Back to essence: Kyiv Polytechnic delegation attends tea ceremony at Japanese Ambassador’s Residence
The delegation of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute – including Rector Anatolii Melnychenko, Kateryna Lugovska, Director of the Ukraine-Japan Centre, and Andrii Shysholin, Vice-Rector for International Relations – was recently received at the Residence of the Ambassador of Japan to Ukraine for a traditional Japanese tea ceremony.
It was more than a cultural event. It was a moment of inward peace and tranquillity, when every gesture and every pause of silence acquired significance. Rooted in the principles of Zen Buddhism and founded upon the reverence of the beautiful in the daily routine of life, the tea ceremony transcends the act of drinking tea. It is about the Way (道 – Dō): the way of harmony, heightened self-awareness, concentration, respect, and quietude.
At this challenging time for Ukraine, such an experience resonated with a particularly profound meaning. Japanese history provides an awe-inspiring example: a small island nation that once stood firm against imperial power. The Russo-Japanese War, (1904–05), is a timeless lesson in resilience, discipline, and strategic foresight – when a victorious Japan forced the Russian empire to abandon its expansionist policy in East Asia, thereby becoming the first Asian nation in modern times to defeat the imperialist power.
Special thanks are due to Japan for its support — in humanitarian efforts, in education, in technology. Subtle yet powerful and far-reaching. Like the ceremony itself.
