“ZEN-An” A Traveling Teahouse Experience
Nakahara Nantenbo, Enso (detail), 1924, hanging scroll; ink on paper, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Gitter-Yelen Collection, gift of Dr. Kurt Gitter and Alice Yelen Gitter.
Nakahara Nantenbo, Enso, 1924, hanging scroll; ink on paper, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Gitter-Yelen Collection, gift of Dr. Kurt Gitter and Alice Yelen Gitter.
March 31, 2023
See a Japanese tea ceremony and explore the exhibition None Whatsoever: Zen Paintings from the Gitter-Yelen Collection.
In 2017, Japanese architect Kuniji Tsubaki designed a portable teahouse that reduces to the size of a suitcase. His ZEN-An was constructed using authentic Japanese techniques of sashsimonoshi (master carpenters), tatami (mat) craftsmen, sudare (blinds) makers, and washi (paper) mounters. His goal was to develop a tearoom that could be assembled in the time it takes to burn a stick of incense (about 15 minutes). Japanese tea ceremonies presented in this crafted environment introduce rituals influenced by the history of Buddhism.
Plan Your Visit
This program is included with general admission. Meet in the exhibition galleries, on the ground floor of the Beck Building. The group then moves across the street to Cullen Sculpture Garden for the tea ceremony. On Fridays, the Museum is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. If you miss the MFAH ceremony, or would like to see it again, additional presentations take place over the weekend: Saturday, April 1 (11 a.m. at Hermann Park and 3 p.m. at MECA) and Sunday, April 2 (11 a.m. at Levy Park and 3 p.m. at Burnett Bayland Park).
The presentation of “ZEN-An” is funded in part by The Japan Foundation and Japan-America Society of Houston.
Learning and Interpretation programs receive generous funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services; Samuel H. Kress Foundation; The Brown Foundation, Inc.; Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo; Houston Junior Woman's Club; Sharon G. Dies; Sterling-Turner Foundation; Susan Vaughan Foundation; and additional generous donors.
“None Whatsoever: Zen Paintings from the Gitter-Yelen Collection” is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Generous support is provided by:
Luther King Capital Management
E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation
Anne and Albert Chao
Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas)
Eddie and Chinhui Allen
Mr. and Mrs. Russell M. Frankel
Kathy and Glen Gondo
Milton D. Rosenau, Jr. and Dr. Ellen R. Gritz
Miwa Sakashita and Dr. John R. Stroehlein
Nanako and Dale Tingleaf