Funny Little Moments: Teacups

There are funny little things I notice in my office. I don't know that they are necessarily exclusive to Japan, but I highly doubt there are many other places where a lower peon, such as myself, is constantly having their coffee cup refilled by others.

Of course, when I say "coffee cup", I really mean "teacup"—"Alice in Wonderland" always comes to mind with those word—for green tea is truly a staple of Japanese life. The teacups were one of the first things to come to my notice. Primarily, that everyone has a "teacup personality."

I seriously doubt that when my coworkers were choosing a mug to use at work, they realized they were making a defining decision of their professional experience.

As I often used to help the tea lady gather the cups and distribute tea, I became familiar with which cup belonged to whom. After a while, the cups cease being merely and object of a certain teacher; they became a very representation of them, an avatar, if you will.

"Ah," I say, lifting the large blue Mickey Mouse and Friends mug, "Abe-sensei is here today."

Similarly, when a cup is missing from the collection pool at lunch, or conspicuously absent from a teacher's desk, I get the chance to work in a little trivial Office Conversation. "So, Sato-san is not here today, eh?"

My old Principal and Vice Principal had no decorations on their cups. Theirs were simple, delicate, maybe a little elegant, but mainly plain. Yet these men, especially the Principal, whose smile made him a favorite among the students, were very kind, jovial, generous men. It was as if, by choosing understated tea cups, they were saying, "I may be a friendly man by nature (and I'm not afraid to show it), but I am also an important and professional representative of this school (so please respect the fact that I left my Mickey Mouse cup at home)."

Honestly, it's kind of a lot to say for a little cup that is barely 3 inches tall. Wouldn't you say?

Cheers,

tea lady Baer