Founded 1138 by bishop Ulrich II, the benedictine monastery cloister is not only a well established stop-over on the pligrim's way to Santiago de Compostela but also a place to practice the meditative approach to the serenity provided by the way of tea. In only six months the existing zendo was completely remodelled and an original japanese space for the tea ceremony, also to be used as a dokusan, was added. Not a simple task considering the venerability of the cloister's century old walls and beams. The new premises are fitted with elaborate lighting and state of the art visual and audio equipment. Now a manifolld range of meditation events can be enjoyed in the new spaces. It is also an ideal setting for seminars, workshops and meeting-events in connection with the cloister's own hotel and restaurant.

In the surroundings of Samstagern at Lake Zurich, you may discover a beautiful japanese show-garden and its tea pavillion surrounded by rare plants not usually seen in our country. Designed ba a german architect for the horticultural farm Wuhrmann AG, the eight tatami luminous gazebo was built using swiss woods. It can be used and furnished in various ways, not only for japanese tea ceremonies but also for small-scale events (ask for reservations). The construction is removable and was inaugurated at the 2014 Arts & Crafts Expo in Wädenswil with a demonstration of japanese tea ceremony.

At the VOLTA10 Art Fair in Basel (2014) the Tezukayama Gallery of Osaka presented japanese tea ceremonies in a steel-made tea room with all utensils created in metal in:

Tomohiro Kato's installation "TETTEI"
 

The most important thing about my work is that it is steel. We are under illusions that information like data and numbers fly around so fast and the world is covered by them. I feel a notion that material is becoming less important. Painting metal on metal is like mixing up the existence and reality of steel as material and the symbolism and imagination of two dimensional images. I think this twisted feeling awakens us and makes us rethink about the material 'steel', which is responsible for the world's industrial development.

Tomohiro Kato (Born 1981 in Tokyo, Japan)