Before the lecture, we will meditate while adjusting our breathing in the back garden. The garden in the back is a dry garden with the atmosphere of “Ibushi tiles” and white stones as sand crests.

From the garden, you can enjoy the view of the murmuring of the Oigawa River flowing in front of Hoshinoya Kyoto and the valley of Arashiyama. Correct your posture, meditation, and meditate while feeling the refreshing breeze.

After preparing your mind with meditation, listen to a lecture by a lecturer who is familiar with Kyoto’s culture and traditions. The instructors are closely related to Hoshinoya Kyoto, who are also involved in activities and facility building. You can change the theme every week and listen to seasonal expressions in various fields such as flower arrangement, Zen, gardening, kodo, and Japanese sweets.

[Lecturer introduction]
Mr. Takashi Sasaoka (Iemoto, the third generation of the flower arrangement “Mishō-ryu Sasaoka”)

Born in Kyoto in 1974. He graduated from the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University. From the age of three, he inherited the third generation Iemoto in 2011 under the guidance of his grandfather, the second generation Iemoto “Sasaoka Kunpo”. He pursued the possibility of ikebana as a performing art, and performed ikebana performances at official events overseas, including the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Switzerland.

In 2016, he was in charge of flower decoration at the G7 Ise-Shima Summit. He is a visiting professor at Kyoto Notre Dame University and Taisho University. Also a member of the Kyoto City Board of Education. As the ambassador of “DO YOU KYOTO?” In Kyoto City, he is calling for the prevention of environmental destruction.

Mr. Daiko Matsuyama (Deputy Chief Abbot of Taizo-in Temple, Rinzai Sect)

Born in Kyoto in 1978. Completed the Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo in 2003. Since 2007, he has been the deputy chief priest of Taizo-in. His dissemination and exchange of Japanese culture was highly evaluated, and in May 2009, he was appointed as the Visit Japan Ambassador of the Japan Tourism Agency.

Since 2011, he has been the “Kyoto Tourism Hospitality Ambassador” in Kyoto City. In 2016, he was selected as one of the “100 People Who Create the Next Generation” by “Nikkei Business” magazine, and became a Fellow of the “Japan-US Leadership Program” from the same year. Since 2018, he has been a visiting lecturer at Stanford University in the United States. Received the 2019 Agency for Cultural Affairs Commissioner’s Commendation and Shigemitsu Award.

Tomonori Kato (CEO of Ueya Kato Zouen Co., Ltd.)

Professor, Ph.D. (Academic), Department of Japanese Gardens, Kyoto University of the Arts. Born in Kyoto in 1966. After graduating from the Faculty of Horticulture at Chiba University, he entered a long-established family business that runs a landscaping business. While inheriting the Japanese garden culture, he trains a group of professional craftsmen who create traditions with the best techniques and sensibilities, and trains every day.

He has been teaching gardening and training management since the 2009 Hoshinoya Kyoto Open. Received the 2018 Japan Icomos Award for the achievements in the preservation and utilization of cultural property gardens, and the 2018 Japan Landscaping Society Award for the “unit construction method” of paving stones utilizing traditional techniques. Currently, Kyoto University of the Arts is also working on teaching garden research in line with practical studies.

Yohei Yamada (President and CEO of Yamada Bee Farm)

Born in Kyoto in 1976. He joined NEC after graduating from the Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Economics, Rikkyo University. After he left the company, he entered Waseda University’s Graduate School of Business, Department of Business. After graduating, he joined the long-established incense store “Yamada Matsukagi”, which was founded in the Edo and Kansei years of the family business. He is currently the CEO. At his family business, Yamada Matsukagi, he continues to work to pass down Japanese scent culture, such as the scented kimono that was developed by aristocrats during the Heian period and the traditional tea practice “Kodo” that has been passed down since the Muromachi period.

Mr. Yoshikazu Yoshimura, Mr. Yuiko (Kyogashi confectionery “Kameya Yoshinaga” 8th generation owner, proprietress)

“Kameya Yoshinaga” was founded in 1803 at Shijo Awakegai in the form of separating goodwill from the prestigious “Kameya Yoshinaga” of Kyoto confectionery. He is a member of the Kashokai and Hyakumikai. In 2010, we developed products in collaboration with Kyoto textile brand “SOU・SOU”.

In 2011, he launched a new brand “Satomi Fujita by KAMEYA YOSHINAGA” with Reimi Fujita, a pastry chef of a 2-star restaurant in Paris. In 2012, we developed a collaborative product with the chocolaterie “Dari K” in Kyoto. In 2016, he launched the “Yoshimura Japanese Sweets Shop,” which offers Kyoto sweets that are kind to both the mind and body, and is working on making Kyoto sweets based on the nature and traditions of Kyoto.

At the Xiaotian course held at a temple in Kyoto, morning porridge and somen noodles are served after the lecture. It is somen that you can enjoy with the chef’s special soup stock. While being blown by the refreshing breeze, your body and soul will be filled and you will feel luxurious.

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