Writing – Chanoyu Decoded

Tanabata, Paper, and Letter Writing Month

Tsuri-hana-ire, 釣花入, suspend-flower-receptacle, in the form of a bird. Kake-mono, 掛物, hang-thing, tan-zaku, 短冊, short-volume, temporarily mounted on paper and fabric hanging scroll, tan-zaku kake, 短冊掛, short-volume hang 2 x 12 sun kane-jaku. Tan-zaku-kake, 短冊掛, short-volume-hanger, paper and fabric scroll with threads at the corners to hold a tanzaku; L. 4.5 shaku kane-jaku, or 3.6 sun kujira-jaku. The scroll is hung on go-ma-dake ji-zai, 胡麻竹自在, foreign-hemp bamboo self-exist, with adjustable metal hook. Tanzaku, decorative pasteboard with calligraphy: 軽やかに竹の葉に落ち七夕雨, karoyaka ni take no ha ni otsu ni tanabata u, lightly on bamboo leaves falls Seven Night rain Fumi-zuki, 文月, letter-month, is one of the old lunar calendar names...

Kakejiku and the Woodpecker in Chanoyu

Ao-gera, 緑啄木鳥, green peck-wood-bird, Picus Awokera, endemic to Japan, can also refer to Taku-boku-chō, 啄木鳥, peck-wood-bird, woodpecker. ‘Go-shiki-dori’, 五色鳥,five-color-bird. The woodpecker has long held associations with the Buddha particularly as seen in the Jakarta Tales. Many stories exist celebrating the Buddha’s former lives when he manifested as a woodpecker. In Japanese culture and mythology, the woodpecker symbolizes protection, perseverance, and also good fortune. There is a strong connection with the five colors, as represented by both the five elements as well as the five principles that are seen in much of the underlying Buddhist and Taoist philosophies that are found in the Tearoom. There is a special...

Tenmoku Chawan and Infinity

Ten-moku cha-wan, 天目茶碗, Heaven-eye tea-bowl; ceramic bowl with black to brown glaze, called o-gō-san, 兎毫盞, hare-hair-cup, also called nogi-me, 禾目, grain-eye, Diam. 4.1 x 2 sun kane-jaku, kō-dai, 高台, high-support, ring foot diam. 1.3 sun kane-jaku. Sō ji-dai, 宋時代, Dwell Time-generation, Song dynasty. 960-1127. The word tenmoku refers to the Tien-mu, 天目, area in China where such bowls originated in the Song dynasty. Traditional tenmoku chawan possess a purposeful and geometric construction, meant to draw the meditative gaze of the person drinking tea toward a centralized point of Infinity, metaphorically contained within the bowl. The three most well known types of glaze patterns of Tenmoku chawan are:...

Omogashi and Kaishi

Omo-ga-shi, 主菓子, main-sweet-of, is served and eaten before drinking koi-cha, 濃茶, thick-tea. Ideally, the sweet is made just prior to serving it, which gives it other name of nama-ga-shi, 生菓子, live-sweet-of. In life, such sweets are served at any time, accompanying a wide variety of teas and other beverages. In Chanoyu omogashi is enjoyed from a special paper called kai-shi, 懐紙, heart-paper; the specific type of folded Japanese paper used as a plate for serving and eating o-ka-shi, お菓子, hon.-sweet-of, which refers to the traditional sweet or confectionery. Kaishi supporting an omogashi and a kuromoji, a bowl of koicha served in a kuro raku cha-wan, 黒楽茶碗,...

Sweets for Usucha

In Chanoyu, 茶の湯, Tea-’s hot water, there are many things that are in groups of three. They are predominantly identified with the three levels of formality: Shin, Gyō and Sō, 真行草, True (formal), Transitional (semi-formal), and Grass (informal). These three aspects have their origin in calligraphy, sho-dō, 書道, brush-way. These dry sweets, known as hi-ga-shi, 干菓子, dry-sweet-of, are a foundational component served with thin tea. Their primary substance is a sugar base, often utilizing the high-quality wa-san-bon, 和三盆, Japanaese-three-tray. When starches such as rice flour or soybean flour are added, they are commonly referred to as raku-gan, 落雁, alighting-geese. After shaping the sweet in a wooden mold,...

Incense and Chanoyu

Ki-men bu-ro, 鬼面風炉, Demon-face wind-hearth, with loose rings, bronze, with kama, 釜, kettle, iron, and a ceramic kō-ro, 香合, incense-hearth, elaborately decorated ceramic, with dragon motif handles and lid knob, Satsu-ma–yaki, 薩摩焼, Salvation-polish-fired, Kyūshū. The kama has taken the place of the lid of the kōro which is usually perforated to allow the fragrance and smoke to be released. The furo can be seen primarily as a large incense burner that likely came from a Buddhist temple. Incense, o-kō, お香, hon.-incense, has been greatly appreciated in Japan since ancient times. Dedication and practice is called Kō-dō, 香道, Incense-way. According to custom, one does not ‘smell’ incense, but...

Nijō and Small Tearooms

Chanoyu can be prepared at any time and any place. Japanese people have prepared Tea in rooms that once had bare wooden flooring that was later covered by straw and grass mats called go-za, 御座, hon.-seat, that were folded up and stored when not being used. This is called tatamu, 畳, fold up, stow, etc. In time, the goza mats covered thick, rigid, rectangular panels that covered much of the floor, and were called tatami. The tatami were placed where needed and removed when not being used. Some tatami remained on the floor, and were used to determine the size of the room. Because people like to...

Sounds in Tea: Part 1

Attending a Tea presentation, or special event such as a cha-ji, 茶事, tea-matter, or a cha-kai, 茶会, tea-gathering, provides an opportunity to be present with all the senses, and while many associate Tea with a quiet and contemplative experience there are a wide variety of sounds, both in the external environment as well as in the internal forms of mental and emotional participation. One of the first sounds that is present in a gathering is the knock of a ban-gi, 板木, board-wood, that is hung outside near an entrance, and is struck once by a guest arriving for a Tea gathering. The bangi may be present within...

Sanshoku: Three Colors

San-shoku dan-go, 三色団子, three-colors round-of, are known by different names depending on times and local traditions. For example, Hana-mi dango, 花見団子, flower-see dango, are often enjoyed for cherry blossom viewing. A variation on the neame is ‘mochi-bana’, 餅花, mochi-flower, and it is made of a pink, a white, and a green ball of mochi, placed on a yō-ji, 柳枝, willow-branch, or skewer of dogwood, mizu-ki, 水木, water-wood (Cornus controversa) rather than using the common bamboo skewer. The tradition of flower viewing dates back to the Nara and Heian periods, and sanshoku dango was popular among the imperial court ceremonies to celebrate the seasons. The specific custom of...

Omizutori

O-mizu-tori, 御水取り, Hon.-water-take, annual rite held at Ni-gatsu-dō, 二月堂, Two-month-hall, of Tō-dai-ji, 東大寺, East-great-temple, in Na-ra, 奈良, What-good. Tōdaiji was founded in Nara, Japan, by Emperor Shōmu in 738 CE and officially opened in 752 CE. The ceremony’s official name is Shu-ni-e, 修二会, Discipline-two-gathering which includes the offering of Omizutori as one aspect of the practice. The ceremony takes place in the two weeks at the beginning of the second lunar month, which generally corresponds with the beginning of March in the solar calendar. The event takes place as a ritual offering to Jū-ichi-men Kan-non, 十一面観音, Ten-one-face See-sound, Buddhist goddess of Mercy. In December, eleven monks are...