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𝘞𝘢, 𝘒𝘦𝘪, 𝘚𝘦𝘪, 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘶
"Harmony, Respect, Purity and Tranquility”
𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺: 𝘋𝘳. 𝘚𝘦𝘯 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘶, 𝘟𝘝 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘬𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯
𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺: 𝘑𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘶𝘯𝘫𝘪-𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴𝘳𝘶𝘥, 𝘑𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳
I would like to share my grief with all of you during this time in which the news about violence against Asians has been heightened. Such incidents against Asians have reached over 3000 since the start of the pandemic. But such violence and Anti-Asian sentiment are not new to this country.
Growing up in an all-white small town, ethnic slurs and comments were a norm. I remember being told by my parents that we have to be strong, stoic, and understand that these were just words. But that I still needed to not only put up with it, but I needed to find ways to continue to be proud of my heritage. I believe that was what many Asian-American children were told — to accept and to not make waves.
But during this time, in which racial strife has been amplified for all people, it demands us to find ways to re-recognize our humanity.
As the director of Japan House, I want to reiterate the heart of our mission: 𝘸𝘢 𝘬𝘦𝘪 𝘴𝘦𝘪 𝘫𝘢𝘬𝘶 — harmony, respect, purity and tranquility. These principles, established by Sen Rikyu in the 1500s, are the core of the Way of Tea, but truly, Rikyu believed that they were the core of humanity. The Way of Tea is not just a simple act of serving a bowl of tea, but it was and can be understood as a Way of Life. This is why these principles have become the foundation of Japan House. Our emphasis has been and will always be about human relations and how we can deepen these relationships with mutual respect, appreciation and awareness.
Harmony must exist in human relations – both thinking of one another as if our lives were reversed. Respect can only be exhibited with genuine effort to treat all people with dignity. Purity becomes the act of relinquishing preconceived ideas so that we are able to embrace the true essence of all human beings. Lastly, tranquility can only be attained by the constant practice of the first three principles. We must strive to live the principles in our daily lives and not just acknowledge them when it is convenient.
I can only encourage this for all. I can only urge us to implement these principles in our lives and to understand the necessity of doing so. I can only hope that what we share at Japan House will continue to be recognized as a positive contribution to the community in which we live.
I thank our supporters and friends who believe in Japan House’s mission and I want to assure all that our commitment to share harmony, respect, purity and tranquility will continue and will always be in the forefront of what we do.
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