar, a young member fluent in Oomoto’s traditions, now looking for chances to contribute to life outside Oomoto. Oomoto youth leaders are very sensitive to balancing spiritual and material needs and talk about changing and contributing to the world in small ways over a long period of time. We can all learn a lesson from them during these turbulent times. 
(caption) Mikawa is one of the busier Oomoto branches, with about 170 people attending the monthly festivals |
2.The day before the Tsukinamisai, Atsufumi Noda gave us a tour of Okazaki, including a quick spin around his impressive ice cream factory. 
(caption)The restored gate of Okazaki castle.
Hatcho miso is sold as red miso in the United States. Hatcho miso is made from steamed soy beans, mixed with salt, roasted flower, and a particular kind of mold; the fresh product is fermented under three tons of river rocks in cedar barrels for two years.