Writing – Page 2 – Chanoyu Decoded

Eight-Ten: Gotoku Lid Rest

Futa-oki, 蓋置, lid-place, go-toku, 五徳, five-virtues, Kara-kane, 唐銅, Tang-copper, bronze, with dark patina; h. 1.2 sun kane-jaku, diam. 2 sun kane-jaku. The gotoku is a ring of rectangular-section with three triangular posts or legs, and is used to support a kama no futa, 釜の蓋, kettle’s lid when removed from the kettle. When the gotoku is displayed in the Tearoom, the posts/legs are upright with two posts at the front, shōmen, 正面, correct-face, as pictured above. When used to support the kama lid, the gotoku is turned over so that the ring is up, and with one post/leg forward. Being inverted, the posts are identified as ashi, 足,...

Chasen, Chabana, and Buddhism

Cha-no-yu, 茶の湯, Tea-’s-hot water, is sharing tea with others. In its early days, tea was a medicine used for many purposes. Tea came in many forms, and in Buddhism, tea was drunk before meditation, to keep awake. When offered to the Buddha and other revered spirits, procedure and protocol was established. Flowers are an essential offering to the Buddha, and the most important flower is the lotus, hasu, 蓮. When Zen Buddhism was brought to Japan it came together with a way of preparing and drinking tea. Tea became inseparable from Zen. (a) The kake-mono, 掛物, hang-thing, shiki-shi, 色紙, color-paper, paperboard with calligraphy ‘‘Cha Zen Ichi Mi’, 茶禅一味,...

Chasen and Sensu

In the realm of Chanoyu, there are two objects that are essential, a cha-sen, 茶筅, tea-whisk, and a sen-su, 扇子, fan-of. The tei-shu, 亭主, house-master, must have a cha-sen, 茶筅, tea-whisk, to blend together the cha, 茶, tea, and the yu, 湯, hot water. Both the teishu and the kyaku, 客, guest, and must have a folding sen-su, 扇子, fan-of. The essential utensil for the kyaku is the sensu, and the essential utensil for the teishu is the chasen. The sensu and the chasen are not to be used at the same time. The guest should not use the sensu for cooling oneself. The guest lays the...

Eight-Ten: Nijiri-guchi

Chanoyu is presented in Tea rooms, Cha-shitsu, 茶室, Tea-room, that vary greatly in size. There are standards that are based on the number and size of tatami, and with many variations. There are essentially two types of Tea rooms – hiro-ma and koma. A hiro–ma, 広間, wide-room, ranges from a yo-jō-han, 四畳半, four-tatami-half, to almost any greater number of tatami. A ko–ma, 小間, small-room, can be a yojōhan or any room with fewer tatami. A small hut for Tea is called a sō–an, 草庵, grass-hut, because they originally had thatched roofs. A small Tea hut usually has a small entrance that causes one to crouch down...

Eight-Ten: Fukusa

Fuku-sa, 帛紗, cloth-gauze, purple silk; 9 x 9.5 sun kane-jaku or 7.2 x 7.6 sun kujira-jaku. The fuku-sa, 帛紗, cloth-gauze, is a square of silk fabric that is used by the host, tei-shu, 亭主, house-master, to purify utensils. The piece is made of a rectangle 1 x 2 kane-shaku, that is folded in half and hemmed on three sides. When not being used, the fukusa is folded in half diagonally twice, and tucked under the obi, 帯, sash, to the side. Before purifying certain Tea utensils, the fukusa is examined and folded, which is called fukusa sabaki. There is an issue with the word sabaki, as there...

Opening the Furo: Shoburo

Photograph of a hypothetical arrangement of the relationship between the fu-ro, 風炉, wind-hearth, on the left, and the ro, 炉, hearth, on the right. This is to show the similarities and differences between them. The futa, 蓋, and the futa-oki, 蓋置, lid-place, for the furo, are to the left, whereas the futa and futaoki of the ro are to the right. This may be reflected in the ancient pair of Chinese lions that guard the entrance to the imperial palace, and other important places. The male, on the left, has his right paw on a decorative ball, and the female, on the right, has a playful baby...

Opening the Furo: Tsumami

In the realm of Chanoyu, water for tea is heated in a kama, 釜, kettle, placed over a fire. The fire is usually made with sumi, 炭, charcoal. According to Japanese domestic tradition, a fire is kept in an i-ro-ri, 囲炉裏, enclose-hearth-inner, which is a hearth set in the floor where a kettle of water is continually maintained. This confines the fire to a fixed place, making it impossible to prepare tea away from the fire. That issue is resolved by the use of an ancient, portable hearth, such as the familiar hi-bachi, 火鉢, fire-bowl, which is moved and placed anywhere heat is needed. The furo can...

Tango no Sekku

Tan-go no Se-kku, 端午の節句, Begin-(zodiac) horse’s Season-phase, was originally a day when women purified the house by thatching the roof above the entrance to the house, with shō-bu, 菖蒲, iris-rush, and yomogi, 蓬, mugwort, artemisia. These herbs are said to be beneficial for healing, and in the past were believed effective in repelling evil spirits, and for women to rest their bodies. The bundle of iris and mugwort was also put in the soaking bath, fu-ro, 風呂, wind-spine, shō-bu-yu, 菖蒲湯, iris-rush-hot water. Later, in the Kama-kura, 鎌倉, Sickle-storehouse, period (1185–1333), Tango no Sekku was changed to a day for boys when the samurai class took control of...

Hōunsai Konomi: Celebrating 101 Years

Kake-jiku, 掛軸, hang-scroll, with calligraphy, San-shoku Shō-jō-shin, 山色清浄身, Mountain-color pure-pure-body, by Hō-un-sai, 鵬雲斎, ‘Phoenix’-cloud-abstain, written prior to 1976. The text likens the landscape to the body of the Buddha. Hō-un-sai, 鵬雲斎, ‘Phoenix’-cloud-abstain, is the Buddhist name of Sen Sō-shitsu, 千宗室, Thousand Sect-room, XV Ie-moto, 家元, House-origin, Headmaster of Ura-sen-ke, 裏千家, Inner-thousand-family; 1913-present. Since his retirement, he is called Gen-shitsu, 玄室, Mystery-room, and is called Dai-sō-shō, 大宗匠, Great-sect-artisan. In the family of Urasenke, the presiding head master, iemoto, is named Sō-shitsu, 宗室, Sect-room. This was established by Rikyū’s grandson, Sō-tan, 宗旦, Sect-dawn, when he divided his family into four branches, naming each of his sons as...

Rikyū Konomi: Favored Tea Utensils

Sen no Rikyū was and remains the leading influence of Chanoyu and Japanese culture. Many of the utensils used in Chanoyu were and are the konomi, or choice, of Sen no Ri-kyū, 千利休, Thousand Rich-quit. Konomi or konomu, 好, means fond, pleasing, like something, wish, desire, choice, preference, etc. Many of the utensils were created bearing the choice or taste of Rikyū. For example, he worked together with a Korean potter, Chō-ji-rō, 長次郎, Lengthy-next-son, in the creation of ceramic wares that became known as Raku-yaki, 楽焼, Pleasure-fired. Artists and craft persons were inspired by these works and copied them, establishing various traditions. Rikyū had many associates and...