Tea & Fucha Ryōri – Food Culture in Zen Buddhism

We cordially invite you to a special video screening of a lecture by Prof. Claudia Marra. The lecture focuses on the Ōbaku Zen school and its monastic food culture, known as Fucha Ryōri — a vegetarian temple cuisine that emerged from the Chinese-influenced tradition of Ōbaku Zen.

Prof. Marra is Professor at the Faculty of International Communication at Nagasaki University of Foreign Studies. Her research interests include Buddhism, particularly Ōbaku Zen, Japanese cultural history, aesthetics, and the culture and history of Nagasaki during the Edo period.

The lecture offers insights into religious practice, cultural history, and Japan’s culinary traditions, showing how closely food, ritual, and intercultural exchange are intertwined in Zen practice.

The evening will be curatorially hosted by Mengqi Wang, who will serve a selection of teas, matcha, and small thematically paired snacks that reflect the culinary focus of the lecture and invite conversation.

The screening takes place with the kind permission of the German East Asiatic Society and Prof. Claudia Marra. Audience questions will be forwarded to Prof. Marra and answered afterwards! Admission is free; donations are welcome.