Directory: Daruma

Setsubun: The Fortunes of Spring

Uchiwa, 団扇, round-fan, paper on split bamboo with calligraphy, Shichi-ten ha-kki, 七転八起, seven-fall down eight-get up, and images of roly-poly dolls of Daruma enrobed in white with the Kanji fuku, 福, fortune, and O-ta-fuku, お多福, Hon.-much-fortune, as Hime Daruma, 姫だるま, Princess Daruma, dressed in red with the Kanji for kotobuki, 寿, longevity. Daruma, said to be the founder of Chan/Zen Buddhism, is depicted with a te-nugi, 手拭い, hand-wipe, as a hachi-maki, 鉢巻, bowl-wrap, around his head, indicating his effort and spirit needed to achieve a goal. Otafuku is an image that is related to providing joy and good fortune. Depicting these two deities together combines aspects of...

Horse Tale in Tea

Ga-ran-dō, 伽蘭洞, Help-orchid-cave, with utensils for the beginning of the Uma-doshi, 午年, Horse-year, 2026. January first, as it corresponds to the ‘old’ lunar calendar, is the 12th day of the 11th lunar month. The Gan-jitsu, 元日, Origin-day, of lunar New Year is February 17th. After Bodhidharma’s death, his body was embalmed and placed in a coffin according to Buddhist rituals. In the 12th month of the lunar calendar, he was solemnly reburied on Mount Xiong’er, and a stupa was built in his memory at Dinglin Temple in Shanxian County, Henan Province. This is one of the reasons why the hanging scroll with its image of Daruma tokonoma,...

Pine Needles in Tea and Zen

Ga-ran-dō, 伽蘭洞, Attend-orchid-cave; kake-jiku, 掛軸, hang-scroll, with calligraphy, ‘Shō-fu-za’, 松風坐, Pine-wind-sit, by Nyo-kyō(?), 如郷, Like-village. L. 5 shaku kane-jaku. Top: shi-fuku, 仕覆, serve-cover, silk drawstring bag tailored to fit a cha-ire, 茶入, tea-receptacle: the himo, 紐, or o, 緒, cord stretched loop length is 6 sun kane-jaku. Shifuku fabric pattern is Ichi-matsu takara don-su, 市松宝緞子, City-pine treasure damask-of. Middle: eda-zumi, 枝炭, branch-charcoal, for ro, 炉, hearth; 6 sun kane-jaku. The edazumi is made of a tsu-tsuji, 躑躅, azalea twig that is made into charcoal and covered with go-fun, 胡粉, foreign-flour, made of burned oyster or clam shells ground to a chalk white powder. The shells from the...