Higashi – Sweets for Thin Tea

Sweets are arranged on a maru-bon, 丸盆, round-tray lacquered red throughout, with the Kanji fuku, 福, fortune, written in gold lacquer; diam 6 sun kujira-jaku, from Tachi-kichi, たち吉, Tachi-good luck, Kyōto. The ideal hi-ga-shi bon, 干菓子盆, dry-sweet-of tray, has a diameter of 8 sun kane-jaku or 6.4 sun kujira-jaku.  Higashi are customarily served with usu-cha, 薄茶, thin-tea. Pictured above are Necco (New England Confectionary Company) wafers are pressed sugar sweets in a variety of colors and flavors that had been made in the Boston area since 1847. Glenn Sōrei Pereira made the little gel trees adorned with colored sugar sprinkles for Christmas. The sweets on the back...

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Winter Solstice and Chanoyu

Garandō set for presenting Bon-ryaku Ten-mae, 盆略点前, Tray-abbreviate Offer-fore, on the occasion of the winter solstice, Tō-ji, 冬至, Winter-attain.  Tokonoma: sen-su, 扇子, fan-of; silk camellia in a ceramic bottle, hana-ire, 花入, flower-receptacle;  displayed on a black-lacquered round board; kō-gō, 香合incense-gather, black-lacquered, octagonal, covered wooden box displayed on a kami-kama-shiki, 紙釜敷, paper-kettle-spread.   Sen-su, 扇子, fan-of, white paper with blackened bamboo ribs, with calligraphy, ‘Ko–kon-shiki’, 古今色, Past-preset-color, by Hō-un-sai, 鵬雲斎, Phoenix-cloud-abstain, XV Iemoto, Urasenke. The word, kokon, is drawn from the Zen expression, 松無古今色 , pine no past present color, which is read, ‘Matsu ni Ko-kon Iro Nashi’. The sensu has thirteen black ribs independent of the two...

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December Observances

Ga-ran-dō, 伽蘭洞, Attend-orchid-cave; shiki-shi, 色紙, color-paper, paste-board, (see below) mounted as kake-jiku, 掛軸, hang-scroll. Hana, 花, flower, tsubaki, 椿, camellia, in a kake hana-ire, 掛花入, hang flower-receptacle, wooden bobbin. Kō-gō, 香合, incense-gather, porcelain covered box displayed on brown fabric ko-buku-sa, 古帛紗, old-cloth-gauze. In the ro, 炉, hearth is a ya-hasu-gama, 矢筈釜, arrow-nock-kettle. The theme of the Tea presentation features sewing and fabrics, and the Buddhist and Shintō rites of Hari ku-yō, 針供養, needle offer-nurture, memorial, which occurs on December 8th. The rites offer thanks to sewing needles for their efforts in making clothing and other fabric items. As part of the offering, the needles and pins that...

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Ro and the Goma

The sunken hearth in a cha-shitsu, 茶室, tea-room, called a ro, 炉, hearth, is set with sho-zumi, 初炭, first-charcoal, sumi-bi, 炭火, charcoal-fire. The ro-dan, 炉壇, hearth-foundation, is masonry with sand finish, and is about half-ful of wood hai, 灰, ash. On the upper ledge of the rodan are two pieces of wood called suki-gi, 透木, clear-wood, that support a suki-gi gama, 透木釜, clear-wood kettle, that has a wide, flaring flange. The ro has a black lacquered wooden frame, ro-buchi, 炉縁, hearth-edge, that protects the surrounding tatami.  The ideal, traditional ro-dan, 炉壇, hearth-foundation, is made of masonry as pictured above. It is constructed in the manner of traditional...

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Charcoal: Sumi for Furo and Ro

Left: sumi-tori, 炭斗, charcoal-measure, sai-rō, 菜籠, vegetable-basket, for fu-ro, 風炉, wind-hearth. Right: sumi-tori, 炭斗, charcoal-measure, fukube, 瓢, gourd, for ro, 炉, hearth. The cha-dō-gu, 茶道具, tea-way-tools, in both sumi-tori, 炭斗, charcoal-measure, are sumi, 炭, charcoal, ha-bōki,羽箒, feather-brush, hi-bashi, 火箸, fire-rods, a pair of kan, 鐶, metal rings, kō-gō, 香合, incense-gather. In Chanoyu, there is the critically important Ri-kyū Hyaku-shu, 利休百首, Rich-quit Hundred-necks, one hundred poems on the nature, procedures, and utensils written by Sen no Rikyū. Several of these are on the subject of sumi.  炉のうちは炭斗ふくべ柄の火箸陶器香合ねり香と知れ Ro sumi-tori fukube e no hi-bashi tō-ki kō-gō neri-kō to shire Hearth charcoal-measure gourd handled-fire-rods ceramic-container incense-gather knead-incense know and: 風炉の時炭斗菜籠にかね火箸ぬり香合に白檀をたけ...

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Kami Kama-shiki and the Buddhist Hattan

In Chanoyu, when building the charcoal fire, sumi-bi, 炭火, the kama, 釜, kettle, is removed from the hearth, and placed on a folded pack of papers, kami kama-shiki, 紙釜敷, paper kettle-spread. Left: an unfolded sheet of kami kama-shiki, 紙釜敷, paper kettle-rest, which is folded in half to two directions when used to temporarily support a kama, 釜, kettle, while building the charcoal fire in the hearth. The kami kama-shiki is based on the original kai-shi, 懐紙, heart-paper, kept in the front folding of the kimono. Right: paper facsimile of Buddhist ha-ttan, 鉢単, bowl-one, a meal placemat the is folded in thirds in both directions. The Buddhist hattan...

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Ro: November Opening

The ro, 炉, the sunken hearth, is opened in November on the first day of the Wild Boar, I, 亥, after Ri-ttō, 立冬, Start-winter, November 7th or 8th. The Boar is one of the twelve zodiac signs of the lunar calendar, so the date varies from year to year. Because of this variance, Rikyū was asked when to open the ro. He answered, “when the yuzu turns yellow”, which is when it is cold enough: yuzu, 柚, is a kind of citrus. The sign of the Boar is the last of the twelve zodiac signs, which begins with the sign of the Rat. Two squares of byaku-dan,...

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Hakobi Tenmae: Carrying Fire

Chanoyu can be presented almost anywhere. In a room or outside. Cha-dō-gu, 茶道具, tea-way-tools, are carried to the place where Tea is to be prepared. Carrying anything can be called hakobi, 運び, carry. In a Tea-room, the fire that is needed to make hot water for tea is held in a portable brazier called a fu-ro, 風炉, wind-hearth, or in a permanent hearth set in the floor called a ro, 炉, hearth. The water is heated in a kama, 釜, kettle. In Japanese beliefs, fire must have a permanent place, so that the ‘fire-god’ will ‘know’ where to lite. Hence, the permanent ro, a hearth sunk in...

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Nakaoki Ōita

Naka-oki, 中置, middle-place, arrangement with fu-ro, 風炉, wind-hearth, set on an ō-ita, 大板, large-board; 14 x 14 sun kane-jaku. The center of the ōita is placed in the center of the han-jō, 半畳, half-tatami, equidistant from the four edges of the tatami. Placed in front of the ōita is the ya-hazu ita, 矢筈板, arrow-nock-board; length 14 x 9 sun kane-jaku. Perhaps the Nakaoki arrangement with ōita is the origin of the size of the yahazuita. The yahazu-ita is used to display a hana-ire, 花入, flower-receptacle, in the tokonoma, and most often placed in the middle of the tokonoma, rather like a Buddhist altar. There are slight variations...

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Hakobi Tenmae: Carry Water

Ga-ran-dō, 伽蘭洞, Attend-orchid-cave, Tearoom set for naka-oki, 中置, middle-place, hakobi ten-mae, 運點前, carry offer-fore, Tea presentation. Toko-no-ma, 床の間, floor-’s-room, kake-mono, 掛物, hang-thing, with calligraphy, ‘Hon-rai mu ichi butsu’, 本来無一物, Origin-from not one thing. Kake hana-ire, 掛花入, hang flower-receptacle, take, 竹, bamboo, by Nishi-kawa Bai-gen, 西川楳玄, West-river Prunus-mystery, Kyōto. Ko-ma kō-gō, 独楽香合, solitary-pleasure incense-gather, red-lacquered wood, on a pack of kami kama-shiki, 紙釜敷, paper kettle-spread. Ki-men bu-ro, 鬼面風炉, demon-face wind-hearth, iron and bronze. Only the furo is displayed in the Tearoom in the center of the tatami for the hakobi naka-oki presentation. All of the other Tea utensils will be carried into the room, for a hakobi ten-mae,...

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