Kuro: The Color Black in Chanoyu Part 2

In Chanoyu, according to Buddhist tradition, venerated objects are displayed on elevated stands and altars, which are customarily lacquered black. These pieces of furniture are frequently adorned with gold lacquer to reflect light. Black in the Asian tradition is the color of joy.   The nobility and aristocracy are deemed above the common mankind, hence are called ‘your highness’. Deities are regarded as celestial in heaven, and mountains being closer to heaven, are themselves deemed divine. Many sacred mountains identified as female are forbidden even to the devout clergy. Mount Kailash in Tibet is such a sacred place, that no one is allowed to climb her. It is...

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Sensu: Nine and Five

In my research, I have found numerous examples of utensils that manifest or suggest 9 and 5 together. For example, the length of the kazari hi-bashi, 飾火箸, is 9.5 sun kane-jaku. The length of the sensu, 扇子, fan-of, pictured above is 10 sun kujira-jaku. The length of the sensu sen-men, 扇面, fan-face, paper is 5.7 sun kujira, the length of the exposed part of the ribs is 4.2 sun kujira. When the both lengths are compared, the ratio is 8 to 10. The number 18, jū-hachi, 十八, ten-eight, is symbolic of Infinity in Space and Time, and when 18 is divided in half it equals 9.  This...

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Kuro: The Color Black in Chanoyu – Part 1

When preparing for a Tea presentation, there are many choices to be made. Considerations include the season, event, purpose, nature of the guest, style of formality, location, time, preference, and suitability of occasion. Assembling the utensils is called tori-awase, 取合せ, take-together, the selection of objects to be used together in a Chanoyu Tea presentation. Konomi, 好み, choice, like, favor, refers to the style, manner, color, form, etc. that is the selection according to one’s preferences of objects and procedures. Kata-mono, 型物, form-thing, is an acknowledged standard of objects.   Color is a major aspect when choosing utensils, as colors have emotional and symbolic connotations for personal choice,...

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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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