MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Experiencing another culture is one benefit of serving overseas.
To give residents a better understanding of the local community, the Marine Corps Community Services' Cultural Adaptation Program provides many opportunities to learn about their host nation's way of life. Recently, some residents learned how green tea became a key cultural aspect of Japanese society.
"I just thought it would be an interesting topic to talk about for one of my classes. It sounds kind of weird to have a class on green tea, but we wanted to explain why it's so important to the Japanese people and how it became a popular part of our culture," Cultural Adaptation Program specialist Chiaki Hasegawa explained.
The history of green tea dates back more than 1,300 years, she added. The first to discover the beneficial health properties of green tea were Chinese monks who traveled to Japan. Later, the ritual became a samurai tradition and eventually the local populace embraced this practice.
"I had no idea green tea had such a long history," described class participant Melody Baldwin. "I'm not really a tea drinker, so the class answered a lot of my questions about what made green tea so beneficial."
"Chiaki even provided information from cancer researchers that proved drinking tea reduces the risk of different cancers," she added. Recent studies have also shown an antioxidant found in green tea is 100 times more effective than Vitamin C and 25 times more effective than Vitamin E.
"Green tea has a special chemical called catechin that not only fights cancer but also reduces blood pressure and lowers your blood sugar," said Hasegawa. "There are so many proven medical studies that describe how tea benefits your health. It surprises a lot of people when they find out."
Part of the tea workshop also included firsthand instruction on preparing a fresh cup of green tea, and once prepared, students were taught some of the steps to perform a tea ceremony ritual.
Hasegawa explained that there are two major styles for tea ceremonies - ura senk and omote senke - but it takes many long years of practice to become a master. Some people practice more than 10 years before becoming a master, so it takes a lot of dedication and hard work to achieve that status.
"Each tea ceremony has many rules and regulations that you have to memorize," explained Hasegawa. "It's more like snow dancing. Each step is a combination of various movements, so it's like art itself. You really have to know the meaning of each movement to become a master."
"I've seen tea ceremonies before on TV, but I didn't understand what was going on," Baldwin admitted. "Chiaki explained that tea ceremonies consist more for meditation purposes rather than ritual. Although the taste of green tea isn't to my liking, I now appreciate its heritage more. But that doesn't mean I'll be drinking more anytime soon."
"All I can say is since you're here in Japan, try it for yourself and see if you like it or not," she continued. "The worst that could happen is you find out it's not for you."