Tea ceremony and sports. The person who bridges these seemingly unrelated genres is Muneto Kobori, the second daughter of Munezane Kobori, the 13th head of the Enshu family.

Top athletes gather under Muneto Kobori
Why I'm so passionate about tea

One day, the ``Athlete Tea Party'' began in the early afternoon. The location is the Enshu Soke's tea room in Kagurazaka, Tokyo. The host is Sosho Kobori, the second daughter of the family head and a former Japanese lacrosse athlete. Soto casually invites athletes who are interested in tea to his tea room. There were five guests. In front of the alcove are former Gamba Osaka soccer player Ryuji Bando, rugby player NTT Communications Shining Arcs captain Kim Shokei, American football player Shingo Maeda of the Obic Seagulls, and Double Dutch. "REGSTYLE" performer YUI and parkour athlete and leader of the parkour group "monsterpk" YUUTAROU will be standing next to each other. The five of them, dressed in suits, hoodies, and whatever they wanted, watched Muneto make tea with a slightly nervous look on their faces. When the athletes enter, the tea room looks different than usual. Is it the power each of them emits that makes you think so? This is a solemn yet free-style tea ceremony brought together by top athletes brought together by a tea master named Soto Kobori.

Soccer, rugby, and American football are familiar, but double dutch and parkour are relatively new sports. Double Dutch is a rope jumping sport that involves jumping between two ropes, and is attracting attention as a competition that focuses on expression, such as freestyle and fusion with music. Parkour is a sport that uses physical ability to overcome various obstacles, and is expected to become an official sport at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Harito, who was today's official guest, retired last year and hopes to become involved in soccer as an administrator in the future. He says, ``In the tea room, you can face yourself.'' The tea ceremony may serve as a transition point from someone who plays sports to someone who supports them. Lager Kim frequently participates in tea parties. Because he and Soto share a training gym, he wanted to experience the tea ceremony, which he had always been interested in. Now, he makes tea at home as well. ``Tea brings out the flavor of the soul.It tastes completely different every time.I feel like I'm facing only the tea, and that's what makes the tea ceremony so interesting.'' Maeda, an American football player, has participated in the tea ceremony twice so far. Maeda, who is interested in Zen and mindfulness, feels that the tea ceremony is essentially the same, as it involves a process of concentrating on one thing.

YUI unexpectedly said, ``Double Dutch is hospitality.'' Double Dutch performs with at least three people, but apparently this is because they are always thinking about the other person. There is a turner who spins the rope to make the performer in the middle shine. YUI, who is also a calligrapher, believes that humans need both stillness and movement. YUUTAROU, a parkour tracer who was attending a tea ceremony for the first time, said, ``The idea of ​​tea was that you removed your sword and entered through a narrow entrance.'' The way YUUTAROU carefully waved his chasen reminded me of his daily careful performances.

Tool assembly too
In honor of the feelings of athletes

The tools for this day were selected by Muneto for Japan's leading athletes. The Zen phrase ``Banri Ichijo Tetsu'' was hung in the alcove. It is an image of a single piece of iron penetrating the world. In Zen, it seems to represent the unchanging state of the Buddha's mind and Buddha nature, but it also seems to represent the state of a strong will that is unaffected by anything. The Shumaru tea set containing matcha resembles the Japanese flag and pays homage to Japan's leading athletes. You could feel the care that Soto had put into the bowls each of them were served, with some based on their team colors and others with patterns that looked like the Olympic rings. ``Next time, I'll make tea for you all,'' Soto said, and the guests moved to the standing seats on the second floor. Each person makes tea and serves it to the guest they have designated. After drinking it, they shared their impressions of the taste, saying, ``It has a strong taste,'' and ``It's sweet and delicious.''

Athletes feel that tea is a ``mirror'' of themselves, and the taste changes depending on their physical condition and mood. It was impressive to see everyone talking about tea with such physicality. Beyond the brand of tea, the utensils, and etiquette for making tea, there is something that your body feels. You just have to express it honestly. It was at that moment that I realized that the ``Athlete Tea Ceremony'' is not just a tea ceremony, but also connected to the other world of sports.

Muneto Kobori himself is a former Japanese national lacrosse player. In addition to his activities as a tea ceremony practitioner, he is also an active athlete who continues to compete as a member of the adult team ``MISTRAL.'' Next time, we will hear about his passion for spreading the word, as he was born into the family of the head of the Enshu tea ceremony family, and as a tea ceremony master and athlete, he presides over the ``Athlete Tea Ceremony.''

(Titles omitted)

Sosho Kobori

Tea ceremony master. She is the second daughter of the 13th head of the Enshu tea ceremony family. She is a former member of Japan's lacrosse team. She currently belongs to the social club team "MISTRAL". After training under the iemoto, she worked to popularize the tea ceremony and also became an active lacrosse player. She is a young athlete tea master who is attracting attention for her new endeavors, such as the fusion and development of sports and culture, and athlete tea ceremonies for athletes.