Cha-no-yu, 茶の湯, tea-’s-hot water, is made with ma-tcha, 抹茶, powdered-tea, that is blended with hot water using a cha-sen, 茶筅, tea-whisk. There are many different sizes and styles of chasen. The standard chasen is made of a single piece of aged ‘white’ take, 竹, bamboo, with a length of the 3 sun kujira-jaku, 鯨尺, whale-span, 11.5 cm. Although the diameter of the bamboo varies, the standard Japanese diameter is approximately .7 sun kane-jaku, 曲尺, bend-span, or .55 sun kujira-jaku, 2.4 cm. It is a bit curious that the chasen is made using the kujira-jaku, because bamboo objects are usually measured with the kane-jaku, 曲尺, bend-span. The length...
Continue readingKobukusa
A ko-buku-sa, 古帛紗, old-cloth-gauze, also written with Kanji, 古袱紗, is a small square of fine fabric that is used to display or hold a prized Tea utensil. The fabric is doubled, so that it is hemmed on three sides. It is kept in the front folding of the kimono, futokoro or kai, folded in half like a Japanese book, with the fold on the right, together with a folded fuku-sa, 帛紗, cloth-gauze, and folded pack of kai-shi, 懐紙, heart-paper. Because of its kept location, it is also called a kai-chū ko-buku-sa, 懐中古帛紗, heart-middle old-cloth-gauze. The kobukusa is kept in the futokoro, 懐, heart, the front folding of...
Continue readingSekimori Ishi and Ganesha
The garden of a Teahouse is called a ro-ji, 露地, dew-ground, which has a path leading from the outside world to the Teahouse. A roji should have no flowering plants, but rather, evergreen trees and plants such as ferns, moss, bamboo, etc. Sen no Rikyū believed that the ideal roji has only moss, koke, 苔, covering the ground, but as people might get their feet wet, it has a pathway made of steppingstones, tobi-ishi, 飛石, fly-stone. The roji may have paths branching off the main route, and to mark where the guest should not walk, a stone is placed a little way in, indicating that the way...
Continue readingChasen and the Gorintō
In Cha-no-yu, 茶の湯, tea-’s-hot water, the cha-sen, 茶筅, tea-whisk. The chasen is a length of bamboo that is cut into many tines at one end, and has thread wound around the bamboo to separate the outer ring of tines. By itself alone may represent the Go-rin-tō, 五輪塔, Five-ring-tower. The Go-rin, 五輪, Five-rings or principles, are Chi, 地, Earth, Sui, 水, Water, Ka, 火, Fire, Fū, 風, Wind, Kū, 空, Void. The Kanji for ring, 輪, also means the Indian concept of chakra, points or areas on the human body. The chasen is round to manifest the chakra which is a circle. The word Gorintō is composed of...
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Among the essential utensils in Chanoyu are a pair of metal hi-bashi, 火箸, fire-rods, used by the tei-shu, 亭主, house-master, to move pieces of charcoal, sumi, 炭. The charcoal presentation in the presence of the guests, kyaku, 客, is called sumi de-mae, 炭手前, charcoal hand-fore. Different types of hibashi are used with the fu-ro, 風炉, wind-hearth, and the ro, 炉, hearth. For the furo, Sen no Rikyū preferred simple hollow steel rods with an eye-hole at the end and covered with black lacquer. Hibashi for the ro are hollow, metal rods with mulberry wood handles: kuwa-e, 桑柄, mulberry-handle. The most formal hibashi are kazari hi-bashi, 飾火箸,...
Continue readingTabako Bon and the Five Elements
The utensils within the tabako bon, 煙草盆, smoke-plant tray, may be identified with the Go-gyō, 五行, Five- transitions, these are expressions of the five physical elements: Tabako ire, 煙草入れ, tobacco-receptacle; the paper is folded into thirds in both directions creating nine areas. Ito-tabako, 糸煙草, thread tobacco, kizami tabako, 刻み煙草, thinly cut tobacco. Finely cut threads, required to be slightly moist, needs humidor. Hi-ire, 火入, fire-receptacle; ta-don, 炭團, charcoal-circle. Hai, 灰, ash, wood ash. Hai-fuki, 灰吹, ash-blow; green bamboo tube with small amount of water. Kiseru, キセル, 煙管, smoke-tube; Cambodia ksher. Parts of the kiseru: ra-u, 羅宇, gauze-eave, rattan pipe stem, dō, 胴, body, hi-zara, 火皿, fire-dish, bowl, gan-kubi,...
Continue readingMizuya Dogu
The mizu-ya, 水屋, water-house, is a room where preparations are made for presenting Cha-no-yu, 茶の湯, Tea-’s-hot water. Mizu-ya dō-gu, 水屋道具, water-house way-tool, are a large number of utensils used in the actual presentation of ten-mae, 点前, offer-fore. Although some cooking may be done in the mizuya, most of that is done in the kitchen which in Japanese is dai-dokoro, 台所, stand-place, and chū-bō, 厨房, kitchen-room. The mizuya must have water and a heat source for hot water, and these are provided by a mizu-game, 水瓶, water-vat, and a gan-ro, 丸炉, round-hearth, in the floor. Preparation is called jun-bi, 準備, proportion-prepare. The cup of the ladle is made...
Continue readingSensu
The sensu is an essential part of Chanoyu. It is the emblem of the guest, just as the fukusa is the emblem of the host. I wondered why the sensu for men and women in Chanoyu are those particular sizes and styles. The sensu for a man is 6 sun kane-jaku, and that for a woman is 5 sun kane-jaku. Six is an In number to complement his Yō, and five is a Yō number to complement her In. Special sensu may be 7 sun kane-jaku, as well as other sizes. Both of the sensu for men and women have the same number of ribs, hone, 骨,...
Continue readingFutaoki
The height of Rikyū’s take futa-oki, 竹蓋置, bamboo lid-rest, measures 1.8 sun kane-jaku, 1.8 寸曲尺, “inch” bend-span: also 18 bu (分) kane-jaku, 180 rin (厘)kane-jaku. The 1.8 sun kane-jaku measurement equals 1.44 sun kujira-jaku. Ideally, the bamboo lidrest is made of freshly cut green bamboo: ao-dake, 青竹, green-bamboo, hiki-kiri, 引切, draw-cut (sawn), futa-oki. Is the origin of the aodake futaoki a sakazuki made of aodake, and perhaps for drinking o-mi-ki , お神酒, hon.-sacred sake, at a Shintō ritual? The green bamboo cup at the right, ao-dake sakazuki, 青竹盃, green-bamboo sake cup, h. 2” – 1.7 sun kane-jaku. The height of the green bamboo futaoki used by Take-no...
Continue readingRobiraki
In Chanoyu, the sunken hearth is opened on the first day of the Wild Boar of the tenth month. According to Japanese traditional architecture, the ro is a permanent part of a Tearoom, which is usually covered over when not in use. Therefore, the floor has to be opened to reveal the hearth, hence “opening” the ro. The traditional opening of the hearth, ro-biraki, 炉開, hearth-open, should occur on the first I no hi, 亥の日, Boar’s day, of the tenth month. of the kyū-reki, 旧暦, old-calendar. This day varies greatly, as the Zodiac cycle of twelve animals is different each year. In addition, the “tenth month”...
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