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georgia-black-hat-society · 3 years

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A Primer for the Non-Subscriber: The Conical Hat

"You can choose a ready guide, in some celestial voice.

If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

You can choose from phantom fears, and kindness that can kill.

I will choose a path that's clear, I will choose free will."

~Neil Peart

Let us delve into WHY “Black Hat Society” was chosen.

Come, take a walk with me through the words of history. Our first stop will be short, here is the “why” for color.

By definition, “black” is the absorption of ALL colors in the visible spectrum. The CONES in our eyes perceive this as “nothing” being reflected or refracted from something. All light is absorbed by that thing (Newton’s). This is perceived as a ONENESS to me. ALL things are absorbed because all things are as one. Furthermore, I do not subscribe to any preconceived notions or prejudices forced upon society over time. With that, I am neither a Theist nor Atheist. I believe there is a little #TRUTH in ALL THINGS. Even something that only exists in thought, “is”. That which is not perceived, or does not exist in thought, “is” too.

I digress. Let us talk more about the history of this millinery success. This hat has traveled through human existence for thousands of years. The conical black hat has carried with it meanings of power, both positive and negative. Most recently, a hat of this style (conical black felt) was discovered on mummies from around 4,000 years ago with the “Subeshi Witches”, found on the northern Silk Road trade route. (Although, we now understand that those around the World who were known as “witches” often did not even cover their heads or wore simple scarves instead.)

Before 1000 BC, also known as the Bronze Age, priests (because this title has ALWAYS referred to “elder” , “one with knowledge” or “wise one”) would wear golden conical hats that stood almost 3 feet tall. These hats were decorated with sun and moon symbols, indicating that their wearers were star-trackers who were able to analyze the sky to study celestial bodies and predict the weather. This is not such a mystery today. Seeing the power these people commanded from others around them by simply paying attention to their environment, dogma was taking notice.

Did the “Three Wise Men” derive from here? Was a conical hat worn to the birth of this particular messiah? They did follow a star after all.

None the less, their meteorological ability, misunderstood by many, caused the priests to be referred to as “king-priests” and were thought to have magical powers. It was also believed that they had access to a divine knowledge that enabled them to look into the future. Much of this was simply the ability to follow “cause and effect”. It is from this early use of conical hats that led to the traditional star-spangled wizard’s hat that we recognize in clothing today.

There was some thought of the Babylonian Jews at this time wearing conical hats themselves by choice. Possibly a conquered people from Iran? Scythian? Their warriors were described as wearing “conical hats” from cuneiform inscriptions found from that time. Regardless, they were forced to then wear them as a form of discrimination from the Islamic groups of Iraq. This “public identification” carried on for thousands of years for anyone connected to this hat.

Jump forward in time to the “Christ Era”.

In the 6th to 10th century, also referred to as The Dark Ages (the first half of the Middle Ages from 500 to 1000 AD) not a lot of history was able to be kept. This was a very volatile time during human existence. The Roman Empire fell and a lot of writings and knowledge were lost to the ages. The collapse of the Roman Empire lead to a lack of a kingdom or any political structure. This caused the churches of the time to take control and they became the most powerful institutions in Europe. It was during this time the Church began taking elements of “heathen” culture and Old Religion to appropriate for their agenda of conquer and expand.

Turning to the 11th century, the conical hat seemed to have been morphed into use as the Mitre, an accessory vestment, by the Church. There is quite a debate about this. You can observe from various timeless Brotherhoods of Xtianity, that the conical hat remained in use. The Spaniards are the main ones that held fast to this piece of attire. Intolerance and its representation of “wrongness” continued for the hat. It began being used for those serving “penance” with the Church.

The Practitioners who walked this Path were called Penitents. Traditionally in Spain, those wearing the conical hat were known as capirotes. It was used during the times of the Spanish Inquisition as a punishment. Bastardized as many things were from the histories of previous peoples, the condemned by that Tribunal were obliged to wear a yellow robe – saco bendito, also known as a blessed robe that covered their chest and back. along with the hat. The hat was a paper-made cone on their heads with different signs on it, alluding to the type of crime they had committed. For instance, those to be executed wore red. The were also green, white and black colors worn.

The Church’s power began to waiver again and they had to do “something” to bring it back to their grasp. One of their thinkers, whom I believe was connected to the Inquisition, began looking around for ways to do this. In 1214, The Dominican Order was established in the Catholic church. The first group on their radar was the Manicheans. For more than a thousand years, since the Roman Empire was in power, war with the Persian Empire (Middle East) which included the Manichaeans, carried on. The Manichaens were seen as representatives of a foreign power and as dangerous aliens, even though they were but a small section of Persia. Sound familiar?

The Mani had not been supporters of the Persian Empire's wars with other lands, including Rome, but that was overlooked. The Romans persecuted the Manichaeans, while Jews were also being persecuted. And without the backing of the brute power of a major state in the Middle East/Persia, Manichaeism would all but disappear in the future. They were considered “outcasts” in their own society. I wonder if they wore “conical hats”? Do you know who the Yazidi are? You should.

While this was happening, we move further into the 12th century with our hat. The Mongol Queens from the Mongol Empire founded by Genghis Khan in 1206, were wearing these conical hats too. Originating from the Mongol heartland in the Steppe of central Asia. By the late 13th century it spanned from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Danube River and the shores of the Persian Gulf in the west. Khan’s was a competing empire for world dominance. None the less, there were no real differences in men and women’s clothing for the time but the Mongols needed to be seen from great distances, hence, the tall conical hat. This empire would not last against another… and the hat traveled.

As the story goes, Marco Polo brought back a sample of this hat to Europe in the 14th Century. The voracity of land grabs had already begun in the World. Mother Nature was being raped and disregarded and “fashion” became more important than meaning or purpose. The women of the time began wearing a conical hat called a hennin, not as Practitioners, but as fashionistas of their time. Very much unlike the willow-withe and felt Boqta (Ku-Ku) of Mongolian Queens. This appropriation became known as “the princess hat” and was worn tilted back on the head and veiled with brightly colored fabrics.

The “witch”, a word now derived from the Old English nouns wicca with an Old English pronunciation: [ˈwɪttʃɑ], meaning 'sorcerer, male witch, warlock' and wicce, the Old English pronunciation: [ˈwɪttʃe] for 'sorceress, female witch', actually becomes murky in meaning and language after this. The “witch” hunts were now well under way.

Since the beginning of its blighted past, the conical hat has stood to represent those outcast by their society. This seemed more prevalent in the later half its history. Why? The perpetuation of it being “negative” began with the Church.

It is of my opinion, the wearers of this hat were hold outs of Old Religion, Earth-Minded Folk and others at the turn of “the Christ event”. Because they did not or would not subscribe to what they were being sold, they became outcast from the forward momentum of society at that time. “Those in power”, i.e. Rome and later Europe and North America would not stand for anyone that did not conform to their forward march of greed and exploitation of Earth and “lesser humans”.

As we slipped into the 15th century, thousands were dying at the hands of those in power. The danger of witches became a widespread public concern. Urbanization and increased trade with foreign lands, along with epidemics of plague and cholera resulting from that trade, the onset of the Little Ice Age, upset feudal and religious hierarchies, ALL gave way to a convoluted mindset. “Something” had to be the cause. The was NO personal accountability. There was a widespread sense that the uncontrollable forces of change were destroying all order and moral tradition and the Church’s control. Persecuting witches redefined society’s moral boundaries and secured who was in control. This shift lent a leg up to allowing, and almost requiring, the demoralization of self if one did not conform or think or act like the majority in society. Differences in people, like those who were LGBTQ, although a part of us for thousands of years, were persecuted by the Church.

While we are passing through the 15th century, let us also consider the possibility that the witch’s hat is an exaggeration of the tall, conical “dunce’s hat” that was popular in the royal courts of the time as well. Or, let us consider the tall but blunt-topped hats worn by Puritans and the Welsh, who also had separate ideas than the majority. No matter what the fashion, pointed hats were frowned upon by the Church, which now associated points with the horns of the devil to maintain its power and fear-mongered agendas.

Let us also consider, somewhere along the way, an artist took creative license and added a brim to the timeless conical hat. Why would they do this?

Brimless, conical hats had long been associated with male wizards, magicians, Jews, Mani and many other societal outcasts. And, it was a male dominated society as the shift was happening. Goya even painted witches with such hats. It is possible that an artist added a brim to make the hats more appropriate for women (according to the fashion “rules” at the time) and to better fit this agenda of forward motion and subservience of others. One theory holds that the stereotypical witch’s hat came into being in Victorian times or around the turn of the century, in illustrations of childrens’ fairy tales. The tall, black, conical hat and the ugly crone became readily identifiable symbols of wickedness, to be feared by children. Hence, more fear-mongering was created in the name of control by the Church.

I do not feel I need to retell the rest of the history of the conical, now brimmed, black hat of the last 500 years. You should all be aware of the many “witch” trials by now. You have walked through history with me. You see where it comes from. You see why Georgia Black Hat Society has the Mission Statement it does. You see, my fellow Practitioner, why I take the stances that I do and want to hold to a belief of ONENESS of all things, just as my kindred folk of the previous thousands of years have done. Not war. Not greed. Not conquering my neighbors’ houses while wearing the now hijacked “black hat” of the social elite.

Harmony. Love. Unity.

THAT is what this all means to me.

More to come.

Blessings.

Reverend Richoz, RN

#georgia black hat society #national black hat society #conical hat history #black hat history #practitioner #witch

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roalbalove-blog · 7 years

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Aozora’s Liberationion Mod APK Unlocked

New Post has been published on http://apkmodclub.com/aozoras-liberationion-mod-apk-unlocked/

Aozora’s Liberationion Mod APK Unlocked

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«Recommended for People! » People ◆ likes fighting game in the non-portable game machine (fighting game) The capture in cooperation with fellow ◇, people who like online games ◆ RPG likes people ◇ voice actor likes people ◆ Sega likes people

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chanoyu-to-wa · 1 year

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Nampō Roku, Book 7 (42, 43, 44): the Sketches for Entries 39, 40, and 41.

42) Yojō-han tomoshibi no oki-dokoro [四疊半ノ置所]¹.

[The writing reads: written on a diagonal, kono-hashira kugi-butsu kake-tomoshibi (此柱釘打掛灯)², hi-guchi no takasa fukuro-dana no ue yon-sun no kokoro-e-subeshi (火口ノ高��袋棚ノ上四寸ノ心得スヘシ)³; center, hi-guchi (火口)⁴.]

〽 Go-shaku-toko no toki kaku-no-gotoki [五尺床ノ時如此]⁵.

〽 Tankei oki-kata yoshi, Shukō no shin-no-yojō-han, Engo no ō-haba wo kakerare-shi yue ikken-toko nari, tankei mo sono toki made ha okazu, shokudai nari, Jōō yojō-han, toko-naki mo ari, toko wo tsukerare-taru ha go-shaku nari [短檠置方ヨシ、珠光ノ眞ノ四疊半、圜悟ノ大幅ヲ掛ラレシ故一間床也、短檠モ其時マデハ不置、燭臺也、紹鷗ノ四疊半、床ナキモアリ、床ヲ付ラレタルハ五尺也]⁶.

[The writing reads: hi-guchi (火口)⁷.]

〽 Ikken-toko no toki, Sōkyū kaku-no-gotoki wo okaruru, Kyū ha tsu[w]i ni ji-ka ni te, sumi-kakete okare-taru wo mizu, aru-toki, Yodo-ya no yojō-han ikken-toko ni te ari-keru ni tōdai oki-taru ni, Kyū mi-tamaite, kore ni te koso aru-beki to no tamau, shikaraba sumi-kake ha konomarezu to oboe ni, Yodo-ya ha Kyū koni no montei nari [一間床ノ時、宗及如此ヲカルヽ、休ハツヰニ自家ニテ、スミカケテヲカレタルヲ見ズ、アル時、淀屋ノ四疊半一間床ニテ有ケルニ燈臺置タルニ、休見玉テ、コレニテコソアルベキトノ玉フ、シカレバスミカケハ不被好ト覺ニ、淀屋ハ休懇意ノ門弟也]⁸.

43.1) Fuka san-jō furu-zama [深三疊古様]⁹.

[The writing reads (right to left): kono tokoro kakemono (此所カケ物)¹⁰; kono kabe chū-dan kōshi ari, mata chū-dan made ni shite, hashira nashi ni, ita no furo-saki mo ari, takasa kama no mie-kakure (此カヘ中段カウシアリ、又中段迄ニシテ柱ナシニ、板ノ風爐サキモアリ、高サ釜ノ見ヘカクレ)¹¹; isshaku go-sun ita (一尺五寸板)¹²; ro wo koko ni kirareshi ha, isshaku-yon-sun kiwamarite ato no koto nari, hajime ha ita no ue ni daisu no gotoku, kane no furo mizusashi nado gu-shite oki-shi nari (爐ヲコヽニ切ラレシハ、一尺四寸キハマリテ後ノコト也、初ハ板ノ上ニ臺子ノコトク、カネノ風爐・水サシナト具シテヲキシナリ)¹³; kake-tomoshibi koko ni (カケ灯コヽニ)¹⁴.]

43.2) Ato kaku-no-gotoki ni mo [後如此ニモ]¹⁵.

[The writing reads: isshaku go-sun ita (一尺五寸板)¹⁶; ro (炉)¹⁷.]

44.1) Naga-yojō furu-zama [長四疊古様]¹⁸.

[The writing reads, from right to left: kakemono koko ni (カケ物コヽニ)¹⁹; furosaki (風炉サキ)²⁰; go-sun ita (五寸板)²¹; ro (炉)²²; furo no toki kono ro no futa no ue ni oku-koto fuka-sanjō no i-fū nari (風炉ノ時コノ炉ノフタノ上ニヲク事深三疊ノ遺風也)²³, ro hidari no sumi ni mo kiru nari (炉左ノ隅ニモ切ル也)²⁴.]

44.2) Ato kaku-no-gotoki ni mo [後如此ニモ]²⁵.

[The writing reads, from right to left: kakemono koko ni (カケ物コヽニ)²⁶; ro (炉)²⁷; ro hidari no sumi ni mo (炉左ノ隅ニモ)²⁸; go-sun-ita koko ni naoshite (五寸板コヽニホシテ)²⁹.]

_________________________

◎ This entry contains the six drawings that graphically memorialize the details of entries 39 (Lighting the 4.5-mat Room for the Shoza*), 40 (the Fuka-sanjō [深三疊] Room†), and 41 (the Naga-yojō [長四疊] Room‡). Even though these sketches have already been published in the posts to which they relate, I am repeating them here in order to maintain the series of entries as found in the Enkaku-ji manuscript version of Book Seven of the Nampō Roku.

In addition, I have included a translation of a related entry, from the Sumibiki no uchinuki-gaki・tsuika [墨引之内拔書・追加 ] (A Record of Excerpted Passages for Internal Use, Supplementary Material)**, that deals with certain points related to the three- and four-mat rooms, and their seating arrangements. This appears as an appendix, at the end of this post. ___________ *The URL for the post of entry 39 is:

https://chanoyu-to-wa.tumblr.com/post/702018933860040704/namp%C5%8D-roku-book-7-39-lighting-the-45-mat

† The URL for the post of entry 40 is:

https://chanoyu-to-wa.tumblr.com/post/702653075106742272/namp%C5%8D-roku-book-7-40-the-deep-three-mat

‡ The URL for the post of entry 41 is:

https://chanoyu-to-wa.tumblr.com/post/703015465673441280/namp%C5%8D-roku-book-7-41-the-long-four-mat-room%C2%B9

**In these translations, I usually refer to this pair of documents as the Book of Secret Teachings, and Second Book of Secret Teachings (the original Sumibiki no uchinuki-gaki only has 10 entries; most of the material that has drawn our attention is found in the much more expansive supplementary book, which contains 54 entries) for the sake of simplicity.

￭ The translations found in footnotes 1 to 29 are pretty perfunctory, since everything has been discussed, in detail, in the posts (the URLs of which are given above) where these drawings first appeared. I have only provided explanations where circumstances seemed to make this appropriate.

¹Yojō-han tomoshibi no oki-dokoro　[四疊半ノ置所].

This means the place to put the lamp in the 4.5-mat room.

²Kono-hashira kugi-butsu kake-tomoshibi　[此柱釘打掛灯].

“[If] a hook has been nailed into this pillar, a hanging lamp [may be hung here].”

³Hi-guchi no takasa fukuro-dana no ue yon-sun no kokoro-e-subeshi　[火口ノ高サ袋棚ノ上四寸ノ心得スヘシ].

“Regarding the height of the hi-guchi, you should understand that it should be 4-sun above the fukuro-dana.”

⁴Hi-guchi　[火口].

Hi-guchi refers to the place where the wicks extend above the rim of the lamp; the place where the flame is burning. The meaning here is that the hi-guchi should face toward the ro.

⁵Go-shaku-toko no toki kaku-no-gotoki　[五尺床ノ時如此].

“When [the room has] a 5-shaku toko, it is like this.”

In other words, the drawing illustrates the arrangement in a room that has a 5-shaku toko.

⁶Tankei oki-kata yoshi, Shukō no shin-no-yojō-han, Engo no ō-haba wo kakerare-shi yue ikken-toko nari, tankei mo sono toki made ha okazu, shokudai nari, Jōō yojō-han, toko-naki mo ari, toko wo tsukerare-taru ha go-shaku nari　[短檠置方ヨシ、珠光ノ眞ノ四疊半、圜悟ノ大幅ヲ掛ラレシ故一間床也、短檠モ其時マデハ不置、燭臺也、紹鷗ノ四疊半、床ナキモアリ、床ヲ付ラレタルハ五尺也].

“The way the tankei has been placed is suitable. In Shukō's shin [眞] 4.5-mat room, because he wanted to hang the wide scroll [that had been written by] Engo, [the room] had a 1-ken toko. Up to that time, the tankei was still not placed [in the tearoom]; [they] used a candlestick.

“Jōō also had a 4.5-mat room that did not have a toko. And when he wanted to attach a toko, it was 5-shaku [wide].”

⁷Hi-guchi　[火口].

Again, the word hi-guchi indicates the orientation of the tankei. In this case, it is placed on a diagonal, so that the lamp gives light not only to the ro, but to the interior of the toko as well.

⁸Ikken-toko no toki, Sōkyū kaku-no-gotoki wo okaruru, Kyū ha tsu[w]i ni ji-ka ni te, sumi-kakete okare-taru wo mizu, aru-toki, Yodo-ya no yojō-han ikken-toko ni te ari-keru ni tōdai oki-taru ni, Kyū mi-tamaite, kore ni te koso aru-beki to no tamau, shikaraba sumi-kake ha konomarezu to oboe ni, Yodo-ya ha Kyū koni no montei nari　[一間床ノ時、宗及如此ヲカルヽ、休ハツヰニ自家ニテ、スミカケテヲカレタルヲ見ズ、アル時、淀屋ノ四疊半一間床ニテ有ケルニ燈臺置タルニ、休見玉テ、コレニテコソアルベキトノ玉フ、シカレバスミカケハ不被好ト覺ニ、淀屋ハ休懇意ノ門弟也].

“When [the room] had a 1-ken toko, Sōkyū wanted to place [the tankei] like this. But [as for] Rikyū, [the tankei] was never seen to be placed so that it rested in the corner [of the mat] in his own home.

“On one occasion, in Yodo-ya’s 4.5-mat room with a 1-ken toko, the tōdai was placed out in the aforementioned way. When [Ri]kyū saw it, he declared ‘this is exactly the way it should be done!’

“In light of this, perhaps we should consider that he did not [really] like [the way Sōkyū had arranged it]. Yodo-ya [Gentō] was one of [Ri]kyū’s most intimate disciples.”

⁹Fuka san-jō furu-zama　[深三疊古様].

“The old style of the deep 3-mat [room].”

¹⁰Kono tokoro kakemono　[此所カケ物].

“The kakemono is [hung] in this place.”

¹¹Kono kabe chū-dan kōshi ari, mata chū-dan made ni shite, hashira nashi ni, ita no furo-saki mo ari, takasa kama no mie-kakure　[此カヘ中段カウシアリ、又中段迄ニシテ柱ナシニ、板ノ風爐サキモアリ、高サ釜ノ見ヘカクレ].

“In the middle of this wall is a lattice-work. But again, with respect to this, including the making of [the lattice in] the middle, when the pillars [that would support the wall] are absent, a furosaki made from boards can also be [used].

“It should be high enough to hide the kama from view.”

¹²Isshaku go-sun ita　[一尺五寸板].

“The board [measures] 1-shaku 5-sun.”

¹³Ro wo koko ni kirareshi ha, isshaku-yon-sun kiwamarite ato no koto nari, hajime ha ita no ue ni daisu no gotoku, kane no furo mizusashi nado gu-shite oki-shi nari　[爐ヲコヽニ切ラレシハ、一尺四寸キハマリテ後ノコト也、初ハ板ノ上ニ臺子ノコトク、カネノ風爐・水サシナト具シテヲキシナリ].

“As for wanting to cut the ro here, this only appeared after the ro was fixed at 1-shaku 4-sun [square].

“Originally, a metal furo, mizusashi, and so on, were [all] placed on top of the board, just like [on] the daisu.”

¹⁴Kake-tomoshibi koko ni　[カケ灯コヽニ].

“A hanging lamp is [suspended] here.”

¹⁵Ato kaku-no-gotoki ni mo　[後如此ニモ].

“After, [the fuka-sanjō room] was also [arranged] like this.”

¹⁶Isshaku go-sun ita　[一尺五寸板].

“The board [measures] 1-shaku 5-sun.”

¹⁷Ro　[炉].

The ro is shown on the right. However, it was also permissible to cut it on the left side of the mat, adjoining the wall of the katte.

¹⁸Naga-yojō furu-zama　[長四疊古様].

“The old style of the long 4-mat [room].”

¹⁹Kakemono koko ni　[カケ物コヽニ].

“The kakemono is [hung] here.”

²⁰Furosaki　[風炉サキ].

This furosaki could refer either to a free-standing screen made of two boards, or to one (or more) boards suspended between a pair of pillars. In either case, the height should be equal to that of the lid of the kama (when arranged on the furo).

²¹Go-sun ita　[五寸板].

“The board [measures] 5-sun [wide].”

²²Ro　[炉].

The ro is shown as being cut on the right side of the mat. While this was the orthodox position (according to the classical understanding that the fire should always be located between the part of the room where the guests were seated, and the mizusashi and chaire), it was also permitted for the ro to be cut on the left side (which corresponded with its position on the ji-ita of the daisu).

²³Furo no toki kono ro no futa no ue ni oku-koto fuka-sanjō no i-fū nari　[風炉ノ時コノ炉ノフタノ上ニヲク事深三疊ノ遺風也].

“When the furo is being used, there is the case where it is placed on top of this lid of the ro. This was a practice of long standing that began with the fuka-sanjō.”

²⁴Ro hidari no sumi ni mo kiru nari　[炉左ノ隅ニモ切ル也].

“The ro may also be cut in the left corner [of the mat, in front of the board].”

²⁵Ato kaku-no-gotoki ni mo　[後如此ニモ].

“After, [the naga-yojō room] was also [arranged] like this.”

²⁶Kakemono koko ni　[カケ物コヽニ].

“The kakemono is [hung] here.”

²⁷Ro　[炉].

This was the more common location for the ro [based on the argument that the fire should be moved closer to the guests when the weather was cold].

²⁸Ro hidari no sumi ni mo　[炉左ノ隅ニモ].

“The ro may also be [cut] in the left corner [of the utensil mat].”

²⁹Go-sun-ita koko ni naoshite　[五寸板コヽニホシテ].

“The go-sun-ita is repositioned here.”

“Repositioned” (naoshite [直して]) because, in the original form of the room, the board appeared to be oriented between the utensil mat and the mat that was functioning as the tokonoma. According to that idea, the board should have been found on the right side of the mat. However, that is mistaken. The board should be found at the end of the utensil mat, to make it seem to be an inakama-datami.

==============================================

❖ Appendix: Entry 39 from the Second Book of Secret Teachings.

Because the deep 3-mat room was originally [just] the [enclosed] veranda of Jōō's sitting room, there was only one way [for the guests] to advance [through the room]³⁰. Later this [problem] was resolved [by changing the orientation of the mats]; but even if this gave [the guests] more freedom [to move about]³¹, it did not really solve [the problem]³². As a result, in the present day [the three-mat room] has largely been discarded³³.

० The deep three-mat room:

〽 (①) If the shōkyaku [takes his seat] here, his position will be the same as when the room has an ordinary mukō-ro³⁴.

〽 (②) If [the guests] take their seats as shown [in this drawing, with the shōkyaku seated in the spot indicated near the katte-guchi], the host will have appropriate access [to all of them]³⁵.

〽 If, during the furo season, [the utensils are arranged] only on the board, [the host] will not be able to gain access to [all of the guests]³⁶.

〽 In any case, it is appropriate for the shōkyaku to sit near the katte-guchi (as shown in this sketch), during both the sho[za], and the go[za]³⁷.

० The long four-mat room:

〽 When the host is serving the guests, there is no way for [him] to gain access to the [guest in the] last seat³⁸. Consequently, the shōkyaku should undertake to act as his intermediary, passing things along to the [person in the] last seat³⁹ -- because, otherwise, there will be no way for the host to be able to serve [that guest]⁴⁰.

[A guest who understands] such [things] is what we mean when we say that a “man of experience” enters [the tearoom]⁴¹.

_________________________

³⁰Fuka-sanjō ha Jōō i-ma no engawa naru yue, ippō agari nari　[深三疊ハ紹鷗居間ノ椽カハナル故、一方アカリナリ].

Jōō i-ma no engawa [紹鷗居間の縁側]: i-ma [居間] means a living room, a residential room, or a sitting room (a room that could be used to receive guests); engawa [椽カハ = 縁側] usually means a porch or veranda, but here it seems to refer to a sort of room created by arranging mats on a veranda, which are then enclosed by banks of shōji along the exposed sides to protect them from the weather*. This space was then used as a dedicated tearoom.

Fuka-sanjō ha Jōō i-ma no engawa naru yue [深三疊は紹鷗居間の縁側なるゆえ] means “because the deep 3-mat room was originally (just) the (enclosed) veranda of Jōō's sitting room....”

Ippō agari nari [一方上がりなり] means something like “there was only one way to advance (into the room).”

In other words, due to the limited space available on the preexisting veranda, the area of the mats available for the guests to enter were limited to a single line. Thus, there would be no room for two-way traffic. Once a person moved to the end of this line of mats, and he was followed by others, he could not get out again unless the other guests left the room first. __________ *However, according to Kotobank [コトバンク] https://kotobank.jp/, this kind of enclosed veranda only appeared during the first half of the seventeenth century (jū-shichi seiki zenhan ni fuki hanashi no irigawaen kara naibu ni torikoma reta engawa ni henka shite iru [17世紀前半に吹き放しの入側縁から内部に取り込まれた縁側に変化している]). This would make the argument that Jōō purportedly enclosed his veranda to create this kind of room an anachronism -- a concept possibly generated by the machi-shū to give historical legitimacy their 3- and 4-mat rooms.

³¹Ato ni naoshite jiyū ni shitaru jūkyo mo aredomo　[後ニナホシテ自由ニシタル住居モアレドモ].

Ato ni naoshite [後に直して] means later this (problem) was resolved (by changing the orientation of the mats so that the utensil mat was perpendicular to the two mats on which the guests would sit).

Jiyū ni shitaru jūkyo mo aredomo [自由にしたる住居もあれども] means even if (this) were done so that (the guests) would be free (to move about as they wished)....

³²Jū-bun naki yue　[十分ニナキユヱ].

Ju-bun ni nai yue [十分にないゆえ] means this was not enough.

In other words, while rearranging the room and so give the guests free reign to move around the two mat area was an improvement over the original form of the three-mat room, it still meant that, regardless of how the mats were arranged, one of the guests would still be sitting within the same one-mat space as the kakemono. Thus, this was not ideal.

Apparently, the argument that is being made is that, because this 3-mat area was being appended to the outward-facing side of Jōō's preexisting 4.5-mat reception room, he was thereby limited with regard to the length of the room -- which could not exceed the width of the room to which it was attached (namely 9-shaku 4-sun 5-bu, or a mat and a half).

³³Tō-sei chari-tari　[當世捨リタリ].

Tō-sei [當世] means in the present day (i.e., the early Edo period, when this text was written).

Shari-tari [捨りたり]: shari [捨り = 捨離] means to abandon (specifically, all worldly desires), so here shari-tari seems to be roughly equivalent to sute-tari [捨てたり], and so means that the three-mat room had largely been relegated to the dustbin of history by the time this text was written. It was no longer used, because it could not fully free itself from the danger of inconveniencing the guests.

³⁴Koko ni shōkyaku tsugi-taraba tsune no mukō-ro no mi-gamae　[コヽニ上客ツキタラバ常ノ向炉ノ身構].

Tsugi-taraba [次たらば] means to want to sit beside, will sit beside.

In other words, if the shōkyaku decides to sit in that place*, everything will be done as if they were in a 2-mat room with a mukō-ro. __________ *This seems to mean that the shōkyaku enters the room last (so that he will take his “rightful” seat in front of the toko). Then, after he has finished inspecting the toko, he moves onto the next mat (so that the other two guests will have to move closer to the lower end, so that all three are sitting on the same mat).

³⁵Kaku-no-gotoki za-tsuki-sōraeba shu no mi-gamae hirakite yoshi　[如此座着候得バ主ノ身構ヒラキテヨシ].

Kaku-no-gotoki za-tsuki-sōraeba [かくの如き座着き候えば] means if the guests all take their seats as shown (in the drawing)....

Shu no mi-gamae hirakite yoshi [主の身構開きてよし　] means that the host will have suitable access (to all of the guests); the host will be able to serve them appropriately.

³⁶Ita bakari ni te furo no toki ha hiraku-koto nashi　[板斗ニテ風炉ノ時ハヒラクコトナシ].

Ita bakari ni te furo no toki [板ばかりにて風炉の時] means when, during the season of the furo, (all of the utensils) are (arranged only) on the mukō-ita [向板]*....

Hiraku-koto nashi [開くこと無し] means (the host) will not have access (to all of the guests).

This is because, when the utensils will be arranged on the board, not only are the furo and kama placed out during the shoza, but also the mizusashi, shaku-tate, koboshi, and futaoki -- just as if these things were arranged together on the o-chanoyu-dana (from which this arrangement was actually derived). As a result, the host will be unable to pass as close to the board as he could when there was nothing on it. __________ *The large board measuring 3-shaku 1-sun 5-bu by 1-shaku 5-sun.

³⁷Shōkyaku to-kaku katte-guchi no kata ni zu no gotoku sho-go tomo ni ite yoshi　[上客トカク勝手口ノ方ニ図ノコトク初後トモニ居テヨシ].

Tokaku [とかく] means anyways, in any case, at any rate.

Katte-guchi no kata ni [勝手口の方に] means in the place closest to the katte-guchi.

Zu no gotoku [図の如く] means as is show in the sketch.

Sho-go tomo ni [初後ともに] means during both the shoza and (also) the goza.

Ite yoshi [居てよし] means it is appropriate to remain (in that seat).

³⁸Shu tamai-suru toki ha matsu-za made tōru-beki michi nashi　[主給スル時ハ末座マデ通ルベキ道ナシ].

Shu tamai-suru toki [主給いする時] means when the host is serving the guests -- the reference is to his serving of the kaiseki (and specifically to things like handing each guest his own tray of food, pouring sake for each of the guests, and so forth).

Matsu-za made tōrubeki michi nashi [末座まで通るべき道なし] means there is no path for (the host) to gain access to the (guest in the) last seat.

³⁹Shōkyaku tori-tsukite matsu-za [h]e yaru nari　[上客取次テ末座ヘヤルナリ].

Shōkyaku tori-tsukite [上客取り次ぎて] means the shōkyaku (should) act as an intermediary; the shokyaku should pass (that thing) along.

Matsu-za [h]e yaru [末座へ遣る] means pass (it) along to (the person in) the last seat.

In other words, with respect to something like the tray of food, the shōkyaku should receive it from the host and then pass it over to the last guest; and as for the pouring of sake, the shōkyaku should request the chōshi [銚子] or tokuri [徳利] from the host, and then pour for the last guest.

⁴⁰Sa nakereba shōkyaku [h]e shu no kyuji-jika ni watasu-koto narazaru-koto nari　[サナケレバ上客ヘ主ノ給仕直ニ渡スコトナラザルコトナリ].

Sa nakereba [さなければ] means otherwise.

Shōkyaku [h]e shu no kyuji-jika ni watasu-koto narazaru-koto [上客へ主の給仕直に渡すことならざること] means if the host does not pass this task over to the shōkyaku, the host will be unable to serve (the last guest).

⁴¹Kōsha no iru to iu ha kayō no koto nari　[功者ノ入ルト云フハカヤウノコトナリ].

Kōsha no iru to iu ha [功者の入ると云うは] means when we speak about a man of experience entering (the tearoom)....

Kayō no koto nari [斯様のことなり] means that is what we are talking about.

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chanoyu-to-wa · 1 year

Text

Nampō Roku, Book 7 (39): Lighting the 4.5-mat Room for the Shoza.

39) In the 4.5-mat room, the small shokudai [小燭臺], and also the Genji-tomoshibi [源氏火], may [both] be used¹. [And] since [the days of] Jōō, the tankei [短檠] has also been used².

[If] a hook has been nailed into the toko-bashira that faces [the ro], it is also acceptable to use a kake-tomoshibi [掛燈]³.〚But because [the kake-tomoshibi] is rather inelegant, with things like the kyū-dai [及臺 = kyū-dai daisu, 及第臺子] or naka-ita [中板 = the modern nagaita, 長板], [we should] always [use] a shokudai [燭臺], or possibly a Genji-tōdai [源氏燈臺] -- though there is also nothing wrong with using a tankei [with tana of this sort]⁴.

〚[When using] a kake-tomoshibi, [you] should consider [what will be] the [most appropriate] height for the flame when hanging [the lamp]⁵:〛as for its height, when the fukuro-dana has been placed [on the utensil mat], the flame should [be high enough to] illuminate the utensils on the upper level [of the tana]⁶.

When the toko is 1-ken wide, the way to place the tankei -- and [the way to orient] the hi-guchi [火口] as well -- is for it to be put into the corner [oriented diagonally]. [Tennōji-ya] Sōkyū first started placing it in this way, and [Ri]kyū also said it should be [like that]⁷.

(However, perhaps [Rikyū] was not in complete agreement with [Sōkyū’s way of doing things]⁸?)

￮ The place to put the lamp in the 4.5-mat room⁹.

[The writing reads: written on a diagonal, kono-hashira kugi-butsu kake-tomoshibi (此柱釘打掛灯)¹⁰, hi-guchi no takasa fukuro-dana no ue yon-sun no kokoro-e-subeshi (火口ノ高サ袋棚ノ上四寸ノ心得スヘシ)¹¹; center, hi-guchi (火口)¹².]

〽 When [the room has] a 5-shaku toko, [things] are like this¹³.

〽 The placement of the tankei [should be] suitable¹⁴. Because Shukō intended to hang the large scroll [by] Engo in his shin [眞] 4.5-mat room, it had a 1-ken toko¹⁵. But, at that time, the tankei was as of yet not placed [in the tearoom]¹⁶: [they used] a shokudai¹⁷.

Jōō also had a 4.5-mat room that did not have a toko¹⁸; but when [he] was going to attach a toko [to his tearoom], it was 5-shaku [wide]¹⁹.

[The writing reads: hi-guchi (火口)²⁰.]

〽 When [the tearoom had] a 1-ken toko, Sōkyū placed [the tankei] like this²¹. [But] as for Rikyū, [the tankei] was never seen to be placed as if he wanted it to rest in the corner [of the mat] in his own home²².

On a certain occasion, in Yodo-ya [Gentō’s] 4.5-mat room -- which had a 1-ken toko -- the aforementioned tōdai was placed out〚but it was not oriented [diagonally] from the corner²³.〛 When [Ri]kyū inspected it, he declared “this is just the way it should be done!” In light of this, perhaps we should consider that he did not [really] like [the way Sōkyū had arranged it]²⁵.

Yodo-ya [Gentō] was one of [Ri]kyū’s most intimate disciples²⁶.

_________________________

◎ This entry deals with the way to orient the light-source in a 4.5-mat room during the shoza* (when it is important for the light from the lamp to fall into the ro, so the host can see what he is doing when he performs the sumi-temae). The language of the latter half is very unusual, and consequently difficult -- suggesting that someone very different from the usual “contributors” was responsible for editing what may have been originally an actual entry by Nambō Sōkei†.

Shibayama Fugen’s teihon contains several additions; and this added content is largely confirmed by material quoted by Tanaka Senshō in his commentary‡. As these additions certainly make the explanation clearer (even if some of the assertions might also be misleading)**, I decided to include Shibayama’s additions in the above translation -- enclosed in doubled brackets, as always.

Following Shibayama’s lead, I have also moved the two drawings, and their attending kaki-ire, into this entry (from their place several entries later in Book Seven, where they are really no good to anyone). This material begins with the title The place to put the lamp in the 4.5-mat room. ___________ *During the naka-dachi, the light was usually moved into the toko. However, during the shoza, the lamp-stand (of whatever description) was placed on the floor of the room (or, in the case of a lamp that was suspended on the toko-bashira, oriented with the lamp’s hi-guchi facing toward the utensil mat), since it was important that its light fall into the ro, so the host could see what he was doing while attending to the charcoal.

†The basic story of Rikyū adopting Tennōji-ya Sōkyū’s suggestion, regarding the way to orient the tankei in a 4.5-mat room with a 1-ken tokonoma (in other words, the material that was included in the Enkaku-ji manuscript) seems to be authentic – because it is historically in character (even though this disagrees with the Sen family’s myth of Rikyū being the all-knowing tea kami by whom all the rules were established). But his later doubts (indicated by a short gloss at the very end of the text), and the way Sōkyū’s idea is finally discarded, were obviously added later (since most of it is contained in several kaki-ire that inexplicably appear several entries later in Book Seven) -- this was probably an effort to make Rikyū’s ultimate behavior end up validating the Sen family’s preferred way of doing things, at least as they were teaching at that time.

‡Tanaka’s “genpon” text basically parallels Shibayama’s from footnotes 1 to 7 (albeit with a few minor changes that do not really have an impact on the meaning). The text breaks there, and resumes the story at footnote 13; but at this point it diverges from the other by giving a sort of summary of the things that are set down in more detail in Shibayama’s version. After which that text ends rather abruptly with the comment that these things are documented in the sketch(es) -- which accompany the kaki-ire later in Book Seven.

Given the degree of difference from Shibayama in that one specific instance, I will discuss Tanaka’s version only in footnote 13. However, his “genpon” text has had no impact on the translation presented above; and the double-bracketed glosses are entirely based on Shibayama’s version of this material.

**After telling us how Rikyū approved the arrangement of the tankei in a 4.5-mat room that had a 1-ken wide toko, the author throws doubt on this in his concluding sentence; and then (in Shibayama’s added material) not only proceeds to tell us that Rikyū never did such things in his own home (where he is not known to have had a 1-ken wide toko in any case), but then goes on to describe an instance where Rikyū praises someone who oriented the tankei so that it faced the ro, rather than diagonally (after which the author then states that this person was one of Rikyū’s most intimate disciples, yet that individual’s biography indicates that he could have been no older than 15 when Rikyū committed seppuku – and surely the overwhelming troubles of Rikyū’s final year of life would have inhibited any attempt to cultivate a relationship of that sort with someone so much younger).

¹Yojōhan ni ha ko-shokudai Genji-tomoshibi ni te mo mochiiru　[四疊半ニハ小燭臺源氏火ニテモ用ル].

Ko-shokudai [小燭臺] means a small candlestick. This seems to be an early copyist’s mistake (a ko-shokudai is commonly 5- or 6-sun tall, and this is the kind of candlestick -- often made of Raku-yaki -- that is used in the wabi tearoom today to give additional light to the temae-za or the area in front of the guests’ knees when a te-shoku [手燭] is impractical on account of the long handle); the word should probably just be “shokudai,” which is the object shown below*.

This kind of candlestick is around 2-shaku 5-sun tall or so (measured to the top of the ring that is there to hold a paper-cone -- used as a protection from wind, or as a shade to modulate the intensity of the light -- in place), and was used to give light to the entire room, in the same manner as a tōdai [燈臺] (a stand for an oil-lamp) or Genji-tomoshibi. It is possible that the shokudai was the original light-source used in the rooms of the upper classes, with oil lamps of the various sorts coming into use later (albeit still in remote antiquity).

Genji-tomoshibi [源氏火]† seems to refer to what is usually called a nemuri-tōdai [睡燈臺] or nemuri-tankei [睡短檠], which is sometimes translated as nightlight. It is a lamp-stand (tōdai [燈臺], a stand for an oil lamp; also called a tomoshibi [燈火; but the word is also written simply as 燈, or 火]) that included a metal baffle‡ attached behind the ring-like support for the oil-lamp that kept whatever was on the far side in relative darkness (by directing the light only toward the side of the room toward which the lamp faced).

The lamp-stand was usually designed so that the baffle (or sometimes the baffle and lamp holder, as a single unit) could swivel without having to move the (usually heavy) base. In classical literary works (such as the Genji monogatari [源氏物語]) when a character is described as “turning the lamp to the wall**,” this is what is meant.

Shibayama Fugen’s teihon gives this sentence as yojō-han ni ha ko-shokudai, Genji-tomoshibi nado wo mochii-kuru [四疊半ニハ小燭臺、源氏火抔ヲ古來用ヒ來ル]. The meaning is similar: “in the 4.5-mat room, the ko-shokudai††, Genji-tomoshibi, and so forth, have been used since ancient times.” __________ *Or, given the context, it is possible that the actual word was supposed to be tōdai [燈臺], meaning a similar sort of stand on which an oil-lamp was stood. A photograph of a tōdai is included under footnote 23.

†The actual pronunciation is unclear. It could also be Genji-bi, or Genji-ka., or even Genji-akari, since all of these would be written with the same three kanji.

‡Sometimes the baffle was cast in openwork (which let a little light seep through); sometimes it was a solid panel (keeping the far side of the room as dark as possible) that often was decorated by a multi-colored painting of the sort for which the period was famous (some scholars suggest that the name Genji-tomoshibi derives not from the role such lamps play in certain pivotal scenes in the Genji monogatari, but because they often featured reproductions of paintings from the illustrated Genji scrolls on one or both sides of the gilded baffle).

**For example, “hi-honoka ni kabe ni somuke” [火ほのかに壁に背け].

††The fact that this word occurs here as well suggests that the mistake was made the first time the text was copied -- or possibly when it was first written -- since a ko-shokudai is the usual object that was commonly used in the tearoom. After the advent of the tankei (created during Jōō’s middle period) the other, earlier, sorts of light-stands seem to have fallen completely out of fashion (only to reappear again during the Edo period, as treasured antiques and arcane curiosities).

²Jōō i-rai tankei mo mochiiraru　[紹鷗已來短檠モ用ラル].

I-rai [已來 or 以來] means since then.

In other words, the tankei has been used in the 4.5-mat room since the days of Jōō (though it could be argued that a very similar sort of stand for an oil lamp has been used since the Heian period).

This is probably referring to the sort of tankei shown above. Shibayama Fugen produces an interesting theory of the evolution of the lamp:

◦ The original lamp-stand (as it were) was the tōdai [燈臺] (see the drawing under the sub-note appended to the next footnote).

◦ The next development was the Genji-tomoshibi (where the lamp is placed on a ring that projects on one side of the upright, with a counterbalancing baffle mounted on the other). Both of these he classifies as shin [眞].

◦ From the Genji-tomoshibi evolved the tankei (where the baffle is eliminated, and the upright is fixed on one side of a box-like base that counterbalances the weight of the lamp; the tankei, which (according to Tanaka) was favored by Jōō, is gyō [行].

◦ And the final stage was the kake-tomoshibi [掛燈], which is hung on the hook*; this kind of arrangement (which Tanaka states was created by Rikyū†) is sō [草].

Shibayama’s version of this sentence is: Jōō i-rai tankei wo mo mochiyu [紹鷗以來短檠ヲモ用ユ], which has the same meaning as what is found in the Enkaku-ji manuscript. ___________ *While, at least in the context of chanoyu, the kake-tomoshibi was usually hung on a hook that had been nailed into the toko-bashira, in sixteenth century Korea (and probably before), the hook was attached to a wooden lath (which, in turn, was suspended from a hook or peg attached to the wooden band that circled the upper end of the wall, on which the ceiling rested). This allowed the lamp to be put anywhere needed, and the hook could be raised or lowered along the length of the lath (either through a series of holes into which the hook could be plugged, or because of a bolt-and-nut arrangement that allowed the hook to slide through a channel cut in the middle of the lath).

The example shown above was used for this purpose, and it (or one just like it) was supposedly brought back from Korea by Hosokawa Sansai. This kind of lath was subsequently used, in Japan, to hang the kake-hanaire in situations where no other hook was available (and this is the purpose for which it is best known today).

†There is a problem with Tanaka’s argument, however, since the tō-ka [燈華 or 燈花] (“flower of the lamp”) was one of Jōō’s secret teachings. This related to the hanging of the lamp in the toko, from the same hook nailed into the back wall where a kake-hanaire was usually suspended. Tō-ka meant that the lamp was hung from that hook, with the flame (which can be pronounced ka [火]) taking the place of the flower (which can also be pronounced ka [花 or 華]). This kind of poetic word-play is more typical of Jōō’s approach than it is to Rikyū’s, and implies that the hanging lamp was already a reality during Jōō’s lifetime.

Rikyū’s creation appears to have been the kake-tōdai made of a single piece of bamboo, while Jōō used one constructed (by a specialist craftsman) from several pieces of wood. The two versions of the kake-tōdai are shown in the drawing included in the next footnote. More will be said on this in the next footnote.

³Mukō no toko-bashira ni kugi butte kake-tomoshibi mo yoshi　[向ノ床柱ニ釘打テ掛燈モヨシ].

Mukō no toko-bashira [向うの床柱]: the tokonoma usually has four pillars, one in each of the four corners (these are clearly indicated in both of the original sketches that were drawn to illustrate the details of this entry).

Mukō no toko-bashira means the one (of the four) that faces (in other words, is closest to) the ro. This is usually the more “ornamental” of the two pillars that are seen in the front of the toko (the back two are usually all but buried in the plaster), and (more specifically) the pillar closest to the middle of the room (since, at least in theory, the ridge-pole that supports the roof is held up on one end by this pillar -- which is also why it is usually more substantial than the others, which only support the walls to which they are attached).

Kugi butte [釘打って] means (if) a hook had been nailed into (the toko-bashira).

Kake-tomoshibi [掛燈] means a hanging (oil-)lamp. This was often the same sort of lamp that was placed on a free-standing tōdai [燈臺], or on a tankei (which kind of lamp can be seen in the photo under the previous footnote). Or it could have been a simpler saucer of oil, with a collection of wicks resting in it, with the burning end leaning against the side of the saucer*. The number of wicks was not fixed, but the greater the number, the brighter the light (since they were placed in a row).

The saucer of oil, or ceramic oil-lamp was placed on a kake-tōdai [掛燈臺] which, in its simplest form, was made from a length of bamboo, cut like an “L” (like an ichi-jū-giri [一重切], though without any place to put the water, or an upper visor-like ring), as shown on the right.

Here, Shibayama’s teihon has mukō no toko-bashira ni ori-kugi butte kake-tomoshibi wo mo Kyū ha kakerare-shi [向ノ床柱ニ折釘打テ掛燈ヲモ休ハ被掛シ]. The meaning is the same†, but this version adds that Rikyū was the one who apparently began to hang the kake-tomoshibi on the toko-bashira‡. ___________ *The same sort of saucer could also be placed on a tankei or tōdai.

A sketch based on classical illustrations of a group of friends seated around a tōdai, while inspecting Genji’s collection of love letters.

In the case of an ordinary tōdai, the vessel of oil simply sits atop the upright, usually in a saucer-like platform (that helps keep oil from dripping down the stem).

†Rather than kugi [折] in the Enkaku-ji manuscript, Shibayama’s version has ori-kugi [折釘]. This is a hook made by bending a straight length of iron into a hook; and it is the kind of hook still used for this purpose today. Nevertheless, the term indicates that Shibayama’s version was written during the Edo period (when such specific details became more important).

‡This is problematic, because a kake-tōdai had been hung on the toko-bashira since at least the fifteenth century, to illuminate the signature and name-seal(s) on the kake-mono. Perhaps the meaning here is that while the earlier use had focused the light on the interior of the tokonoma, Rikyū nailed the hook for the kake-tōdai on the side of the facing toward the room, so as to light the area between the host and his guests (at least during the shoza).

⁴Tsutanai kyū-dai・naka-ita nado no toki ha itsumo tōdai ka Genji-tōdai nari, tankei mochiite mo kurushikarazu to iu-iu　[伹及臺・中板ナドノ時ハイツモ燈臺カ源氏燈臺ナリ、短檠用ヒテモ不苦ト云〻].

Tsutanai [伹い]* means crude, coarse, lacking in refinement. This word is referring to the kake-tomoshibi that was discussed in the previous footnote.

Tanaka explains this in his commentary. The hanging lamp should not be used with things like the kyū-dai daisu or naka-ita because these tana-mono are gyō [行] -- that is, they should be used in the semi-formal rooms -- whereas the kake-tomoshibi is a wabi light-source that is inappropriate because it is too informal for the setting†.

Tankei mochiite mo kurushikarazu [短檠用いても苦しからず] means “there is also no problem with using a tankei” -- since this is another light-source that can be moved around freely in order to eliminate the reflection when the arrangement on the utensil mat is seen from the guests’ seats.

This, and the next, sentence are found only in Shibayama Fugen’s teihon (and the version that quotes from the same source mentioned by Tanaka Senshō); nothing like this is mentioned in the Enkaku-ji manuscript. __________ *This word is usually written with the kanji tsutanai [拙い] today. The kanji used here, tsutanai [伹い], is virtually unknown in Japanese usage (this, however, was also a feature of Edo period tea literature -- the use of unrecognizable or arcane kanji as another way to prevent the uninitiated from spying out the secrets; such kanji also served to make the texts seem more mysterious).

†I have heard another interpretation of this matter, which turns on another way to understand the word tsutanai -- to mean “unlucky.” In this case, the reference is to the fact that the two tana that are mentioned were painted with highly polished shin-nuri, which would reflect the flame as an undefined ball of light. This kind of apparition could suggest a ghost or other malevolent entity.

While the various free-standing lamps could be moved so that the ball of light was not seen from the guests’ seats (most especially that occupied by the shōkyaku), the kake-tomoshibi is limited by its having to be suspended from a hook nailed into the toko-bashira. It could perhaps be raised or lowered somewhat, but the effect of doing so would have only a minimal impact.

⁵Kake-tomoshibi ha hi no takasa yoku-yoku kangaete kake-beshi　[掛燈ハ火ノ高サ能〻考テ可掛].

Hi no takasa yoku-yoku kangaete kake-beshi [火の高さよくよく考えて掛べし] means the height of the flame* should be considered very carefully when hanging (the kake-tōdai).

The hook nailed into the toko-bashira is what they use today not to hang an oil-lamp, but to hang a kake-hanaire [掛け花入]†. __________ *Given the reluctance to reposition the hook (especially if it was installed by a famous chajin of the past), the length of the upright part of the kake-tōdai might be modified, if necessary.

†Which gives a totally wrong perception, since the ancient rule was that the flowers should appear to be hanging into the room from the garden, inclined toward the temae-za.

Originally, the hook for the kake-hanaire was nailed into the minor-pillar on the other side of the mouth of the toko, since if the hanaire were suspended there, the flowers would naturally achieve the proper orientation. The same thing was true when the hanaire was suspended from the bokuseki-mado.

⁶Hi no takasa fukuro-dana wo okite, jō-dan no dōgu no akari wo ryōken-subeshi　[火ノ高サ袋棚ヲ置テ、上段ノ道具ノアカリヲ料簡スベシ].

Jō-dan no dōgu no akari wo ryōken-subeshi [上段の道具の明かりを料簡すべし]: jō-dan [上段] is referring to the ten-ita [天板], the top shelf, of the fukuro-dana, so jō-dan no dōgu [上段の道具] means the utensils* that are arranged on the ten-ita (of the fukuro-dana); akari [明かり] means illumination, the light (that reaches the top shelf); ryōken subeshi [料簡すべし] means (the host) should think about (the illumination of the utensils that are arranged on the ten-ita of the fukuro-dana).

While it would be better for the top shelf to be illuminated appropriately (especially since Jōō and Rikyū usually placed the most important utensils there), the most serious sin would be if a shadow falls across the shelf, so that some utensils are in deep shadow, while the others are illuminated (or, even worse, if the shadow falls across part of a utensil, as if cutting it in half).

Shibayama's source has fukuro-dana wo okite jō-dan no dōgu no akari wo ryōken-subeshi [袋棚ヲ置テ上段ノ道具ノ明リヲ料簡スベシ], which is the same except that the initial phrase (hi no takasa [火の高さ], meaning “with respect to the height of the flame”) is missing. Since we are already considering this topic (in his version), there is no need for these words. __________ *According to at least some of the modern schools, when using the fukuro-dana, no tea utensils are ever supposed to be placed on the ten-ita. Rather, things like a suzuri-bako [硯箱] (box of writing implements) and ryōshi [料紙] (a pack of writing paper), or antique books, or other things of that sort are supposed to be arranged there. However, there are no historical precedents for any of this (at least none that can be definitively traced back to Jōō or Rikyū).

While it seems that the preference was to restrict the ordinary tea utensils to one of the two shelves of the chigai-dana (the naka-dana and kō-dana), when something like the naka maru-bon was used, it was always placed on the ten-ita of the fukuro-dana, just as on the daisu.

⁷Ikken-toko no toki, tankei oki-yō, hi-guchi tomo ni, sumi-kakete Sōkyū oki-hajimeraruru, Kyū mo mottomo to mōsare-shi nari　[一間床ノ時、短檠置ヤウ、火口トモニ、スミカケテ宗及置始メラルヽ、休モ尤ト申レシ也].

Ikken [一間] refers to the distance between the pillars in a traditional Japanese building, which generally measured 6-shaku. Ikken-toko [一間床], therefore, refers to a tokonoma that is 6-shaku wide.

Tankei oki-yō, hi-guchi tomo ni, sumi-kakete [短檠置きよう、火口ともに、角掛けて] means the way to position the tankei, together with its hi-guchi*, is to place it in the corner.

Sumi-kakete [角掛けて] is an especially difficult expression to translate. The verb kakeru [掛ける] means to rest on or lean against. So the tankei is resting on -- or, perhaps, “fitted” or “inserted” into -- the corner. Semantics aside, the implication is that the midline (or the kane with which the tankei is aligned) extends from the corner, rather than from either side, so that the tankei is oriented diagonally. Once this is understood, it follows that the hi-guchi, too, should also be aligned with the same kane (as the oil-lamp is not a fixed part of the tankei, it would theoretically be possible to have the hi-guchi face the ro, or some other direction, even if the tankei itself was oriented diagonally, so this is why the author specified that the hi-guchi should be aligned in the same way as the tankei on which the lamp rests).

According to the latter part of this entry (quoted by Shibayama, but which is missing from the Enkaku-ji manuscript), this means that the tankei is placed in the corner of the mat in front of the toko, oriented on a diagonal (so the flame will give light to the toko, to the interior of the ro, and to the area in front of the guests’ seats, as shown below. (The arrow shows the direction in which the hi-guchi is pointing.)

Sōkyū oki-hajimeraruru, Kyū mo mottomo to mōsare-shi [宗及置き始められる、休も尤もと申うされし] means (this way of placing the tankei) began with (Tennōji-ya) Sōkyū, and Rikyū also said (things should be done in this way).

Shibayama Fugen’s teihon has sate-mata ikken-toko no toki, tankei no oki-yō, hi-guchi no muke-yō, sumi-kakete Sōkyū oki hajimeraruru, Kyū mo mottomo to mōsare-shi nari [扨又一間床ノ時、短檠ノ置様、火口ノ向ケ様、角カケテ宗及置始メラルヽ、休モ尤ト被申シ也], which has the same basic meaning as what is found in the Enkaku-ji manuscript’s text.

Here Tanaka's wording of the last part of this statement is worthy of mention. His “genpon” text has sate-mata ikken-toko no toki, tankei no oki-yō, hi-guchi muke-yō ni suji-kakete mo, kore ha Sōeki no setsu nari [扨又一間床ノ時、短檠ノ置様、火口向様ニスジカケテモ、コレハ宗易ノ説也].

This text concludes with “this was Sōeki's opinion” -- ignoring the reference to Tennōji-ya Sōkyū, and apparently ascribing this innovation to Rikyū himself. __________ *Hi-guchi is the side of the oil-lamp where the wicks are burning. So the side on which the hi-guchi is found indicates which direction the oil-lamp is pointing.

⁸Saredomo jūbun dōshin ha naki ka　[サレドモ十分同心ハ無キカ].

Saredomo [然れども] means however.

Jū-bun dō-shin ha naki ka [十分同じ心はなきか] means “but does this mean that (Rikyū) was in complete agreement (with Sōkyū’s way of orienting the tankei)?*”

The implication is that Rikyū did not agree completely with Sōkyū’s way of doing things†.

It is with this sentence -- and on this note of doubt‡ -- that the Enkaku-ji manuscript version of the text ends. __________ *More literally, the entire sentence could be translated “however, might [Rikyū] have not been entirely of one mind [with Sōkyū]?”

†Note that this is referring to a 4.5-mat room with a 1-ken toko. Jōō’s 4.5-mat room had a 5-shaku-wide toko; and most rooms of this size today have a toko that is just 4-shaku 2-sun wide. The reader should refer to the incident described in footnotes 23 and 24, below, for Rikyū’s assessment of the situation on an occasion when Sōkyū’s method of orienting the tankei on a diagonal was not being imitated.

‡It really seems that this statement was tacked onto the end of the entry (by someone other than the original author) because this way does not agree with the way things were being done by the Sen family.

⁹The original title of the sketch is yojō-han tomoshibi no oki-dokoro [四疊半ノ置所], which means “the place to put the tomoshibi in the 4.5-mat room.”

Oddly, in the Enkaku-ji manuscript these sketches constitute entry 42 (while the entry to which the sketches refer is 39). Entry 39 is followed by the texts of entries 40, discussing the fuka-sanjō [深三疊], and entry 41, on the naga-yojō [長四疊] The two sketches that are included here are followed by a series of drawings related to these other two types of rooms. Precisely what this means is difficult to explain, especially if we want to buy into the fiction that Nambō Sōkei was responsible for writing the entirety of Book Seven*.

Edo period block-printed books often separate the plates from the text (because the cutting of the two types of blocks required different techniques, and so the work was apparently assigned to different artisans). It is possible, then, that part of an Edo period book on chanoyu (actually, it might have been the written drafts from which the blocks were cut, since a printed document would have declared itself as spurious to Tachibana Jitsuzan) somehow made their way into the Shū-un-an collection of documents.

Since the documents in Nambō Sōkei’s wooden chest were “officially” accessed at least once around the middle of the seventeenth century, by the staff of the Nagoya-based publishing house Fūgetsu-dō [風月堂], in order to prepare the Rikyū chanoyu sho [利休茶湯書] (which was published in Empō 8 [延寶八年], 1680 -- it was his inspection of this collection that motivated Jitsuzan to initiate his own inquiries into the Shū-un-an cache, which subsequently resulted in his creation of the Nampō Roku), it is possible that some of that firm’s other papers inadvertently were mixed in with the Shū-un-an documents.

The three kaki-ire [書入] are interspersed with the two sketches that relate to the present entry. ___________ *It is possible that everything from this title to the end of the entry is spurious (which might be the easiest way to account for the sketches being displaced from the text of this entry).

¹⁰Kono-hashira kugi-butsu kake-tomoshibi [此柱釘打掛灯] means “on this hashira (the toko-bashira) a hook is nailed (for the) kake-tomoshibi.”

This drawing is a little confusing because, as is often the case in the Nampō Roku, several completely unrelated points have been addressed in the same drawing. This and the following comments (i.e., the two texts written on a diagonal -- which formatting is supposed to direct the reader’s attention to the toko-bashira) are referring to a kake-tomoshibi, an oil-lamp that is hung on the toko-bashira.

¹¹Hi-guchi no takasa fukuro-dana no ue yon-sun no kokoro-e-subeshi [火口ノ高サ袋棚ノ上三四寸心得スヘシ] means “with respect to the height of the hi-guchi [of a kake-tomoshibi], you should understand that it should be 4-sun higher than [the upper shelf of] the fukuro-dana*.”

Shibayama Fugen’s teihon version reads hi-guchi no takasa fukuro-dana no ue san- yon-sun kokoro-e-subeshi [火口ノ高サ袋棚ノ上三四寸心得スベシ]. Essentially the same, but (for some reason) allowing more flexibility in the height of the kake-tomoshibi -- 3 or 4 sun, rather than the 4-sun that is stated in the Enkaku-ji version of this entry. ___________ *The fukuro-dana is generally 2-shaku 4-bu tall, so this means that the hi-guchi (the point in the saucer, or oil-lamp, where the wicks rest against the rim) should be 2-shaku 4-sun 4-bu above the surface of the mats.

¹²Hi-guchi [火口] indicates the orientation of the tankei, which is represented by the square in the upper left corner of the mat that is in front of the toko.

When the room has a 5-shaku toko (as here), the tankei should be oriented so that it faces toward the ro. This focuses its light on the interior of the ro, leaving the kakemono (if there is one) wholly in shadow.

The kakemono is inspected using a te-shoku*. __________ *Generally one of the guests (either the second guest, if he is attending on the shōkyaku; or the last guest, who takes it upon himself to act as the host’s unofficial assistant) moves up into the toko and holds the te-shoku -- by its handle -- in such a way that the hon-shi will be clearly illuminated, so that the others can then approach the toko and inspect the scroll. Afterward one of the others holds the te-shoku so that he can look at the scroll if he wishes.

¹³Go-shaku-toko no toki kaku-no-gotoki　[五尺床ノ時如此].

This text is describing the first sketch.

In addition to being included in the kaki-ire [書入] (as in the Enkaku-ji manuscript), Shibayama’s teihon also has the words go-shaku [五尺] and toko [床] written directly on the drawing. His version of the sketch is reproduced below.

Doing this was apparently intended to indicate unambiguously that the rectangle in which these words are written was intended to represent the toko.

In Shibayama’s teihon, the corresponding sentence occurs later (after the kaki-ire’s description of Shukō’s 4.5-mat room), and reads go-shaku-toko no toki kaku-no-gotoki [五尺床ノ時、如此短檠置ク方ヨシ]. Which means “when the toko is 5-shaku [wide], it is appropriate to place the tankei like this” (referring to the sketch).

Here Tanaka’s version takes a marked turn from the others, providing what might be taken as a sort of summary of the remainder of the material:

ō-kata yojō-han ikken-toko ni ha shokudai, Genji-tomoshibi no tagui shikaru-beki, tankei ha go-shaku-toko no toki oki ni shiku ha nashi, ro no kata [h]e hi-guchi mukete ichi-dan to oki-kata mu-ri naki nari, zu sue ni shirusu

[大方四疊半一間床ニハ燭臺、源氏火の類可然、短檠ハ五尺床ノ時置ニシクハナシ、爐ノ方ヘ火口ムケテ一段ト置方無理ナキ也、圖末ニ記ス].

“In general when a 4.5-mat room has a 1-ken toko, things of the same class as a shokudai or Genji-tomoshibi are most appropriate. A tankei is best placed with a 5-shaku toko, oriented with the hi-guchi facing in the direction of the ro is more appropriate, and this is certainly not unreasonable.

“This is shown in the sketch at the end [of this entry].”

While no sketch was included by Tanaka, it appears to be referring to the first of the two drawings found in Shibayama's version of the text, showing a 4.5-mat room with 5-shaku toko, which has been redrawn above.

This is the end of Tanaka’s “genpon” text.

¹⁴Tankei oki-kata yoshi　[短檠置方ヨシ].

Tankei oki-kata yoshi [短檠置き方よし] means the way the tankei has been placed is acceptable, suitable, or appropriate.

In this version of the text, this statement appears to be commenting on the first sketch (but, as mentioned above, it appears that this is a fragment of another sentence that somehow migrated into the present position; it actually has no connection with the description of Shukō’s 4.5-mat room that follows in this kaki-ire).

The order of some of this material has been changed*, suggesting that perhaps Tachibana Jitsuzan may have made a mistake when copying. Apparently Shibayama Fugen (or, more likely, the Enkaku-ji scholar who produced the manuscript that Shibayama later used as his teihon) restored everything to what appears to be their original places. In his version, this phrase is found at the end of the sentence discussed in the previous footnote (to which it is logically related). ___________ *Shibayama’s text gives the description of Jōō’s 4.5-mat room first (since it is more directly related to the first sketch), and moves the description of Shukō’s shin-no-yojō-han to the end of the kaki-ire, since it seems to form a bridge between this kaki-ire and the next (which discusses the second sketch that depicts Tennōji-ya Sōkyū’s way of arranging the tankei in his 4.5-mat room with a 1-ken toko).

¹⁵Shukō no shin-no-yojō-han, Engo no ō-haba wo kakerare-shi yue ikken-toko nari　[珠光ノ眞ノ四疊半、圜悟ノ大幅ヲ掛ラレシ故一間床也].

Shukō no shin yojō-han [珠光の眞四疊半] means a 4.5-mat shoin-style room supposedly used by Shukō. Such a room is not documented historically.

Engo no ō-haba wo kakerare-shi [圜悟の大幅ヲ掛けられし] means the large (or wide) scroll by (the Song period Chán monk) Engo (Yuánwù) was hung (in that room).

This is referring to the scroll known today as the Nagare-Engo [流れ圜悟], the hon-shi of which is shown below.

This document was written by the Song period Chán monk Yuánwù Kèqín [圜悟克勤; 1063 ~ 1135], and is a fragment of the text of a sermon* (one of many that Yuánwù Kèqín delivered at various temples around China as his commentary on the Bì-yán lù [碧巖錄], Heki-gan Roku, gained wider popularity in Chán circles there), measures 52.4 cm wide x 43.9 cm from top to bottom (approximately 1-shaku 7-sun 3-bu by 1-shaku 4-sun 5-bu).

Engo no ō-haba wo kakerare-shi yue ikken-toko nari [圜悟の大幅を掛けられし故一間床なり] means the toko of Shukō’s shin yojō-han, in which he displayed the Engo bokuseki, was 1-ken (6-shaku) wide (and so floored with a full-sized tatami mat†) because he was intending to hang the very large Engo-bokuseki in it.

This assertion, however, seems to be based on ideas of tearoom construction that did not exist in that period (even Yoshimasa’s Dojin-sai shoin [同仁齋書院] logically lacks a tokonoma -- since the nobleman was Yoshimasa himself).

The (rarely seen) hyōgu‡ of the Engo scroll, which is shown above, increased its width by 2-sun on both sides (and the handles would have increased the total by an additional 2-sun or so); but the resulting scroll was not of a size that would really have been considered an “ō-haba” [大幅] (a large or wide scroll).

It is said that Shukō hung this bokuseki in his 2-mat room; and, indeed, it would be possible to hang the scroll of the dimensions described above at the head of the mat on which the guests sat (the head of the other mat had a wood-floored alcove that was used like an o-chanoyu-dana [御茶湯棚] -- though this was later misinterpreted to be an ita-doko [板床] when the room was rebuilt as a 3-mat room, during the sixteenth or seventeenth century, a version that anachronistically included a sode-kabe so that it was used as if it were a 2-mat daime) without difficulty, or without the scroll appearing to be squeezed into a too-small space. All of which suggests that the person who wrote this sentence had never seen the scroll in question, and was simply peppering his statement with famous names in an attempt to give weight to his argument (which was, sadly, a common rhetorical device of the Edo period tea literature). __________ *Yuánwù Kèqín probably wrote a new sermon for each venue at which he was asked to speak (and probably delivered his remarks by simply reading from the page); and probably gave the document to the monks of the temple, as a sort of souvenir, afterward.

This scroll was made from a portion of one such text -- though whether its size was reduced over time because of deterioration (as the paper passed from hand to hand), or whether a longer sheet was cut into sections that were then distributed to several different monks, is not know.

†In that period, a toko of this size was used as a jō-dan for the seating of a nobleman, not for displaying art-works. This is another indication that the author is writing from an Edo period perspective -- where the toko, regardless of its size, was used primarily as a place to display the host’s treasured art pieces.

‡The scroll's hyōgu [表具], which seems to have been the way the scroll was mounted when it was in Shukō’s possession, reflects the Korean preference for strong colors and specific proportions (which are also mirrored in the scrolls mounted by Nōami for Ashikaga Yoshimasa). Whether Shukō received this scroll in Japan (as the Edo period tea lore suggests), or whether he was presented with it before he left Korea and was then carried by him to Japan, is not clear (though the latter idea seems perhaps a little more credible).

¹⁶Tankei mo sono toki made ha okazu　[短檠モ其時マデハ不置].

Sono toki made [その時まで] means through (the end of) his period....

Okazu [置かず] means was not placed (in the tearoom).

In other words, this is saying that until the end of Shukō’s period the tankei was not used in the tearoom, implying that it was used in that setting thereafter. According to the “traditional” machi-shū version of the history of chanoyu*, Shukō appeared first, and began the practice of serving tea ceremonially; and he was then followed by Jōō. But Shukō died the year that Jōō was born, so such a continuity would have been impossible; and since we have already been told that Jōō is the one who began to use the tankei in the tearoom (which would have been during his middle period), this variety of lighting could not have appeared until perhaps 35 or 40 years after Shukō’s death (Jōō died in 1555, so he never really entered into old age; his tea energy remained strong up until the end). ___________ *Which traces its roots to the tea history written by Kanamori Sōwa, on the orders of the Tokugawa bakufu. The purpose of this history was explicitly to turn chanoyu into a uniquely Japanese traditional art, so that the bakufu would be able to utilize Hideyoshi’s collection of meibutsu tea utensils (which was all that remained from the incalculable treasure amassed during his reign) to pay off their various debts; as well as make awards to the deserving daimyō (who had supported the Tokugawa during their war against Hideyoshi’s son Hideyori) -- and those whose acquiescence to Tokugawa rule they wished to insure -- without actually impacting the shōgunal coffers. Chanoyu was still considered an imported activity until the propaganda push spearheaded by Sōwa’s “scholarly” report (and the fact of this was more than demonstrated by the contempt that certain of the daimyō showed to the “priceless utensils” that they were given in lieu of money or rice lands that could be shared with their own supporters).

¹⁷Shokudai nari　[燭臺也].

Means that Shukō used a tall candlestick (such as the one shown in the photo reproduced under footnote 1).

¹⁸Jōō yojō-han, toko-naki mo ari　[紹鷗ノ四疊半、床ナキモアリ].

This means that Jōō also had a 4.5-mat room that did not have a toko at all*. ___________ *The original rule was that if the host did not own a meibutsu kakemono, then he was not supposed to add a toko onto his tearoom.

A 4.5-mat room without a toko was a wabi-style room, and such rooms were common among the machi-shū chajin of the first half of the sixteenth century.

¹⁹Toko wo tsukerare-taru ha go-shaku nari　[床ヲ付ラレタルハ五尺也].

Toko wo tsukerare-taru ha go-shaku nari [床を付けられたるは五尺なり] means, again referring to Jōō, “when (he) did attach a toko (to his 4.5-mat room), it (measured) 5-shaku (wide).”

²⁰Again, hi-guchi [火口] means the side of the saucer of oil where the flame is burning. This indicates the direction in which the lamp is oriented.

²¹Ikken-toko no toki, Sōkyū kaku-no-gotoki wo okaruru　[一間床ノ時、宗及如此ヲカルヽ].

Ikken-toko no toki Sōkyū kaku-no-gotoki okareru [一間床の時宗及此のごとき置かれる] means “when it is an ikken-toko (a toko 1-ken, or 6-shaku, wide), (the tankei) is arranged like this.” (This is referring to the second of the two sketches that are found in the body of the translation -- which has also been redrawn for inclusion under footnote 7, above.)

²²Kyū ha tsu[w]i ni ji-ka ni te, sumi-kakete okare-taru wo mizu　[休ハツヰニ自家ニテ、スミカケテヲカレタルヲ見ズ].

Kyū ha tsui ni ji-ka ni te sumi-kakete okare-taru wo mizu [休は遂に自家にて隅かけて置かれたるを見ず] means “(as for) Rikyū, (the tankei) was never seen to be placed so that it rested in the corner (of the mat) in his own home.” The implication being that Rikyū allowed Sōkyū‘s arrangement out of politeness, on account of his respect for this long-time friend, so he did not want to challenge him publicly.

This orientation does not agree with the Sen family’s teachings, hence the inclusion of this objection. Nevertheless, nowhere is there anything that indicates that Rikyū had an ikken-toko in his own home* -- and certainly none of the references in the various kaiki that document his gatherings (whether written by himself, or by some of his guests) mention arrangements that would be appropriate to such a setting (during his younger years, at least, a toko was not supposed to be appended to the room unless the host owned a meibutsu kakemono, and such a scroll would most certainly have attracted the attention of his guests).

This argument appears to turn on the Sen family’s myth that Shōan had been raised in Rikyū’s household since his youth, and so would have been knowledgeable of things of which outsiders were ignorant. But Rikyū only married† Shōan’s mother in 1586 or 1587 (when Shōan was 42 years of age); and nothing indicates that Shōan was ever on intimate terms with Rikyū, and so would have had no special knowledge of what Rikyū was doing in the privacy of his own household (which still does not seem to have featured a 4.5-mat room with an ikken-toko in any case‡).

The tankei was only oriented on a diagonal in a room that had an ikken-toko because only in that kind of room would this orientation provide adequate light to both the ro (so the host could see what he was doing when arranging the charcoal) and the toko (so that the entire kakemono would be illuminated). In a room with a smaller toko**, if the tankei were placed diagonally, a shadow would cut across the kakemono if the tankei were arranged in this way. That is why it was felt better to orient the tankei toward the ro, so that the kakemono would be entirely within the shadow (the scroll would be inspected with a te-shoku, which was always provided for this purpose). __________ *During his last years Rikyū had a 2-mat jō-dan [上段] installed in the 18-mat shoin in his official residence (within Hideyoshi’s palace compound), to provide a seat for Hideyoshi (when he chose to sit there). But the arrangement of that room would never accommodate a tankei arranged in the manner under consideration here (in this entry, we are, after all, looking at the arrangement of the tankei in a 4.5-mat room).

†“Married” might actually be too strong a word for their relationship. Hideyoshi seems to have ordered Rikyū to take Shōan’s mother, Sō-on [宗恩; ? ~ 1600] into his Kyōto residence to function primarily as its manager (and, of course, to act as Hideyoshi’s in-house spy).

Sō-on had originally been the wife of Hideyoshi’s faithful retainer (and nō [能] instructor) Miyaō Saburō Sannyū [宮王三郎三入; ? ~ 1582], who is said to have died literally taking a bullet that had been aimed at Hideyoshi during the battle of Yamazaki. After the battle, Hideyoshi took Sō-on into his harem, from where she was eventually moved into Rikyū’s household (once Hideyoshi was confident of her fidelity to him and his family).

‡Sōkyū’s idea of orienting the tankei on a diagonal was only ever acceptable in a 4.5-mat room with a 1-ken wide tokonoma. In a 4.5-mat room with any other sort of toko (or in such a room with no toko at all), doing so would have been automatically wrong.

**In a room that did not have a toko (as was the case with Jōō’s original 4.5-mat room, according to this text) the lack of a toko indicated that the host did not own a meibutsu-kakemono. An ordinary scroll did not merit the special consideration that was extended to a meibutsu scroll. Thus, in that kind of setting, the tankei would be oriented so that it faced the ro -- with indifference to the scroll (if one was even hanging on the wall).

²³Aru-toki, Yodo-ya no yojō-han ikken-toko ni te ari-keru ni tōdai oki-taru ni　[アル時、淀屋ノ四疊半一間床ニテ有ケルニ燈臺置タルニ].

Yodo-ya [淀屋]. This is a reference to the wealthy rice merchant Yodo-ya Saburōemon [淀屋三郎右衛門; 1576 ~ 1643], the second head of the Yodo-ya firm. According to Shibayama Fugen, he also used the personal name Gentō [言當]; his tearoom was known as the Ko-an [written variously as either 箇庵 or 古庵], and he used this as his name as well, on certain occasions. He was based in Ōsaka. He was publicly recognized for his abilities in renga [連歌], and was well known as a caricaturist (giga [戯畵])*, too. Apparently he was also a practitioner of chanoyu, having been initiated into the art by Rikyū himself, at least according to this entry†.

Ari-keru tōdai [有ける燈臺] means “the aforementioned tōdai.” This is perplexing, because heretofore the only sort of tōdai that has been mentioned (and even that indirectly‡) is the kake-tōdai [掛燈臺]. The free-standing tōdai [燈臺] has actually not been mentioned at all.

A (free-standing) tōdai, such as that being referred to here, is similar to the shoku-dai shown in the photo that will be found under footnote 1. It consists of a base and stem, to the top of which a small (usually circular) platform is attached.

On top of the platform is placed a small tripod, and atop that, the container of oil and its saucer**.

Ikken-toko ni te ari-keru ni tōdai oki-taru ni [一間床にて有けるに燈臺置きたるに] this means “the aforementioned tōdai was placed [in front of] his 1-ken toko.” Suggesting, perhaps, that the novelty here was that a tōdai was being used rather than a shokudai.

However, Shibayama’s teihon has: aru-toki, Yodo-ya no yojō-han ikken-toko ni te ari-keru ni tōdai sumi-kakezu oki-taru ni [或時淀屋ノ四疊半一間床ニテ有ケル燈臺スミカケズ置タルニ]. This means “on one occasion, in Yodo-ya’s 4.5-mat room with an ikken toko, the aforementioned tōdai was not placed [on a diagonal from] the corner.” In other words, the tōdai was oriented with the hi-guchi facing directly toward the ro (so that it threw its light into the ro, leaving the toko in shadow. This is not only a significant difference, but it invites Rikyū’s response (which otherwise is difficult to explain). __________ *The term giga [戯畵] can refer to comics (that is, an illustrated storyboard) as well as caricatures (humorous sketches of a person, though without a narrative). The exact meaning here is not clear.

†I have not been able to find any mention of him as an associate of Rikyū’s, or even of his having any connection with chanoyu. While a lack of evidence does not necessarily disprove the connection, it is also possible that a well-known machi-shū figure was conscripted to fulfill the role of Rikyū's disciple in this episode.

Curiously, Shibayama gives his date of death as the 5th day of the Twelfth Month of Kan-ei 2 [寛永二年十二月五日] (which would have been January 3, 1626) -- rather than 1643 as the official records of the Yodo-ya firm have it.

‡All of the earlier references have actually been to the kake-tomoshibi [掛燈], which names the lamp. A kake-todai [掛燈臺] is the L-shaped holder on which the actual oil-lamp rests.

Please see footnote 3 for drawings of the two versions of the kake-tōdai most commonly used in the tearoom.

It is possible -- indeed, I would argue, likely -- that the earlier references to a shokudai [燭臺], in footnotes 1, 13, and 17, were actually intended to refer to the tōdai. This is because a candle does not give off anywhere near as much light as an oil-lamp (which is why the shokudai was largely replaced by the tōdai as early as the Heian period, as a way of illuminating a sitting room).

The kanji-compound shokudai [燭臺] is very complicated (particularly the second kanji dai [臺]), as is the compound for tōdai [燈臺]. This means that not only could a person easily confuse the one with the other when writing them (especially if he had not used them much), but it might be equally difficult to tell them apart when reading them -- especially if the word had been written with a cursive hand. Thus, while I might speculate that such was the case, it is impossible to guess who might have misread or miswritten the word over the course of this text’s history.

**The arrangement of objects on top of the tōdai is shown below. The saucer that will contain the oil rests on a slightly larger saucer (that catches any oil that leaks down the side of the first). These rest on top of a small tripod that raises the pair of saucers (and so the flame) above the platform on which the assembly rests (thereby increasing the light given off to the room).

As for the little tripod, calling it a “gotoku” [五德] would be anachronistic: the object was called a kakure-ka [隱家] (meaning a fence that surrounds a homestead), since it was always oriented with the ring uppermost (that is, until 1582 or 1583, when Rikyū inverted it as a way to arrange the small unryū-gama in the large Temmyō kimen-buro that had successively belonged to Yoshimasa, and later Nobunaga -- though that has nothing to do with the tōdai, where it was always used with the ring uppermost).

²⁴Kyū mi-tamaite, kore ni te koso aru-beki to no tamau　[休見玉テ、コレニテコソアルベキトノ玉フ].

Mi-tamaite [見給いて]* means to deign to look (at something).

Kore ni te koso aru-bekere [これにてこそ有べけれ] means something like "this is the only way it should be done."

Even in the setting of a 1-ken toko, orienting the hi-guchi toward the ro will leave the interior of the toko uniformly shaded†. As mentioned above, this is not a problem, because a te-shoku will be provided so that the kakemono can be inspected carefully (if one is displayed at all, given that it is a night gathering). ___________ *The second kanji in the compound mi-tamaite [見玉て], as the word is written in the Enkaku-ji text, should be understood to be a hentai-gana. The actual kanji is tamau [給う], meaning to deign, to do (as an extremely polite form).

†The critical thing is that the scroll should be either entirely shaded, or entirely illuminated. What must be avoided is when a shadow falls across the scroll, so that part is illuminated, and part in shadow.

²⁵Shikaraba sumi-kake ha konomarezu to oboe ni 　[シカレバスミカケハ不被好ト覺ニ]

Shikaraba [然らば] means if that is the case....

Konomarezu [好まれず] means not preferred; not favored; not liked.

Oboe ni [覺えに] means to remember, to learn, to reflect on, to memorize.

Shibayama’s version has shikaraba sumi-kakete ha konomarezu to oboyu [然ラバスミカケテハ不被好ト覺ユ]. But since oboyu [覺ゆ] is just an archaic literary form of the verb oboeru [覺える], there is no difference in the meaning.

²⁶Yodo-ya ha Kyū koni no montei nari　[淀屋ハ休懇意ノ門弟也].

Koni no montei [懇意の門弟] means an intimate disciple; a very close disciple (the sort of disciple to whom the master would impart his most secret teachings).

If any of this is so, it is difficult to understand why no mention of this Yodo-ya Saburōemon is found during what was certainly the best-documented period in Rikyū’s life.

That said, there is a certain discrepancy to be found here: Gentō (as he sometimes called himself) was born in 1576. And, of course, Rikyū died in 1591 (when Gentō would have been no more than 15 years old). As a result, it is rather ridiculous to believe that Rikyū would have been giving lessons in chanoyu to a literal child.

Furuta Sōshitsu was introduced to Jōō when he was 11 years old, and Jōō recommended that he study with Rikyū. But it would seem more reasonable that those lessons did not actually begin, at least in earnest, until Oribe was several years older (probably not until after he had celebrated his genpuku [元服], or coming of age -- which would have been when he was between 15 and 17 years of age or so during that period†).

During the Edo period, of course, the heirs of the different tea schools were frequently said to have commenced their training at the age of 6 or 7. But this was the age when children began to receive a more formal education (learning to read and write and so forth, as well as the basics of whatever profession they were expected to eventually enter), and it should be understood in that way; furthermore, this was within a family of tea specialists. And, of course, the Yodo-ya had no known connection with chanoyu‡ that would suggest that Gentō had become familiar with the practice from an early age. As a result, the story of Yodo-ya Saburōemon having sufficient understanding and sensitivity to go against popular tradition (Tennōji-ya Sōkyū, in addition to being one of Rikyū's great friends, was also an extremely influential member of the local tea community), and so deeply impress Rikyū, when he could have been no older than 15 years of age, is difficult to believe**.

This kind of concluding sentence is very typical of Edo period tea stories. __________ *It is important to note that the individuals whose commencement of tea studies are recorded generally seem to have begun doing so when they were around 16 or 17 years of age, as was true of Rikyū. It is difficult to imagine that anyone -- especially anyone from a non-tea background -- could feel an inclination to pursue such serious study that it would involve taking lessons from one of Hideyoshi's sa-dō [茶頭], and particularly the one among them who was known to be involved in Hideyoshi's most intimate negotiations.

†Because a samurai would be expected to be ready to take up arms immediately following his genpuku, it seems that this ceremony was generally delayed as long as possible during that age of active warfare -- sometimes until the candidate reached the age of 20.

‡As mentioned above (please see footnote 21), according to the personal information that Shibayama Fugen was able to discover, Gentō was famous primarily for his abilities in renga, and for his drawings. No mention of any connection with chanoyu is ever made in any biography of this individual -- which would have been highly unusual, since (according to this) he was supposed to have been one of Rikyū’s most intimate (and, probably, last) disciples.

**It seems that it was after Rikyū's removal to Mozuno that his fall from grace really began. And yet it was precisely during those troubled years that Saburōemon would have had to have been studying with Rikyū -- if he ever actually did so at all.

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chanoyu-to-wa · 2 years

Text

Nampō Roku, Book 7 (29a): the Chabako [茶箱] and the Sa-tsū-bako [茶通箱]; and a Relevant Passage from the Book of Secret Teachings.

29) Two [completely unrelated] things can be referred to [by the name] chabako-no-temae [茶箱ノ手前]¹:

- When tea will be served outside, the tea utensils are collected together [in a box], and this chabako is [one] case where this [name] is said². This [simply] refers to [the needs of] taking everything out-of-doors, so that is the end of [what needs to be explained here]³.

- As for the other [use of the word chabako], this is when tea will be sent off to someone [as a gift], or when [the box holding one or more containers of matcha] will be brought along [when going to visit someone]⁴. 〚It also refers to the case where [a container of tea] is sent along [to the host] ahead of time, [with the hope that it be served during the gathering]⁵.〛

[The chabako may contain] two varieties [of tea], one koicha, and the other usucha; or [it may contain just] a single variety of koicha; or [even] two varieties, but of koicha only -- this is [decided] on a case-by-case basis, and it is entirely up to the feelings of the sender⁶.

Even if the chaire is a treasured piece, even so it may be enclosed in [the chabako]⁷. But if it is a karamono[-chaire], that is up to the host's feelings of propriety [whether such a chaire might be put in the box or not]⁸.

Usucha [should be put in] a natsume or nakatsugi, or another [lacquered] container of that sort⁹.

The box should be made of paulownia wood, with a [pair of] crosspieces nailed [to the underside of the lid]¹⁰; but a himo [緒] should not be attached [to the box]¹¹. [Rather,] a [strip of] white paper is bound around the center [of the chabako] in order to seal it¹².

The so-called “three sword-cuts of this seal” is a secret [practice]¹³.

[As for the box itself,] the size differs, depending on [the size of] the chaire¹⁴.

[The writing reads: 〽tori-atsukai fū no kiri-yō nado, kaku-subeshi kaku-subeshi (〽取アツカイ封ノ切ヤウ等、秘スベシ〰), which means “with regard to the way to handle the cutting of the seal, this is a very great secret¹⁵.”]

_________________________

◎ Due to certain pronounced inconsistencies between the things described in the central part of this entry vis-à-vis Rikyū’s own writings on the sa-tsū-bako [茶通箱] -- specifically the implication that it is the host who places the containers of tea in the sa-tsū-bako* (which agrees with the Sen family’s teachings, rather than Rikyū’s) -- it appears that this is another of those entries† that were augmented in an attempt to validate the Sen family’s approach to these practices.

Textually, there are a couple of minor differences between the Enkaku-ji manuscript text and what is found in Shibayama Fugen’s teihon -- possibly, in one case, the result of Tachibana Jitsuzan’s failing to include one short sentence when he (by all reports, very quickly) transcribed the Shū-un-an material. As has been my practice, I restored that sentence to the translation, enclosed in doubled brackets to indicate that it was not part of the Enkaku-ji text.

Furthermore, Shibayama refers the reader to one of the sections in the Second Book of Secret Teachings, as being (rather tangentially) related to this entry (it explains how to take the two containers of matcha out of the box, and what to do with the second container of tea while koicha is being served from the first); and, as a result, that material will also be translated in an appendix that will be found at the end of this post.

Meanwhile, Tanaka Senshō quotes the text of this entry as found in the genpon [原本]. While the entry itself generally follows Shibayama’s version, it also includes several notable digressions, which made it difficult to collate his text with the other two versions. As a result, I decided it would be better to translate that version separately (along with its own set of footnotes).

In addition, every version of this entry is followed by a kaki-ire (which, as is often the case in the Nampō Roku, is not very closely connected with the questions discussed in entry 29).

This material will all be covered in a subsequent post. ___________ *The implication is, in fact, that the host not only puts the containers of tea into the sa-tsū-bako before sealing the box with a paper tape, but that he might also be the one who fills them with tea, too.

The sa-tsū-bako originally contained only the gift tea, and, as such, it was sealed by the person who sent it to the host. When Rikyū was the sender, the sa-tsū-bako usually contained tea from one of Hideyoshi’s personal tea jars, which was dispatched at the end of each day to people who had requested it (so that the matcha, which was freshly ground each morning, in case Hideyoshi or a member of his household wanted to drink tea that day, would not go to waste). In this case, the box was inscribed by Rikyū, noting the name of the cha-tsubo from which the tea had come, and the date; and the tea was enclosed in a plain black-lacquered natsume that bore Rikyū’s kaō (written in red lacquer either on the underside of the lid, or on the bottom of the natsume), that was tied in a small purple-dyed furoshiki, to press the lid against the body to keep the tea as fresh as possible. The container(s) of matcha were then placed in a wooden box, that was sealed by encircling it with a paper tape, over which Rikyū impressed his own name-seal where the two ends of the tape overlapped.

The mi-katana [三刀] mentioned in this entry refers to the way the tape was supposed to be cut open -- the first two cuts sliced through the tape only part way, usually in the area where the name-seal had been impressed (so the name-seal would still be partly intact, and so legible), as a sort of gesture indicating that the sa-tsū-bako would subsequently be cut open (and the tea it contained would be served) during that chakai. After the guests inspected the box following the first two cuts, the host finished cutting the tape with a third stroke of the small knife that was used for this purpose, thereby allowing him to remove the lid and lift out the container(s) of tea.

During the Edo period, with tea more and more commonly being sold pre-ground, the tea was given to the customer in that shop’s signature container (some of these were lacquered and shaped like a natsume or nakatsugi, some were inexpensive ceramic jars resembling chaire; and, as the Edo period deepened, metal cans came into use), though always with the insignia of the tea shop inscribed prominently on the outside. Probably because this advertising made things seem too commercial, after receiving the tea, the host transferred it into his own tea containers, which he then put in a sa-tsū-bako (presumably to indicate that the tea had been a gift), which he sealed with his own name, and this is the practice discussed in this entry.

Later still, at the dawning of the modern era in chanoyu, the host came to put the chaire that he had prepared for the gathering (containing his own tea) in a high-quality wooden box along with a second container (usually a plain black natsume) into which a suitable portion of the gift tea had been transferred, so that both could be served during the same temae. And, because the cost of the box meant that it would be reused if at all possible (rather than used only once as had been the case up until then), sealing the box with a tape, and stamping the tape were eschewed (since they would mean the box could not be reused). It was at that time that the modern “sa-tsū-bako” (with a yarō-buta [藥籠蓋]) was developed by the Sen family’s sashimono-shi [指物師], and this is the kind of box most commonly seen today.

†It seems that the original question -- that two different, and completely unrelated, boxes are nevertheless referred to as a chabako [footnote 1] -- and its resolution (that one box is the one used when carrying the tea utensils to an out-of-doors gathering [footnotes 2 and 3]; while the other refers to a box in which one or more containers of gift tea are presented to someone [footnotes 4 and 5] -- and the different combinations of tea varieties that may be used [footnote 6]) were authentic parts of Nambō Sōkei’s memorandum. As were the physical description of the box itself, and the way it was sealed with a white paper tape [footnotes 10 to 14] that was cut open with a small knife at the beginning of the goza.

But the series of comments [footnotes 7 to 9] that begin with the question of whether a treasured chaire, or a karamono-chaire, might be placed in the box, and that a lacquered container is (apparently) to be used for usucha, are clearly machi-shū interpolations that were intended to subvert this entry in support of the Sen family's take on the purpose of the sa-tsū-bako.

¹Chabako no temae, ni-yō ari　[茶箱ノ手前、二樣アリ].

Ni-yō [二樣] means two kinds, two types.

In other words, during Rikyū’s lifetime, the word “chabako” was used to name two very different things:

◦ a box in which a collection of tea utensils were carried when going to the mountains (or some such place) to enjoy tea out-of-doors*;

◦ a box in which one or more containers of matcha were placed, when sending the tea to someone as a gift†. __________ *Today, this is what is meant by the word chabako [茶箱].

Though a specially made object that is sold in utensil shops today, in Rikyū’s period any box that was small enough to be carried easily in the hands could be used.

†Today this kind of box is called a sa-tsū-bako [茶通箱] -- which literally means “tea passing-over box.”

While today the most commonly seen sa-tsū-bako is a yarō-bako [藥籠蓋] (a box with a fitted lid that looks something like a shoe-box, requiring the skills of a master carpenter -- please see footnote 15 for a photo of this kind of box) that can comfortably hold two chū-natsume, traditionally the size ranged from those that could hold just one container of tea, up to boxes that could hold three containers of tea.

The original type (which is the kind described in this entry) had a flat lid with two horizontal crosspieces attached to the underside on the narrower ends called san [棧]. These crosspieces kept the lid from sliding off.

And while the size of these boxes are standardized today, based on models from Rikyū’s period (in his day, the sa-tsū-bako contained only the container or containers of gift tea, which was usually placed in a ko-natsume or chū-natsume; so boxes suitable for one, two, or three such containers were being made by the craftsmen), in the Edo period, the sa-tsū-bako was usually custom made to the dimensions of the larger of the tea containers that would be placed inside it (because, under the direction of the Sen family, the sa-tsū-bako was now to be assembled by the host, and contained both the chaire that he had been planning to use for the gathering, in which his own tea was placed, plus a lacquered container of some sort into which the host transferred a suitable amount of the tea he had received as a gift -- which was usually matcha that had been given to him by one of the guests, or sent to him by his feudal lord or some other person of higher rank).

²No-gake no toki, cha-gu irikumi-taru wo mo chabako to iu　[野ガケノ時、茶具入組タルヲモ茶箱ト云].

No-gake [野懸け or 野掛け] refers to an outside chakai (no [野] means a field or plain; and, more generally, a natural out-of-doors location) where the kama is suspended (kakeru [懸ける,　掛ける]*) on a chain from the branch of a tree, usually over a ro-like hole dug in the ground†, in which the charcoal fire is kindled.

Irikumi-taru [入り組みたる] means to want to collect (a number of objects) together in (a container).

Here, Shibayama Fugen’s teihon has no-gake no toki, cha-gu irikumi-taru wo mo chabako to mo cha-bentō to mo iu [野ガケノ時、茶具入組タルヲモ茶箱トモ茶辨當トモ云フ].

While the first part of the sentence is identical (and this is generally the case throughout his version of this entry), Shibayama’s text adds the phrase cha-bentō to mo iu [茶辨當トモ云う], meaning that the chabako “is also called a cha-bentō”: a bentō [辨當]‡ is a picnic box, a lunch box -- that is, a complete meal contained in a small portable box. The chabako, then, is being called the same idea, albeit for the utensils used to serve tea. __________ *Kakeru [懸ける] was the actual word that describes suspending something like a kama on a chain; but kakeru [掛ける] (which originally meant to scatter something -- such as chicken feed -- by broadcasting it, hence throwing on top, hence suspending above) has replaced it in the modern language.

†Today it is usually lined with six roof-tiles (usually arranged as two overlapped triangles), to keep the fire away from the ground -- because if the organic matter it contains begins to smolder, the fire will give off a lot of smoke, and usually a foul odor as well.

‡Bentō [辨當] is usually simplified to bentō [弁当] today, making the original kanji-compound unrecognizable to most people.

³Kore ha no-gake no sabaki ni te sumu-koto nari　[コレハ野ガケノサバキニテスムコト也].

No-gake no sabaki [野懸けの捌き] means the way to manage a no-gake (chakai), the way to handle (the transport of the utensils to) a no-gake (gathering).

Sumu-koto [濟むこと] means to be done with something.

In other words, saying that one of the two uses of the word chabako is to describe a box in which utensils are carried out-of-doors for a no-gake chakai, will suffice for our present purposes. Nothing more needs to be said about this kind of chabako here.

⁴Ima ichi-yō ha hito no kata [h]e cha wo okuru-toki, jisan-suru-koto mo ari　[今一樣ハ人ノ方ヘ茶ヲヽクル時、持參スルコトモアリ].

Ima ichi-yō [今一樣] means the remaining kind (of chabako). The discussion now turns to the “other” kind of box that was sometimes referred to as a “chabako.”

Cha wo okuru [茶を送る] means to send tea (to someone)*.

Jisan-suru [持參する] means to bring something (such as a container or containers of gift tea) along with oneself; carry (the container of gift tea) by oneself.

In the original, then, there are two scenarios: sending gift-tea to someone (almost always from a superior to an inferior), and bringing a gift of matcha along when going to call on someone. __________ *Here, Shibayama’s text uses the homophonous verb okuru [贈る], which means to give, to gift, to present. It seems that the person responsible for his version was thinking more specifically in terms of the Edo period practice, where one of the guests sometimes took a gift of matcha to the host (especially if he was coming from some distance away, and that district had a reputation for producing delicious tea) -- though this meaning is actually covered by the second part of the sentence.

The more generally accepted interpretation of okuru [ヲクル] is what was explained above, where okuru [送る] means to send (such as by messenger) -- since, originally, this referred to the practice where the matcha from Hideyoshi’s household that was left-over at the end of the day was sent off to people who had requested it, so it would not go to waste. (In theory, this tea was completely free; but in practice, etiquette generally required that the recipient send the official who had facilitated the gift -- one of Hideyoshi’s eight sadō [茶頭], such as Rikyū -- a thank-you present, that was often financially significant.)

In such households, fresh matcha was ground every morning, even when the master (or another member of his family) was not in residence. And whatever remained at the end of the day (the fires were typically taken out around 10:00 PM, so matcha was generally not served after that time), was dispatched to the next name on the list of people who had made a request to receive it, either at that time, or possibly the next morning (depending on the distance that the messenger would have to travel, and the status of the recipient).

All said, the meaning is pretty much the same regardless of how okuru is understood.

⁵Saki-datte motase yokosu-koto mo ari　[先達テ持タセ遣スコトモアリ].

This sentence is not found in the Enkaku-ji manuscript version of this entry.

Saki-date [先達て] means in advance.

Motaseru [持たせる] means to let (someone) have (something); give (something) to (someone).

Yokosu [遣す] means to give, pass on, turn over (to someone), forward.

This sentence seems to be describing a case where a gift of tea is sent to the host prior to a chakai*, with the intention that the tea be served at that time. __________ *Either the donor received word that the teishu was going to host a gathering on such and such a date, and arranged to send a gift of matcha so it would arrive in time to be served then; or, possibly, this is harping back to the earlier case (discussed above) where chajin submitted a request to a member of Hideyoshi’s court, asking for a gift of tea, and then (as was often the case) arranged a chakai in anticipation of the receipt of that tea (this kind of behavior appears to have been especially common with the machi-shū chajin).

⁶Koicha・usucha ryō-shu mo, mata koicha isshu mo, mata koicha bakari ni-shu mo, sore-zore no kokoro-mochi shidai nari　[濃茶・ウス茶兩種モ、又コイ茶一種モ、又コイ茶バカリ二種モ、ソレ〰ノ心モチ次第ナリ].

Koicha・usucha ryō-shu [濃茶・薄茶兩種] means two varieties of matcha, one of koicha-, and the other of usucha-quality tea.

Koicha isshu [濃茶一種] means a single variety of koicha-quality tea.

Koicha bakari ni-shu [濃茶ばかり二種] means two varieties of matcha, both being suitable to serve as koicha.

As early as the late fifteenth century there were apparently three sizes of sa-tsū-bako: a box that could hold one container of tea, a box that could hold two containers of tea, and a box that could hold three containers of tea.

◦ The smallest box (called an hitotsu-iri sa-tsū-bako [一つ入茶通箱])* was always used for a gift of one kind of koicha-quality matcha.

◦ The largest box (called a mitsu-iri sa-tsū-bako [三つ入茶通箱])† was traditionally used most frequently on the occasion of the kuchi-kiri, when the host and his guests would sample all of the kinds of tea packed into the cha-tsubo that was cut open during that day’s chakai: hatsu-no-mukashi [初昔] (koicha), ato-no-mukashi [後昔] (koicha), and the packing leaves which were suitable to serve as usucha.

◦ The box that held two containers of matcha (called a futatsu-iri sa-tsū-bako [二つ入茶通箱])could be used either to send one container of koicha-quality matcha, and one suitable for usucha, or two containers of koicha-quality tea (at least originally, one each of hatsu-no-mukashi and ato-no-mukashi‡).

Sore-zore kokoro-mochi shidai nari [それぞれの心持次第なり] means the choice of whether to send a single kind of koicha-quality tea, one container of koicha- and one of usucha-quality tea, or two containers of koicha-quality matcha, is a case-by-case decision, that should be decided by the person sending the tea**.

While Shibayama Fugen’s version is almost the same, the phrase mata koicha bakari ni-shu mo [又コイ茶バカリ二種モ] lacks the word bakair: koicha ni-shu [又濃茶二種モ]. This has no real impact on the meaning††. __________ *These boxes were saved as a sort of souvenir (when the gift tea had been received from an important person -- such as when the tea came from one of Hideyoshi’s jars, and sent in a box inscribed by Rikyū or one of the other sadō), and wabi-chajin started to use them as storage boxes for their chaire.

In fact, this was the beginning of the practice of keeping tea utensils in wooden boxes when they are not in use (which is why such boxes are not found dating to a time before the late sixteenth century).

†The mitsu-iri sa-tsū-bako [三つ入茶通箱] is rarely encountered today -- though some of the older schools include one as part of their formal mizuya-kazari [水屋飾] (the highly-regimented arrangement of utensils on the large mizuya-dana, that arose during the Edo period).

‡By the Edo period, people were just buying pre-ground tea at the local tea shop, and then, as now, various blends were available at different prices.

Originally the tea leaves were sorted into high, middle, and ordinary grades. Then the high and middle grades were mixed (to produce a tea that was midway between high and middle), and middle and ordinary grades were also mixed (producing another intermediate grade). This gave the standard five grades of matcha that are still largely sold by tea shops even today.

Since, even in Rikyū's day, people bought their tea from a tea-merchant (rather than directly from the tea garden), and since merchants generally bought their tea from more than one garden (so that they could blend the different teas to produce a more consistent flavor from year to year), by the Edo period, merchants were beginning to offer different blends within each of the five grades, so the idea of favored blends became more and more common (leading to the modern system of iemoto-gonomi blends that are sold along side the house blends offered by the merchant).

**Again, while this was originally something that was done when an excess amount of tea had been ground for some purpose (whether for something like an ō-yose-chakai [大寄せ茶會], or to provide sufficient tea for a large household whose daily needs could not be predicted exactly in advance), since (especially in the absence of artificial refrigeration) matcha could not be kept more than a day or two after it was ground, by the Edo period the machi-shū chajin were doing this as a way to demonstrate their taste (and wealth), by purchasing an exceedingly rare variety of tea (sometimes in an effort to upstage the host -- which is why the host always is supposed to serve his own variety of koicha first, in case the gift tea turns out to be better).

††Mata koicha bakari ni-shu mo [又コイ茶バカリ二種モ] means “or again, just koicha, also two varieties...,” while koicha ni-shu [又濃茶二種モ] means “or again, two varieties of koicha....”

⁷Chaire mo koicha wo hizō no mono ni mo iru　[茶入モコイ茶ヲ秘藏ノモノニモ入ル].

This is an oddly structured sentence (which might suggest it contains a copying error).

Chaire mo koicha wo hizō no mono ni mo iru [茶入も濃茶を秘藏の物にも入る] seems to mean that if the chaire that is used for koicha is a treasured piece, even so it can be put into (the sa-tsū-bako).

⁸Mata karamono ni mo kokoro-mochi shidai nari　[又カラモノニモ心持シダイ也].

Kokoro-mochi shidai [心持ち次第] means according to (the host’s) feelings; depending on how (the host) feels (about putting his karamono-chaire in the sa-tsū-bako*). __________ *On the one hand, putting the karamono-chaire in the satsū-bako would prevent the guests from knowing that it would be used beforehand, thus potentially offering them a pleasant surprise.

On the other hand, because the containers for the tea originally placed in the sa-tsū-bako were insignificant things, placing a karamono-chaire in the box might expose it to less careful treatment.

And, depending on the chaire’s history, this might give the guests a bad feeling, if they perceived that the host was not being respectful enough when handling a chaire that had previously belonged to one of the great names of chanoyu, by handling it in that way.

These are, of course, Edo period sentiments that have nothing to do with the way the sa-tsū-bako was handled in Rikyū’s day.

⁹Usucha ha natsume・nakatsugi no tagui nari　[ウスチヤハナツメ・中次ノ類也].

Tagui [類] means a variety or class (of tea containers) -- that is, for usucha, a lacquered tea container of whatever shape the host prefers should be used.

A natsume (or other lacquered container) was originally tied in a purple furoshiki, in the manner shown above. The flap in front was important, since a label was attached to the flap, to identify the tea it contained. While in Rikyū’s period all of the containers of tea were plain black-lacquered natsume (or sometimes fubuki [吹雪], or zun-kiri [頭切]), since all of the tea in the sa-tsū-bako was gift tea, during the Edo period the host prepared the sa-tsū-bako, so it contained his own chaire (sometimes filled with his own matcha, and sometimes with gift tea) along with the container(s) of gift tea.

¹⁰Hako ha kiri ni te, futa ha san-uchi nari　[箱ハ桐ニテ、蓋ハサン打也].

Kiri [桐] means paulownia wood. This wood is very light, does not have a strong odor, and will keep the containers of tea in an atmospherically neutral environment (unlike some kinds of wood, kiri does not readily absorb moisture, so it will neither surround the container(s) of tea with locked-in humidity, nor will it draw moisture out of the tea (which could cause static electricity to "weaponize" the matcha -- something that anyone who has opened a new vacuum-packed container of matcha will understand).

San-uchi [棧打ち] means that san [棧] (crosspieces) are nailed (utsu [打つ]) onto the underside of the lid, to prevent its slipping off. The two san are seen in the above photo of the underside of the kind of lid described here.

¹¹Himo ha tsukazu　[緒ハ不付].

A tying cord can be untied and retied. This is why cords were not (originally*) used to close the sa-tsū-bako -- since they could allow someone to open the sa-tsū-bako for some nefarious reason†. __________ *After Hideyoshi began to object to the small knife that was used to cut the sealing tape open, alternatives were sought -- one of which was the sort of himo that are now commonly attached to tea-utensil boxes (the original type had short himo inserted into a hole cut in the middle of two sides of the box, which were then tied into a simple knot on top of the box).

Now, of course, nothing is used to seal the sa-tsū-bako at all, since such concerns are irrelevant.

†For whatever reason, the followers of the Ikkō-shū [一向宗] (the Amidist sect of Buddhism from which chanoyu developed, and which was feared by Japanese politicians of the sixteenth century because it was supposedly the force that overthrew the Koryeo dynasty in Korea), which numbered most (if not virtually all) chajin among its followers (including Jōō, Rikyū, Furuta Sōshitsu, Na-ya Sōkyū, Tennōji-ya Sōkyū, and just about everybody else from that period with the exception of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, and their closest circle of attendants), were reputed to use poison as their preferred method of political assassination. Thus, if there were the possibility of their gaining access to the gift tea (especially when the tea purportedly was coming from Hideyoshi), the political consequences could be severe. Thus, every precaution was taken to prevent this from happening -- including the inscription of the box and tea container with the kaō of the official who had packed the sa-tsū-bako, with his name-seal also imposed (extending onto the wooden box) where the ends of the tape overlapped, all of which was intended to prevent someone gaining access to the tea once it had been sent off.

¹²Shiroki-kami yori ni te mannaka wo kukurite fū wo suru　[白キ紙ヨリニテ眞中ヲクヽリテ封ヲスル].

Shiroi-kami [白い紙] means white paper. A strip of ordinary writing paper was wrapped around the box (shown in the sketch), with the ends glued together where they overlapped*. The official responsible for packing the sa-tsū-bako then impressed his seal over that point, with the seal extending onto the wood of the box, so that the integrity of the tape could not be violated without it being obvious. (In the sketch, the sa-tsū-bako is shown from the side.)

Mannaka wo kukurite [眞中を括りて]: (referring to the strip of white paper) it encircles or binds (kukuru [括る]) the box in the very middle (mannaka [眞中]) of the side.

Fū wo suru [封をする] can be understood either to mean that the sender should stamp or impress (suru [する], literally “do”) his name-seal (fū [封]) onto the paper tape (where the ends overlap), or that the paper tape itself is the seal. While, in fact, the name-stamp is usually applied as a matter of course, the second interpretation seems to be what was intended by the author. __________ *Incidentally, the same was also supposed to be done with the kiji-tsurube [木地釣瓶], to certify that the water it contained was pure and had not been contaminated by the tsurube having been opened up prior to the koicha-temae.

As with the sa-tsū-bako, the practice fell into disuse on account of Hideyoshi’s objection to the presence of even the small knife that was used to slice the paper tape open.

¹³Fū no mi-katana to iu-koto hiji nari　[封ノ三刀ト云コト秘事也].

Mi-katana [三刀] literally means three blows from a sword. The paper tape was cut through with three slices of a small knife, usually through the place where the seal had been impressed. How this was to be done was a secret (see Appendix I, which will be found at at the end of this post).

Here Shibayama has ji-fu no mi-katana to iu narai hiji nari [自封ノ三刀ト云フ習秘事ナリ]. Ji-fū [自封] seems to mean the paper tape*. Therefore, “[the host] should practice slicing through the paper seal with three cuts of the knife, [which is] a secret matter†.” ___________ *Perhaps implying that it is the host who affixes this tape around the sa-tsū-bako.

†See the explanation of how the tape is to be cut under footnote 15.

¹⁴Dai-shō ha chaire ni yotte chigae-beshi　[大小ハ茶入ニ依テ違ヘシ].

Dai-shō [大小] means the size (of the sa-tsū-bako).

Chaire ni yotte chigai-beshi [茶入に依って違いベシ] means depending on the chaire, (the size of the box) should be different.

While the sentence is a little vague in the Enkaku-ji manuscript, Shibayama’s version leaves no room for confusion (since it specifies that this is referring to the size of the box): hako no dai-shō ha chaire ni yorite chigau-beshi [箱ノ大小ハ茶入ニヨリテ違フベシ]. ___________ *Especially since the Edo period, as the practice of the host’s placing his own chaire into the sa-tsū-bako along with the container(s) of gift tea, this would have been common sense -- since many chaire are too large to fit into the standard size of box.

Nevertheless, since most modern schools insist on using only the standard size box, the rule is now that the host has to select a chaire that will fit into the box. This is fine if the host knows in advance that he will be performing the sa-tsū-bako temae; but if one of the guests unexpectedly brings a gift of matcha to the host, it may put him in a difficult spot if the chaire he decided to use is too large to fit in the box together with a container of the gift-tea.

¹⁵〽Tori-atsukai fu no kiri-yō nado, kaku-subeshi kaku-subeshi [〽取アツカイ封ノ切ヤウ等、秘スベシ〰].

This is the note written on the drawing that accompanied this entry. Which, as translated above, reads “with regard to the way to handle the cutting of the seal, this is a great secret.”

The secret way of cutting the tape is this: first the left edge of the tape was cut (so that the cut passes almost to the middle of the tape*). Then the second cut was made from the right side, once again cutting the tape almost to the middle. Thus, the tape was held in place by only a small bit of intact paper.

At this point, the sa-tsū-bako was usually passed around, so that the guests could inspect the seal (originally this was done so they could verify who the sender was -- the seals of Hideyoshi's eight sadō [茶頭] were well known to the whole tea community -- thereby deducing that the seal, and so the contents of the box, were authentic, that the box truly contained tea from one of Hideyoshi’s personal jars†). Finally, when the box was returned, the host used the small knife to complete the cut through the tape, thereby allowing the box to be opened. After lifting off the lid, it was turned over so the host could read the inscription (since the contents of the box were usually detailed in writing on the underside), and then the lid was passed over to the guests for their inspection. It was while they were looking at the lid that the host lifted the container(s) of tea out of the box, placing the container of koicha‡ near the mizusashi (where it would be joined by the chawan), and raising any other containers up onto the shelf. Then the paper tape was gathered up and placed inside the box, and, after the lid was returned, the box was closed and then lifted out of the room through the katte-guchi, and the koicha-temae proceeded as usual. __________ *Originally the idea was to cut through the name-seal, so that the tape could not be reused -- the same way that the tape that seals the lid of the cha-tsubo in place was cut. However, this eventually came to be considered disrespectful, so the cut was made somewhere else (before the entire practice finally disappeared after Hideyoshi’s death).

†The custom then, as now, was for the guests to offer the host a thank-present (usually money).

When the host received word that he was going to receive a sa-tsū-bako from Rikyū (or one of the other sadō), the host would immediately send out invitations to his tea friends -- usually at very short notice (since there was generally no way to know when one’s name would advance to the top of the list, meaning the host was next in line for this honor), mentioning that the gathering was given to appreciate tea received from Hideyoshi. Since this was an exceptionally rare opportunity, and since the gift tea was usually no more than could be used to serve one group of guests (perhaps no more than five people), only a few people would be able to participate. And, in recognition of this, the monetary donation would be correspondingly significant. Thus, it was important to let the guests see for themselves that the sa-tsū-bako had actually come from one of the sadō, hence the haiken of the intact box, and afterward, the lid (so everyone could inspect the inscription).

‡Originally each container of tea was wrapped in a small, purple furoshiki, with the name of the tea it contained written on a paper lable that was affixed to the front flap of the cloth (this is why a natsume is tied in a fukusa in the manner that is still taught today).

But since the Edo period, the host packed the sa-tsū-bako himself, so usually the first kind of tea was placed in a ceramic chaire, while the second kind was put into a black-lacquered natsume, thereby making clear which was which.

Before the appearance of the Sen family schools, in the early Edo period, both containers faced “forward” (as shown above, where two lacquered tea containers are placed in a sa-tsū-bako with a yarō-buta [藥籠蓋], this being the kind of box that is most commonly seen today) -- that is, toward the same narrow end of the box (the front of the container is determined by the side on which the flap of cloth depends); but, since the Edo period, different schools have come up with their own secret ways of arranging the containers of tea within the sa-tsū-bako (back to back seems more common today than the other possibilities, meaning that the host has to turn the box around with an elaborate gesture in order to access the second container of tea), which, in turn, then engendered the creation of various secret rules (to replace the one lost when the box was no longer sealed with a paper tape).

==============================================

❖ Appendix I: the Related Passage from the Second Book of Secret Teachings.

￮ The way to handle the chabako that holds two containers [of tea]: after the koicha-ire has been taken out, the usucha-ire will still be remaining [in the box]¹⁶.

In the sukiya, after the koicha-ire has been taken out, at the same time the usucha-ire should also be taken out and, without doing anything else [to it], lifted up to the shelf¹⁷. At this time, in order to clear away the paper [tape] that sealed [the box], the [tape] is placed inside the box, and [the box is then] put into the katte¹⁸.

Then, when koicha is finished, if a mizusashi had been placed [on the utensil mat], water is added [to the kama, to replenish it for the service of usucha]¹⁹.

The [container of] usucha is lowered [from the tana], and arranged [with the other utensils]. And then usucha is served²⁰.

Because things will be done in this way, after the guests have finished looking at the koicha-ire, it should be placed on the kagi-jō [鍵疊], midway between the ro and the wall of the katte [at the lower end of the mat]²¹.

[In a large room,] when using something like the fukuro-dana [袋棚] or kyū-dai [弓臺 = 及第臺子], the usucha-ire is taken out [of the chabako] in the same way that was described [above], and lifted up to the shelf above the [ji-]fukuro -- or, [in the case of the kyū-dai daisu,] it is [lifted] up to the “right-seat” [on the ten-ita]²².

_________________________

¹⁶Ni-shu-iri no chabako no sabaki, koicha-ire tori-dashi-taru ato ni, usucha-ire ari　[二種入ノ茶箱ノサバキ、濃茶入取出シタルアトニ、薄茶入アリ].

Ni-shu-iri no chabako [二種入の茶箱] means a sa-tsū-bako of a size suitable for two containers of tea. This is the kind usually sold today (though the lid is somewhat more elaborate than what was described in entry 29).

¹⁷Sukiya ni te ha, koicha-ire tori-dashite, sono tsuide ni, usucha-ire mo tori-dashi, sono mama tana ni agu　[スキ屋ニテハ、濃茶入取出シテ、其序手ニ、ウス茶入モ取出シ、其マヽ棚ニ上グ].

Sukiya [数奇屋] here seems to mean a small room with a daime-gamae [臺目構え], with a tsuri-dana suspended within the kamae.

Sono tsuide ni [その序でに] means in passing, incidentally, at this opportunity, while one is at it, and so forth.

Agu [上ぐ] is a literary form of ageru [上げる], meaning to raise, lift up.

In other words, in the sukiya, while taking the koicha-ire out of the sa-tsū-bako, the host should also take the usucha-ire out at the same time, and immediately lift it up onto the tsuri-dana. (This differs from the teachings of many of the modern schools.)

¹⁸Sono toki ka no ji-fū no aratame wo shite, hako no uchi [h]e fū wo irete, katte [h]e yaru nari　[其時彼ノ自封ノ改メヲシテ、箱ノ内ヘ封ヲ入レテ、勝手ヘヤルナリ].

Ka no ji-fū [彼の自封] means “that” paper sealing-tape.

In other words, in order to clean away the cut strip of paper (which will probably be laying on the mat in front of the host’s knees when the sa-tsū-bako is lifted up), it should be put inside the box, and in that way lifted into the katte.

¹⁹Sate koicha sumite, sunawachi mizusashi oki-nagara mizu wo tsugi-soe　[サテ濃茶スミテ、則水指置ナガラ水ヲツギ添ヘ].

Koicha sumite [濃茶濟みて] means after the service of koicha has been finished....

Mizusashi oki-nagara [置きながら] means if/when* a mizusashi has been placed (on the utensil mat).

In other words, after the service of koicha has been finished, and the chawan has been returned, before beginning the service of usucha by wiping the usucha-ire with the fukusa, the host first adds a hishaku of cold water to the kama, to make sure that he will have enough hot water for the subsequent temae. __________ *There were occasions when, during the ro-temae, a mizusashi was not used, or was brought out from the katte only at the end of the temae, in order to replenish the kama.

This practice comes from the gokushin-temae, where the mizusashi, while present on the daisu, was not opened until the very end of the temae, to replenish the kama.

Traditionally it was said that the ro-temae was derived from the gokushin-temae.

²⁰Usucha tori-oroshite oki-awase, usucha ni kakaru-beshi　[ウス茶取オロシテ置合セ、薄茶ニカヽルベシ].

Usucha tori-oroshite oki-awase [薄茶取り下ろして置き合わせ] means “the usucha(-ire) is lowered (from the tana) and arranged together (with the other utensils for the temae)....”

Usucha ni kakaru-beshi [茶にかかるべし] means “(and) usucha should be served (drunk).”

²¹Kaku no gotoki suru-yue, koicha-ire wo kyaku mi-owatte, kagi-jō ro to katte-kabe no mannaka-hodo ni oite yoshi　[如此スル故、濃茶入ヲ客見畢テ戻ス時、鍵疊爐ト勝手壁ノ眞中ホドニ置テヨシ].

Kaku no gotoki suru-yue [此の如きするゆえ] means “because things should be done like that (what was just explained)....”

Kyaku mi-owatte [客見畢って = 客見終わって] means “when the guests have finished looking at (the chaire)....”

Kagi-jō [鍵疊] means the mat in which the ro is cut (when it is a different mat from the one on which the host sits and performs his temae). As the author seems to be thinking about a daime-gamae setting, the kagi-jō will be the mat that adjoins the utensil mat (usually on the right).

Ro to katte-kabe no mannaka-hodo ni oite yoshi [爐と勝手壁の眞中ほどに置いてよし] means it is suitable to place (the chaire) on the mat in which the ro is cut, approximately midway between the ro and the wall (at the lower end of the mat). Since Tachibana Jitsuzan, and many of the original Enkaku-ji scholars (who were responsible for assembling the contents of the two Books of Secret Teachings), had studied with the Sen family, the authors seem to be thinking of a 3-mat daime room of the type favored by Kōshin Sōsa [江岑宗左; 1619 ~ 1672] and his descendants. This is the kind of room shown above.

The meaning of the guests’ placing the chaire on the kagi-datami is that it is to that spot that the chaire is returned at the conclusion of haiken -- which is exactly what is done now.

²²Fukuro-dana kyū-dai nado no toki ha, usucha-ire migi no gotoku tori-dashite, fukuro no ue no tana ni agaru, kyū-dai ha migi-za [h]e agaru nari　[袋棚弓臺抔ノ時ハ、ウス茶入右ノ如ク取出シテ、袋ノ上ノ棚ニ上ル、弓臺ハ右座ヘ上ルナリ].

Here the setting has changed to a larger room (of at least 4.5-mats), where the fukuro-dana [袋棚] (above) or kyū-dai daisu [弓臺 = 及第臺子] (below) could be used with the ro.

Migi no gotoku tori-dashite [右の如く取り出して] means “after (the usucha-ire) was taken out (of the sa-tsū-bako at the same time as the koicha-ire), as was explained before....”

Fukuro no ue no tana ni agaru [袋の上の棚に上がる] means (when the fukuro-dana is being used) that the usucha-ire is (temporarily) placed on the shelf above the ji-fururo* until it is time to serve usucha.

Kyū-dai ha migi-za [h]e agaru [及臺は右座ヘ上がる]: in the case of the daisu (whether a shin-daisu, kyū-dai daisu, or one of the other varieties), the left and right “seats” are denominated from the daisu’s perspective (as if the daisu were facing toward the host) -- so the “right seat” (migi-za [右座]) refers to the left half of the ten-ita, as indicated below, while the “left-seat” (hidari-za [左座]) would mean the right side of the ten-ita.

The usucha-ire is placed on the left side (on the “right seat”) of the ten-ita -- more or less in the center (left to right) of the right seat -- as indicated by the purple circle†, until it is needed when it is time to serve usucha. __________ *Technically, this shelf is called the kō-dana [香棚] -- though by the Edo period, the machi-shū chajin had largely forgotten the traditional terminology (perhaps deliberately, at least in this case, since the name of that shelf reminded them that Jōō -- or, as the story was evolving, Rikyū -- had adapted this tana from the Shino-dana [志野棚] that was the mainstay of the Shino school of incense...which was now headed by a fully Japanese elite, the last generation of the original Korean family having died in 1571 without leaving any descendents).

†Kanshū oshō-sama held that on occasions of temporary placement such as this, the tea container should be 2-sun from the front edge of the ten-ita (as I have shown in the sketch), rather than on the center line of the shelf (as is the case when an object has been formally displayed on the ten-ita of the daisu).

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chanoyu-to-wa · 3 years

Text

Nampō Roku, Book 6 (58): the Conventions Associated with the Daisu Established the Precedents for Chanoyu in the Sō-an.

58) In the case of the daisu, [when entering] from the mo-biki ō-do [裳引ノ大戸], with respect to the foot with which one steps into [the shoin], it is different depending on [whether the setting is] yin or yang¹.

And again, the shoulders of ones suikan [水干] or suō [素袍] should be raised toward the shoulders [by tying the sleeves back with a cord]²; while on the far side of the ōdo, everything should be readied carefully³. [In the case of the daisu,] these [preparations] will likely be difficult to do.

People like this monk will never use [these kinds of daisu temae during a gathering], so it is rather useless to study [them]. However, whether [preparing tea] in the sō-an, or laboring to [serve] tea with [ones sleeves tied up with] a tasuki [襷], it must be said that the suikan and suō, and such things, represent the ancient way [of serving tea].

_________________________

¹Daisu ni mo-biki no ō-do yori fumi-komu ashi in-yō no betsu ari [臺子ニ裳引ノ大戸ヨリフミ込ム足陰陽ノ別アリ].

Mo-biki no ō-do [裳引の大戸] this is the door through which the person who will serve tea in the shoin enters (it is found at the bottom of the following sketch).

The mo-biki no ō-do is the shoin’s equivalent of the katte-guchi [勝手口] (sadō-guchi [茶道口]) of the wabi rooms.

Fumi-komu ashi [踏み込む足] means the foot with which one steps into (the room).

In-yō no betsu ari [陰陽の別あり] means it is different depending on whether the situation (or setting) is yin or yang*. Yin means that the side wall (or, in this case, the bank of shōji) is on the left (because one steps in using the foot on the side closest to the side wall); yang means that the wall or its equivalent is on the person's right (hence he steps into the room with the right foot)†. __________ *Tanaka Senshō establishes the precedent with respect to the two staircases that lead from ground level up into the Shishin-den [紫宸殿] (the throne-room of the Imperial Palace) -- one of which is on the eastern side of the hall (the Emperor's throne, deep within the hall, faces south), and the other of which is on the western side of the façade. An official mounts the eastern staircase starting with the right foot; and the western staircase with the left.

In other words, with the foot that is closest to the eastern or western wall is the foot with which one begins the ascent.

†Though some modern schools have erected their own rules, in general this is still the same today -- the person steps into the room using the foot closest to the side wall (and, when exiting, it is that foot that remains in the room last).

²Mata suikan・suō no kata wo aguru koto mo [又水干・スハウノ肩ヲアグルコトモ].

Suikan・suō [水干・素袍] are garments: suikan [水干] refers to the everyday garment worn by members of the nobility*;

suō [素袍] was the ceremonial dress of the lower ranking samurai†.

This describes the sort of clothing that was worn to chanoyu during the fifteenth century, when the practice of tea was largely restricted to the noble classes (and their retainers).

Kata wo aguru koto [肩を上ぐること]: Tanaka Senshō explains that this means the sleeves are tied back with a cord, so they will not get in the host's way while he is performing the temae. __________ *Depending on the circumstances, and the fashions of the day, the train (the depending fabric panel in the right photo) was often exaggeratedly long.

†When out of doors, the trailing ends of the naga-bakama [長袴] were cuffed internally and tied with cloth strips above the ankles. As with the train of the nobleman’s suikan, the length of the legs of the naga-bakama was subject to the whims of fashion.

³Ōdo no soto ni te toku to shitaku subeshi to iu-iu [大戸ノ外ニテトクト支度スベシト云〻].

Ōdo no soto ni te [大戸の外にて] means on the far side of the ōdo -- that is, in the preparation area.

Toku to shitaku subeshi [篤と支度すべし]: toku to [篤と] means carefully, thoroughly, exhaustively*; shitaku [支度] means get (something) ready, make the preparations; subeshi [すべし]† means should do.

In other words, everything should be made completely ready before the host opens the door and begins to enter the room. __________ *That is, the host’s preparations of both his person, and the various utensils, must be very thorough.

†A contraction of suru [爲る] + beshi [べし].

⁴Muzukashiki-koto domo nari [ムツカシキコト共也].

Shibayama Fugen explains that this statement means that the preparations, on occasions when one is serving tea in the shoin, using the daisu, are likely to be both vexing or tedious (wazurawashiku [煩わしく]), bordering on the disagreeable (itowashii [厭わしい]).

The purpose of this section is to contrast the necessary level of preparation necessary when using the daisu with the much more casual approach taken when chanoyu is performed in the sō-an [草菴] -- while reminding us to keep in mind that it was chanoyu performed in a suikan and suō that established the precedents behind everything that we do in the sō-an.

⁵Kono bō nado ga yō ni mo naki-koto wo muyō no keiko nari [コノ坊ナドガ用ニモナキコトヲ無用ノ稽古也].

Yō ni mo naki-koto [用にもなきこと] means that (the tea of the daisu) is something that he will never use during a gathering.

Muyō no keiko nari [無用の稽古なり] means that it is useless to practice these kinds of things.

⁶Tadashi sō-an ni te tasuki ni te cha hataraku mo, suikan・suō no kojitsu to ya mōsu-beki [但草菴ニテタスキニテ茶ハタラクモ、水干・スハウノ故實トヤ申ベキ].

Tadashi [但し] means however, be that as it may.

Sō-an ni te [草庵にて] means in the sō-an (this is a parallel construction to the phrase that follows).

Tasuki ni te cha hataraku mo [襷にて茶働くも]: tasuki [襷] is the cord that is used to tie up ones sleeves, so tasuki ni te [襷にて] means when (serving tea) with ones sleeves tied up (as a reference to the tea of the daisu); cha hataraku [茶働くも] means to labor over (the preparation of) tea, to serve tea with (the) great diligence (required when using the daisu).

Kojitsu [故實] means ancient practices, old customs.

Mōsu-beki [申すべき] means should say.

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chanoyu-to-wa · 3 years

Text

Nampō Roku, Book 6 (13.1; 13.2): Concerning the Mukō-ro [向爐]; and Mukō-ro no Mitsu-gumi [向爐ノ三ツ組].

13.1) With respect to the mukō-ro, because everything must be placed within the confines of a half-mat, eliminating the yū-yo [有餘] from either the front or the back will result in numerous difficulties. When [we consider] the placement of the daisu, in accordance with this great law, [we see that the presence of] these yū-yo are essential to defining the extent [of the space that may be used for the arrangement of the utensils]¹. This is the most extreme example².

13.2) [Ri]kyū, in the case of this mukō-ro, placed the chaire in front of the mizusashi, and then always carried the chawan out [at the beginning of the temae], and so prepared [tea]³.

The chaire might also be placed on the tana⁴.

Nevertheless, there is also the case where three objects are grouped together, as [shown] below, in the manner indicated -- we should try to be very tolerant of [this sort of arrangement]⁵.

◎ Mukō-ro no mitsu-gumi [向爐ノ三ツ組]⁶.

[The writing (on the drawing itself) reads: mizusashi (水サシ).]

The kaki-ire [書入]:

〇 In the case of the mukō-ro, a large-sized mizusashi should be used⁷. Because it comes into contact with two yang-kane, [this situation is referred to as] kuguri-kane [クヽリカネ]⁸.

Nevertheless, when [arranging the utensils as] mitsu-gumi [三ツ組], since -- as [shown] in [the sketch] -- both the chaire and the chawan contact yang kane, there is no problem with using a small mizusashi so that the utensils contact successive kane⁹.

You should make an effort to sort out these different matters carefully¹⁰.

〇 If [the host is using] a small mizusashi, then [the mizusashi] should always contact a yang-kane on the right or the left. It should always contact both a yang- and a yin-kane¹¹.

〇 At a night gathering, because a te-shoku [手燭] will be placed between the ro and the mizusashi, it would be better if the mizusashi is moved toward the right¹².

_________________________

◎ This entry is rather long, and contains three drawings and their comments, so I decided it would be best to divide it into two posts*.

Meanwhile, this section, and the three entries that follow (which include five important sketches that illustrate the ideas of kane-wari which form the backbone of the Nampō Roku), were not included in Kumakura Isao’s Nampō Roku wo yomu [南方録を読む]. __________ *In their respective commentaries, Shibayama Fugen and Tanaka Senshō opted to divide this material into an even larger number of entries -- to prevent the ideas presented in one section from confusing the arguments associated with the subsequent parts (since they are often irrelevant -- indeed, several of the kaki-ire have no connection with the sketch to which they were appended).

¹Daisu no oki-kata, taihō wo motte kono yū-yo wo kiwamerare-shi koto [臺子ノ置方、大法ヲ以テコノ有餘ヲキハメラレシコト].

Taihō [大法], which means a great rule or law, refers to the rule that was enunciated in the first sentence -- to wit, that the arrangement (including the temae-za) should be entirely confined to the space of a half mat.

Kiwamerare-suru [極められする] means to reach a limit or extreme. In other words, the daisu set the limits on how much space is needed for the arrangement; and, since this all fits within a half-mat, it thereby established the law that is being considered here.

When the daisu is arranged on the utensil mat, it is placed 4-sun 5-bu from the far end of that mat, as has been described before in the Nampō Roku. The ji-ita of the daisu measures 1-shaku 4-sun, as is also well known. Subtracting these from 3-shaku 1-sun 5-bu (which is the length of half of a kyōma tatami) leaves 1-shaku 3-sun, which is the diameter of the largest tray that can be used with the daisu -- the dai-marubon [大丸盆].

Historically speaking, whether it was this tray that ordained that the daisu should be placed 4-sun 5-bu from the far end of the mat, or whether the location for the daisu was fixed first (perhaps because, at that distance from the folding screen that enclosed it, a spark erupting through the rear hi-mado of the kimen-buro would not cause any damage), and thereby limited the size of any tray that would be placed in front of it to 1-shaku 3-sun, is not clear from the oldest records. (Indeed, the fact that originally trays of a size that would keep the utensils confined to the space originally defined by the shiki-shi [敷き紙] seems to lend credence to the second of these possibilities.)

²Mottomo shigoku no koto nari [尤至極ノコトナリ].

Shigoku no koto [至極のこと]: shigoku [至極] means extremely, exceedingly, most. Adding -no-koto turns it into a noun, meaning the most extreme (example).

In other words, as explained above, nothing larger than the dai-marubon can be placed in front of the daisu, so this arrangement pushes the possibilities to their limit.

³Kyū kono mukō-ro ni te ha, mizusashi no mae ni chaire oite chawan ha kanarazu hakobite taterare-shi na nari [休コノ向爐ニテハ、水サシノ前ニ茶入置テ茶碗ハカナラズ運ビテ立テラレシナ也].

Kyū [休] is, of course, the usual abbreviation of Rikyū's name.

Taterare-suru [立てられし], in the context of chanoyu, means to prepare the tea*. __________ *It literally means to stand up. In the modern tea world, it would be written with the kanji ten [点 or, in older books, 點] -- taterare-suru [点てられする]. However this latter form only appeared in the Edo period, and is anachronistic with respect to documents written in Rikyū's day (even though more than a few modern renderings of writings from his period are guilty of this interpolation).

⁴Chaire tana ni okare-shi koto mo ari [茶入棚ニ被置シコトモアリ].

This practice is described in the Tsuri-dana no densho [釣棚の傳書] that Rikyū wrote for Nambō Sōkei (c. 1582 or 1583).

⁵Shikare-domo mukō-ro no mitsu-gumi mo hidari no gotoku sadame-okaru, yoku-yoku kanben subeshi [シカレトモ向爐ノ三ツ組モ左ノゴトク定メヲカル、能〻勘辯スベシ].

Hidari [左の如く], “like what (is shown) on the left” refers to the sketch (which follows these comments). On the left, because the memorandum was written from right to left, in the usual manner.

Sadame okaru [定め置かる] means “this is how (the utensils) should be placed.” (Sadame [定め] suggests that this is illustrating a rule or law.)

Kanben subeshi [勘辯すべし] literally means “(you) should be excusing of (this).” In other words, in light of what was said about Rikyū's preferences* -- specifically, that he always brought the chawan out from the katte -- displaying the chawan on the utensil mat along with the chaire might strike the reader as being wrong. While Rikyū probably would have frowned upon this practice, it is nonetheless a fact that many people of his generation preferred doing things in this manner -- as the wabi equivalent of the way the entire set of utensils was displayed on the daisu.

Furthermore, since it was a rule that, in the wabi setting, the host should endeavor to limit his trips between the temae-za and the katte as much as possible, displaying the chawan on the utensil mat would potentially limit his trips to one (bringing out the koboshi as he made his first entrance). Thus, the question of whether to display the chawan may be seen as a sort of trade off between these two two conventions.

In Rikyū's case, the argument that finally won out seems to have been his aversion to anything even remotely suggesting of display -- as can be seen in his eventual creation of the mizuya-dōko [水屋洞庫]†, which allowed all of the utensils to be kept from view until the beginning of the temae. Because, even if these things were pieces of no worth or merit whatsoever, placing them out in the room beforehand still includes a nuance of display, no matter how strongly the host might argue against this interpretation. __________ *Rikyū did not entirely prohibit the display of the chawan in the small room. But he allowed it only when the chawan itself was extremely important (for example in the class of arrangements known as chasen-kazari [茶筅飾], which was sanctioned only when using things like one of the chawan that had belonged to Shukō). The configuration of the present arrangement suggests, however, that the chawan in question is not such a piece.

†A clear distinction between Jōō’s original dōko [洞庫], which was derived from the ji-fukuro [地袋] of the fukuro-dana [袋棚], and Rikyū’s mizuya-doko [水屋洞庫] which, as the name implies, should be regarded as being equivalent to the mizuya.

So, while it was permitted for the guests to peek into the dōko (just as it had been the rule that, at the beginning of the shoza and goza, the shōkyaku should open the ji-fukuro so that all may look inside, while the last guest should close it up again), in the case of the mizuya-dōko, everyone but the host was forbidden to open its door (just as it was a rule that, while they might go into the katte under certain circumstances, the mizuya was absolutely off limits to everyone except the host and his assistant).

⁶〽Mukō-ro no mitsu-gumi [向爐ノ三ツ組] is used as a sort of title for the illustration (and its small collection of kaki-ire [書入]).

============================================

In the system employed in the Nampō Roku -- which is based upon the machi-shū way of arranging the utensils on the ji-ita of the daisu (the mizusashi was moved backward, so that its far side was more or less in line with the shaku-tate and back of the furo), the 1-shaku 8-sun space (from the front of the 2-sun yū-yo to the front edge of the 5-bu yū-yo) is divided by five lines (corresponding to the five kane -- though in the original system promulgated by Rikyū there is no precedent for this). This group of machi-shū was the one that followed Imai Sōkyū (which is why variations on this system are found in the teachings of the Sen family schools).

The mizusashi is centered on the fourth cell from the front, as shown below (meaning it is more or less in line with the back side of the kama).

In this system, rather than being associated with the line that extends across the front of the mukō-ro, the chawan and chaire are associated with a line running 1-sun beyond that -- which results in inconsistencies regarding the yū-yo that runs in front of the ro. (Even though that yū-yo is still defined as being 2-sun wide, in this system, the actual “unused space” is 3-sun -- implying that this system was, indeed, created after the fact, and as a way to explain away things that the person who proposed this system did not understand).

In this episode we can perhaps catch a glimpse of how these kinds of secret teachings developed: there is an idea that was based on an orthodox understanding that, after an unforeseen event like Rikyū’s death, was imperfectly understood by the people into whose hand the stewardship of chanoyu passed -- in this case, the idea that the space to the right of the ro is supposed to be divided into horizontal bands, which, of course, comes from the shiki-shi. But without information regarding the details, and no recognition of the shiki-shi, and acting on the premise that the kane were an arbitrary system concocted by Rikyū (based on whatever sort of understanding that he may have gleaned from his time with Kitamuki Dōchin), the same kind of system is used to fill in the blanks, resulting in confusion that branches off on a tangent, becoming farther and farther from the truth as time goes by (in the commentaries, this kind of division of space into tiny units is not limited to the temae-za or even the utensil mat, but expanded to cover the entire room, into which several hundred years of speculation has been poured without an inkling of where or how this whole system started, or where it is going). This is a good example of the sort of explanations that appeared during the Edo period.

============================================

⁷Mukō-ro ha mizusashi ō-buri wo mochiiru-koto [向爐ハ水サシ大ブリヲ用ルコト].

Mizusashi ō-buri wo mochiiru-koto [水指大振を用いること]: ō-buri [大振] means a large mizusashi, that is, one that is 6-sun in diameter or more. According to Rikyū’s densho, during the ro season, the mizusashi should be large enough so that it will provide sufficient cold water for use throughout the day*.

Mizusashi, of the sort ordered by Jōō for use on the fukuro-dana during his middle period, measuring 6-sun in diameter, are the kind that are being considered here†. __________ *So that it will not need to be refilled later.

During the season of the ro, the ro is supposed to be set up at dawn, and hot water kept always ready until the tearoom is closed for the night. The mizusashi is, likewise, supposed to be filled at dawn, and kept in readiness until the end of the day. If it is too small, and the host is called upon to serve tea, there might not be enough water left in case he decides to serve tea again later in the day. Because the ro was, from the first, associated with the use of chanoyu as a sort of meditative training, the host must always be ready to serve tea again, even if nobody had been invited.

Each time the lid is removed, more dust can potentially fall in, contaminating the water even more. Furthermore, each time the water is transferred from one container to another, there is a risk of transferring dissolved dust along with it (since it is nearly impossible to clean any container at the end of the day so that no dust will remain -- if only as a result of the lint that comes off from the towel when the mizusashi or mizu-kame [水甕] are dried after being emptied at night). Since the mizusashi is not taken to the well, the water it contains will have already been transferred once. If it becomes empty and more water has to be added from what was saved in the mizu-kame (the large water-storage jar that is kept in the mizuya -- usually to provide water for cleaning the utensils before and after they are used in the tearoom), this may entail transferring water from the mizu-kame into a mizu-tsugi, and then pouring it from the mizu-tsugi into the mizusashi -- with the danger of adding more dust each time.

For this reason, Rikyū taught that, when the ro is being used, the mizusashi should always be as large as possible.

†Larger mizusashi had also existed since the early days (some of which were made for use on the o-chanoyu-dana [御茶湯棚], while others had been made for serving rice, or for use as washing basins, in the temples), but these will be considered later.

⁸Yō-kane futatsu kakarite kuguri-kane ni naru-yue nari [向爐ハ水サシ大ブリヲ用ルコト、陽カネ二ツニカヽリテクヽリカネニ成故ナリ].

Kuguri-kane [潜りカネ, 潜り曲尺] means that an object crosses at least two yang kane. When it does so, it (and anything associated with it) is considered to be yang -- for the purposes of kane-wari.

⁹Saredo mo mitsu-gumi ni suru-toki ha, kaku no gotoku chaire・chawan yō-kane naru-yue, mizusashi chiisaku de mo tsuzuki no kane ni naru kurushikarazu nari [サレドモ三ツ組ニスルトキハ、如此茶入・茶碗陽カネナルユヘ、水サシチイサクテモツヾキノカネニ成不苦也].

Because the distance between the kane on a kyōma tatami is 4-sun 9-bu 1-rin 6-mō [四寸九分一厘六毛]*, a mizusashi smaller than this is what is indicated. In Jōō's and Rikyū's day, a small magemono-mizusashi [曲物水指] with a lid 4-sun 9-bu in diameter was available for just this purpose†.

Tsuzuki-no-kane [續きのカネ] means that objects occupy successive kane. In this case (as shown in the above sketch) the chawan occupies the first yang-kane, the chaire occupies the end-most yang-kane, and the small mizusashi rests on the yin-kane in between these two (without touching either of the yang-kane).

Kurushikarazu nari [不苦也 = 苦しからずなり] means‡ “without difficulty;” “it is not a problem.” __________ *Yon-sun ku-bu ichi-rin roku-mō [四寸九分一厘六毛]. Mō [毛], which means a body-hair, is the smallest linear unit of measurement. 4-sun 9-bu 1-rin 6-mō [四寸九分一厘六毛] is (approximately) 14.8975 cm. The diameter of the mizusashi, therefore, must be at least slightly smaller than this.

†When an extremely small mizusashi is used -- and, depending on the number of guests, as well as the size of the kama -- if it is not necessary to add water during the temae (for fear that the kama will be in danger of running out), then the host may eschew doing so until the very end of the temae. At that time, the tiny mizusashi is opened, and two hishaku of cold water are added to the kama.

In this case, before making usucha, the host should take a full hishaku of hot water from the kama, hold it for several seconds above the mouth of the kama (so it will cool a little), and then pour the water back in -- to bring the shō-fū [松風] sound back to the kama before dipping out the hot water for the bowl of usucha.

While a magemono-mizusashi is described above, small ceramic vessels (most of which were actually made as serving bowls -- such as small kashi-bachi [菓子鉢]) -- were also used as mizusashi in this way. These tiny mizusashi usually have lacquered lids (because they were not made as mizusashi).

‡More literally, the expression kurushikarazu means “it is not a hardship;” or, “it is not painful.”

¹⁰Kayō no koto yoku-yoku bun-betsu subeshi [カヤウノコト能〻分別スベシ].

Bun-betsu [分別] means division, fractionation, differentiation, distinction, classification, segregation, and so forth.

Various and disparate points have been mentioned in this first kaki-ire, and they are not necessarily always associated with each other in the practice of chanoyu. Thus, the reader is advised to consider each of the assertions carefully, and compartmentalize them for use, if and when needed, later.

¹¹Chiisaki mizusashi naraba, sa-yū izure ni te mo yō-kane ni kakaru-yō ni shite, in to yō kakaru-yō ni subeshi [チイサキ水サシナラバ、左右イツレニテモ陽カネニカヽルヤウニシテ、陰ト陽トカヽルヤウニスベシ].

This means that if the host is using a mizusashi that is too small to touch two yang kane, then it should be arranged so that it contacts the yin kane and one of the yang kane. (In the sketch shown below, the mizusashi contacts the yang-kane on the left; in the sketch under footnote 12, it contacts the kane on the right.)

According to Shibayama Fugen, this is done when (as shown) the chaire is displayed on a tana; and the reason for the mizusashi’s being arranged in this way is so that it will count as yang.

This kaki-ire has nothing to do with mitsu-gumi, or the sketch that is part of the original entry.

¹²Yo-kai ha te-shoku wo ro to mizusashi no ma ni iri yue, hidari-za [h]e mizusashi yoru ga yoshi [夜會ハ手燭ヲ爐ト水サシノ間ニ入ユヘ、左座ヘ水サシヨルガヨシ].

A yo-kai [夜會] is a gathering hosted after dark.

Hidari-za [h]e [左座へ], “toward the left seat,” means it is moved toward the right*.

Yoru [寄る] means to approach. In other words, the mizusashi is moved a little toward the right, so as to make room for the te-shoku, as shown in the above sketch†. __________ *As has been explained before, in the Nampō Roku, the objects displayed on the far side of the temae-za are considered to be facing toward the host. Thus, the host’s right side faces the left seat.

†While I have shown a small mizusashi, the same thing can be done when using a larger mizusashi.

——————————————–———-—————————————————

◎ I had wanted to make the following point in the last post, but, with the rush that the length of that post engendered (so it would be ready for publication on time), it completely slipped my mind.

With respect to the board that is placed on the far side of the mukō-ro, the Nampō Roku states that it should be 2-sun 5-bu wide.

However, during the summer months, this board was cut into two pieces -- one 2-sun wide, and the other 5-bu wide. The smaller board was placed between the ro and the wall, while the wider one was placed in front of the ro. The reason (as has been explained previously in this blog) is that, when the mukō-ro is so close to the furosaki-mado [風爐先窓] -- the window that is opened in the wall at the end of the utensil mat -- the fumes will be exhausted directly through that window. (When the ro is moved farther away from the window, however, the fumes will be drawn across the room, to exit through the bokuseki-mado that is located in, or beside, the tokonoma.)

My reason for mentioning this board is because a certain amount of confusion exists in the modern schools, with many of them stating that this board should always be 2-sun wide, or even narrower (some argue for 1-sun 9-bu, while other schools even reduce it to 1-sun 6-bu) -- even when the board is placed on the far side of the ro.

This argument (which first arose in the early Edo period) seems to have come about when the 5-bu wide board used during the summertime was confused with the baseboard (which is also 5-bu wide) that is inserted between the edges of the mats and the wall (this board keeps the grass mats from coming into direct contact with the mud-plaster, since otherwise dampness present in the walls would communicate directly to the matting, causing them to molder). This, however, is wholly a matter of misunderstanding, because the 5-bu wide board has nothing to do with the baseboard. Nevertheless, when one of the previous generations of tea masters made a mistake (such as this), rather than correct the error, subsequent generations continue to perpetuate the error (and usually become exceedingly aggressive when it is pointed out to them).

It is unfortunate, because, ultimately, the deviations between Rikyū's teachings and what is taught and done today can, by and large, be explained in exactly this way.

2 notes · View notes

chanoyu-to-wa · 3 years

Text

Nampō Roku, Book 6 (3): the Number of Utensils Displayed During the Shoza and Goza.

3) Regarding the number of objects [displayed in the tearoom], [during] the shoza [and] the goza, what might the preferred [number] be -- if [one] were to ask¹?

In the case of the daisu and shoin, during the daytime, with respect to both the kane, and the number [of objects displayed in the room], the yang² should be used.

At night, the kane [that are used], and the number [of objects] are both yin³.

Perhaps in the case of especially auspicious occasions, memorial services, and Buddhist ceremonies⁴ [things might be different] -- in each of these instances, there are kuden [口傳]⁵ that [discuss what should be done].

Even among the various [sorts of] small rooms, because in the sōan [草菴]⁵ the number [of objects] should be kept to the barest minimum, [I⁶] carefully scrutinized [the number of things that are displayed in during the shoza, and during the goza] and, after also consulting with Jōō, decided that that they should not be the same. Having decided that the shoza is yin, [and] the goza is yang, then we should act accordingly, thoroughly understanding that the number [of things] refers to counts of even and odd numbers⁷.

[There is this] poem:

toko ha toko, zaseki ha zaseki, tana ha tana ni chō ichi han ni han ichi chō

[床ハ床、座席ハ座席、棚ハ棚二調一半二半一調]⁸.

From this [you] should be able to understand the matter⁸.

As an example, during the shoza:

﹆ in the toko: 〽the bokuseki¹⁰;

﹆ in the room: 〽the kama [in the ro];

﹆ or else: the furo [with the kama arranged in it];

﹆ on the tana: 〽the kōgō [and] 〽the habōki.

According to what was written previously¹¹, [during the shoza] two [should be] odd, and one [should be] even.

However, it might be difficult to understand that the number [of objects] in the toko, and on the tana, do not always differ. You should also recall that, as previously [stated], “two [are] even, and one [is] odd” is also [a possibility]¹².

The actual number of pieces is irrelevant. In the case of the shoin・daisu, as well as in the sōan, in the toko, the tana, and the room, if all of them are even, or all of them are odd, such [a situation] should be displeasing¹³.

Nevertheless, [in the case of] soe-oki, or when [a utensil] is displaced from its kane, one is freed [from the preceding rule]¹⁴.

_________________________

◎ While written as a single block of text, this passage actually discusses a number of different, though related, topics. I decided to separate them with spaces, to make it easier for the reader to follow the development of Rikyū’s arguments.

¹Ikaga tsukamatsu-beki kana to tazune mōshi-kereba [如何可仕哉ト尋申ケレバ].

Rikyū is beginning his discourse with a rhetorical question.

²Daisu・shoin ha, hiru ha kane mo kazu mo yō wo mochiiru [臺子・書院ハ、晝ハカネモ數モ陽ヲ用].

While hiru [晝] technically means midday, it is used here to refer to daytime -- the daylight hours.

Yō [陽] means yang.

Thus the yang-kane, and the yang numbers (the odd numbers) should be used at gatherings held during the daytime.

³Yoru ha kane mo kazu mo in ni te [夜ハカネモ數モ陰ニテ].

While yoru [夜] technically means evening, it is used more generally to mean the hours of darkness (between sunset and dawn).

In [陰] means yin.

So, Rikyū is saying that after dark, the yin kane should be used, and the number of objects displayed should be even.

⁴Arui ha shūgi [アルイハ祝儀、懷舊佛事等]

Shūgi [祝儀] means a celebration, a congratulatory occasion, a wedding. In other words, and auspicious occasion.

Kaikyū [懷舊] means a memorial, a gathering held in memory of someone (who has died).

Butsuji [佛事] means a Buddhist service.

The kuden [口傳] is that auspicious (omedetai [おめでたい], congratulatory) occasions are yang, while memorial services and Buddhist ceremonials are yin, irrespective of the time of day when the chakai is held.

Though not mentioned here, Shintō [神道] ceremonies are also yang.

The reason is that things associated with life (and happy occasions) are yang, while things associated with death (both memorial services, and Buddhist ceremonies -- since the Buddha has entered nirvana) are yin.

⁵Sōan ha ko-zashiki no uchi [草菴ハ小座敷ノ内].

Rikyū is saying, in this statement, that the sōan is unique even among the various kinds of small room for its minimalism.

It is not exactly a question of size -- since both Jōō's Yamazato no iori [山里の庵] (below, on the left) and Rikyū's Jissō-an [實相菴] (on the right) were 2-mat daime rooms (whereas even smaller rooms were, and are, possible) -- but a matter of the host's attitude.

A sōan should be equivalent to a hermitage, and so the host should participate in the dedicated monk's renunciation of materialism. Thus, nothing beyond what is absolutely necessary should ever be displayed, or done, in this setting.

In an ordinary small room, on the other hand, the number of utensils (and their quality) should be in keeping with the space available (though there is no objection to the host's using meibutsu or other utensils of quality); but in the sōan, the utensils should always be of the simplest -- and least expensive -- sort. In the modern day, the two settings -- which Rikyū appears to have preferred to keep distinctly separate -- have been conflated.

When, in Book Two, Rikyū used his Shiribukura chaire [尻膨茶入], on its red-lacquered chaire-bon, that meant that he did not consider his two mat room to be considered a sōan. (Indeed, a true sōan -- something like his Mozuno ko-yashiki [百舌鳥野小屋敷], perhaps -- would not have been appropriate to the reception of many of the guests whom Rikyū entertained on Hideyoshi’s behalf. This was because part of the idea was to show important pieces from Hideyoshi’s personal collection of tea utensils on these occasions, thereby impressing the guests, while making unspoken reference to Hideyoshi’s authority.)

⁶The speaker of this monologue is presumed to be Rikyū.

⁷Shoza in, goza yo to sabetsu-suru koto nareba, kazu mo chō・han wo motte yoku-yoku ryōken subeshi [初座陰、後座陽ト差別スルコトナレバ、數モ調半ヲ以テ能〻料簡スベシ].

Sabetsu-suru koto [差別すること] means to discriminate or segregate accordingly (i.e., in deference to the idea that the shoza is yin and the goza is yang).

Chō・han [調半] should be understood, in this context, to mean “even” (chō [調]) and “odd” (han [半]) -- as has already been explained in the earlier books when dealing with the various arrangements in terms of kane-wari. I will use “even” and “odd” in the rest of this translation.

⁸Toko ha toko, zaseki ha zaseki, tana ha tana, ni chō ichi han ni han ichi chō [床ハ床、座席ハ座席、棚ハ棚、二調一半二半一調].

“The toko is the toko, the room* is the room, the tana is the tana: two [are] even, one [is] odd; two [are] odd, one [is] even.” ___________ *The floor of the room, outside of the toko, covered with tatami mats. This term includes things displayed on the utensil mat, as well as things that might have been arranged somewhere else (other than in the tokonoma or on the tana).

⁹Kore ni te toku-shin aru-beshi [コレニテ得心アルベシ].

While toku-shin [得心] is translated “understand;” however, the word includes the nuance of consenting (to the argument expressed in the poem), or convincing oneself of (or being satisfied with) the correctness of this assertion.

It is more than the passive absorption of a fact.

¹⁰Bokuseki [墨跡].

This indicates that the example is referring to the sōan setting (since the rule, at that time, was that bokuseki* should only be hung in the sōan).

With respect to the annotation, each location in the list is indicated by a large red dot [“﹆”], and each entry (indicating an object displayed in that location) is indicated by an upside-down red check-mark that brackets the upper-right corner of the word [“〽”]†. The words, however, are written in black ink. ___________ *Bokuseki [墨跡] does not mean any calligraphic scroll, but specifically one written by a monk.

At least originally, it referred to passages -- either admonitions (presented to a follower, usually as a sort of certificate of attainment, when he was “graduating” from his period of training, as above), or the text of a Buddhist lecture (below), rather than to scrolls displaying a single line of text.

†The symbol “〽” is called the ioriten [庵点], and technically is used to indicate the beginning of a song (that is, it sometimes indicates the entry of a new character, and sometimes separates the songs from the recitative passages, in the scores of performance arts like nō [能]). It was also used in renga texts, to indicate a new ku [句], and this is likely the precedent for its use in the Nampō Roku -- where a similar symbol (written in red ink) is used to indicate sub-points. In Book Five it was commonly seen, where it indicated the beginning of each kaki-ire [書入].

¹¹Literally, “on the right” -- which indicates something that was written previously (in this instance, Rikyū is referring to the poem).

¹²Ni chō ichi han mo migi ni te kokoroe-beshi [二調一半モ右ニテ心得ベシ].

For example, if the number of objects in the room remains the same -- i.e., one (the kama in the ro, or the kama and furo) -- for two of the three locations to be even, both the toko and the tana would have had to have an even number of objects displayed there.

¹³Utsuwa no ta-shō ni arazu, shoin・daisu, sōan ni te mo, toko, tana, zaseki, mina chō mina han wo iya-beshi [器ノ多少ニアラズ、書院・臺子、草菴ニテモ、床、棚、座席、皆調皆半ヲ嫌ベシ].

Utsuwa [器] means utensils, vessels, implements.

Ta-shō ni arazu [多少に非ず]: ta-shō [多少] means a greater or lesser (number); arazu [非ず] means “never mind.” In other words, the number of objects is irrelevant.

Shoin・daisu, sōan ni te mo [書院・臺子、草菴にても]: this means that the entire range of situations is being considered -- from the shoin and daisu (where the number of objects is greatest), all the way down to the sōan (where the number of objects is reduced to the absolute minimum).

Mina chō mina han wo iya-beshi [皆調皆半を嫌べし]: mina chō [皆調] means for all of the locations to have an even count; mina han [皆半] means for all of the locations to have an odd count; iya-beshi [嫌べし] means “should be loathed,” “should be detested.”

¹⁴Soe-oki, kane hazushi nado ni te jiyū subeshi [ソヘヲキ、カネハヅシ等ニテ自由スベシ].

Soe-oki [副置き] refers to a case where two objects are displayed on the same kane -- such as when the hishaku is placed on the shelf oriented on a diagonal, with the futaoki in front of (or on the far side of) its handle.

Kane hazushi [カネ外し] means an object is disassociated from its kane. When an object does not touch a kane, it is "not counted" when assessing the evenness or oddness of the za.

Jiyū subeshi [自由すべし]: jiyū [自由] means free, unrestricted; subeshi [すべし] is a contraction of suru beshi [爲るべし], should be done, ought to do. In other words, when two objects occupy the same kane, they are counted together (when calculating the "value"); when an object has been displaced from the kane, it is not counted. Thus, one is free to use either device, without the extra utensil violating the rules of chō and han, as expressed in Rikyū's poem.

For example:

◦ if the hishaku is oriented on a diagonal, and the futaoki is placed together with it (either in front of, or on the far side of, the handle), these two objects are counted as one, so the tana is han [半], or odd;

◦ if the hishaku is placed in contact with a kane, with the handle parallel to the kane, and the futaoki is placed so that it contacts a (different) kane on one side of the hishaku, they are counted separately, and the result is chō [調];

◦ however, if the hishaku touches a kane, with the handle oriented parallel to that kane, but the futaoki, placed at its side, does not contact a kane*, the result is han [半].

Another example:

◦ if a hanaire is displayed on the floor† of the toko, or suspended from the hook that is attached to the center of the back wall of the toko, then the toko is han [半];

◦ if the hanaire is suspended on the bokuseki-mado, or on a hook nailed into the pillar (on the outer-wall side of the toko‡), the toko is chō [調] -- because the hanaire has been disassociated from the kane. __________ *In other words, the futaoki is disassociated from the kane.

†When displayed on the floor of the toko, the hanaire should always be associated with the central kane.

‡In Rikyū’s day the hanaire was never hung on the toko-bashira. The hook on the toko-bashira was for an oil-lamp, used primarily to illuminate the scroll (specifically the signature and seals of the writer) at night.

The hook for the hanaire was originally nailed into the minor pillar, on the opposite side of the toko. Later, after Furuta Sōshitsu moved the bokuseki-mado into the toko (a practice of Oribe’s that Rikyū also incorporated into his own rooms), a narrow strip of sheet-copper was twisted around one of the horizontal lattices, and the kake-hanaire was suspended there (when the intention was to give the toko a chō count).

Whether in the middle of the toko or suspended on the side, the idea was that the flowers should arch toward the temae-za.

3 notes · View notes

chanoyu-to-wa · 3 years

Text

Nampō Roku, Book 5 (68): Concerning the Daisu-saki Byōbu [臺子先屛風]¹.

68) With respect to the folding screen that encloses [two sides of] the daisu, a two-fold screen, or a six-fold screen -- either may be used. The Higashiyama-dono also used both kinds². These [screens] were always [covered with paper that was] gilded³, or speckled with gold or silver flakes⁴, or painted with [faint horizontal bands of gold or sliver resembling] clouds, and the like⁵.

It is also acceptable to try using [screens on which] poems and the like [have been] inscribed by [a person] famous for their beautiful writing⁶.

But, because paintings are often hung [in the tokonoma], or because [many] rooms feature paintings on the wallpaper, such [screens] are not used [in chanoyu]⁷.

〇 (Appended [to the preceding]⁸:) with regard to the height of the screen, when the temmoku is rested on its dai, and displayed [on the ten-ita of the daisu], it should not be visible [from the other side of the screen]⁹.

_________________________

◎ The complete text of the entry is as follows:

〇 daisu-saki no byōbu ha, ni-mai-ori・roku-mai-ori izure mo hiyō-sōrō, Higashiyama-dono ni te mo tōri o-yō-sōrō, izure mo kin-ji・sunago ji arui ha unbiki nado no muji arui ha nō-sho no uchi-tsuke-gaki・waka nado yoshi to su, e ha kaki-e mata e-no-ma ni sashi-awase koto ōshi yue ikenai nari

[臺子サキノ屛風ハ、二枚折・六枚折イツレモ被用候、東山殿ニテモ二通リ御用候、イズレモ金地・砂子地或ハ雲引等ノ無地或ハ能書ノ打付書・和哥ナトヨシトス、繪ハ掛繪又繪ノ間ニサシ合コト多故不好也].

〇 (tsuke) byōbu no takasa, temmoku wo dai ni nosete kazari-taru ka mienu-hodo ni subeshi

[(付) 屛風ノ高サ、天目ヲ臺ニノセテ飾タルカ見ヘヌホトニスヘシ].

¹Daisu-saki byōbu [臺子先屛風] refers to the folding screen that is usually called the furo-saki byōbu [風爐先屛風] today -- even when the screen surrounds the daisu.

The origin of this practice of enclosing the far end of the utensil mat with a folding screen began with the daisu.

²Daisu-saki no byōbu ha, ni-mai-ori・roku-mai-ori izure mo hiyō-sōrō, Higashiyama-dono ni te mo ni-tōri o-yō-sōrō [臺子サキノ屛風ハ、二枚折・六枚折イツレモ被用候、東山殿ニテモ二通リ御用候].

Ni-mai-ori [二枚折] means a screen of two panels, that is folded at right angles to surround the daisu on the far side, and the side facing the katte. A byōbu of this sort is shown below, under footnote 3.

Roku-mai-ori [六枚折] refers to a screen composed of six panels. Three panels are arranged, accordion fashion, on the far side of the daisu, and three are on the katte-side of the utensil mat, with the middle fold bent at a right angle. An example of this kind of byōbu is shown in the photo that is attached to footnote 5.

Ni tōri [二通り] means both kinds. In other words, Ashikaga Yoshimasa used both kinds of folding screens as his daisu-saki byōbu. When performing tea in a room like the Dōjin-sai shoin, he would have placed a ni-mai-ori byōbu around the daisu (between it and the walls on both sides); and when serving tea in a section of a larger hall*, he would have arranged a six-fold screen around the daisu (to enclose a section of the larger space for his purposes). ___________ *Yoshimasa’s practice was later taken as the precedent for the kakoi [圍い] that became a hallmark of Nobunaga’s style of chanoyu.

³Kin-ji [金地] means paper that is covered with square leaves of gold.

The above ni-mai-ori byōbu [二枚折屛風] is covered with kin-ji kami [金地紙].

⁴Sunago-ji [砂子地] means white or cream-colored tori-no-ko kami [鳥の子紙] on which flakes of gold, silver, and/or mica (sometimes only one kind is used, sometimes two or more are mixed) have been sifted.

The flakes may be sprinkled heavily or lightly, and the size of the individual flakes also varies from tiny to substantial, as seen in the above examples.

⁵Kumo-biki [雲引] means the same sort of (usually white or cream colored) tori-no-ko paper* mentioned in the previous footnote, to which faint horizontal bands of gold, silver, or white pigment have been applied (often stippled against a stencil of some sort, giving an air-brushed effect).

The resemblance to banks of clouds varies from literal, as in the above photo of a kumo-biki roku-mai-ori byōbu [雲引六枚折屛風], to suggestive (sometimes the “clouds” are little more than horizontal lines that trail away on the lower edge). ___________ *Sometimes kin-ji kami [金地紙] is used as the base for kumo-biki (as seen in the above example) -- though the use of so much gold became fashionable from the Momoyama period onward.

⁶Arui ha nō-sho no uchi-tsuki-gaki・waka nado yoshi to su [或ハ能書ノ打付書・和哥ナトヨシトス].

A more literal translation of this line would be “and on the other hand, the writings of an expert calligrapher, written directly [on the paper with which the byōbu is covered]: waka and the like are suitable [literary genres for the text].”

According to Tanaka Senshō, nō-sho no uchi-tsuki-gaki [能書の打付書] means the screen has been made from sheets of paper that were directly inscribed by a person renowned for his calligraphy. Apparently the point is that the writing was done directly on the sheets that form each of the panels, rather than by pasting a collection of tanzaku or shiki-shi onto the face of a screen.

The content is usually poetic, such as Japanese poems (waka [和歌]), and the like.

Waka [和哥] is a variant on waka [和歌], meaning poems written in the traditional Japanese poetic style of 31 syllables.

��E ha kaki-e mata e-no-ma ni sashi-awase koto ōshi yue ikenai nari [繪ハ掛繪又繪ノ間ニサシ合コト多故不好也].

Kaki-e [掛繪], “hanging picture,” means a hanging scroll made from an ink painting (rather than a written text). Scrolls of this type were the usual kind that were hung during chanoyu gatherings in the early days (texts did not appear until the final decades of the fifteenth century).

E-no-ma [繪ノ間] means a room in which paintings have been done on various surfaces -- Tanaka Senshō gives, as examples, rooms in which paintings are found on the fusuma or doors of cupboards*, or on the ceiling or transoms (ranma [欄間]) above the doorways (an example of this kind of room is shown below -- the Mittan no seki [密庵席], in the Kohō-an [孤篷庵] of the Daitoku-ji).

Also, in many of the more elaborate large reception rooms (such as in palaces and the major temples -- the tokonoma of the shiro-shoin [白書院] of the Nishi Hongan-ji is shown below), the practice of painting on the wallpaper that covered the walls of the tokonoma was becoming increasingly popular among the upper classes during Jōō's day.

On account of which, for paintings to also be present on the byōbu that surrounds the daisu would seem excessive. __________ *Sometimes paintings by famous continental artists that were, overall, in a poor state of repair, had the damaged portions cut away, with the remaining paper used for this purpose.

⁸Tsuke [付] means “attached to” -- that is, the text that follows was added to this entry later (though very possibly by Jōō himself), as a way to add some important information.

⁹Byōbu no takasa, temmoku wo dai ni nosete kazari-taru ka mienu-hodo ni subeshi [屛風ノ高サ、天目ヲ臺ニノセテ飾タルカ見ヘヌホトニスヘシ].

The screen should be high enough that, when the dai-temmoku is displayed on the ten-ita of the daisu (possibly resting on one of the large trays), it should not be visible from the other side of the byōbu*.

It should be remembered that, as Rikyū wrote in his densho, the chakin is folded into a small rectangle (as usual), and placed flat on the bottom of the temmoku, and then the chasen is stood upright on top of the chakin. Thus, in Rikyū's densho, he expresses the rule dictating the height of the byōbu as that the folding screen should be as high as the tip of the tines of the chasen. (In the Edo period, the chasen was being placed in the temmoku in the same way as in any other chawan, and, as a result, this detail may not have been known, or clear, to Tachibana Jitsuzan and the Enkaku-ji scholars.) ___________ *However, since the bags (fukuro [袋]) of the chaire and temmoku were originally hung on the corner of the daisu-saki byōbu (by draping their himo over the corner), the height of the ni-mai-ori byōbu, at least, should not be too much greater than specified by this instruction.

2 notes · View notes

chanoyu-to-wa · 3 years

Text

Nampō Roku, Book 6 (8.1, 8.2): Displaying a Natsume Together with the Chaire and Chawan.

8.1) On occasions when [the host] wishes to display a chaire, natsume, and chawan in a row on the jō-dan [上段]¹, [it should be done] as shown in the [following] sketch²: [the utensils should be] placed on two yang-kane, and the yin-kane that is found in between them³. This is known as tsuzuki-no-kane [ツヅキノカネ]; and because [this arrangement] is occasionally included on the shoin and daisu, it has been memorialized here.

That is not to say that [arranging the utensils in this way] is [particularly] good [to imitate]; but when there is no other option, one should understand [that this is a possibility], so it is said⁵.

[The writing reads (from right to left): natsume (ナツメ); chaire ・ dōgu ni yori, hidari-migi ika-yō ni mo (茶入・道具ニヨリ、左右イカヤウニモ)⁶; chawan (茶碗).]

The kaki-ire [書入]⁷:

〇 [Ri]kyū koji’s mitsu-gumi [三ツ組] should be differentiated from what is shown here⁸.

8.2) With respect to displaying a meibutsu (or something of that sort) as an hitotsu-mono, even though it is your own utensil, it is not appropriate to depreciate it [by placing it so that it overlaps the kane by one-third]: [the center of the utensil] should rub against the exact center of the kane¹⁰. With respect to this “suri,” it means that the center of the utensil should approach the exact center of the kane¹¹. Even though [this] will certainly be clear to the [naked] eye, this is, in fact, a secret ku-den [口傳]¹². Whether it approaches [the center of the kane] on the right, or on the left, is connected with the [other] circumstances¹³.

Ordinary utensils, however, are never said to rub against their kane in this way¹⁴. They all overlap their kane by one-third.

[Ri]kyū said, in the sōan, even though paying such close attention to the kane is not necessary, in the case of an hitotsu-mono (and other things of that sort), we should be accepting of the need to do so. Consequently, if [one gets into the habit of] being negligent when arranging ordinary utensils, it will be the same when placing an hitotsu-mono¹⁷. This is a case where training is indispensable¹⁸.

_________________________

◎ This entry was included in Kumakura Isao's Nampō Roku wo yomu [南方録を読む]. And while the illustration in the Sadō Ko-ten Zen-shu [茶道古典全集] shows the chawan and natsume both centered on their kane (which would make it impossible for the host to display a chaire in between them, no matter how small it was)*, the sketch in Kumakura sensei’s book depicts their orientation correctly -- with all three utensils overlapping their respective kane by one third.

While the Sadō Ko-ten Zen-shu and Nampō Roku wo yomu versions of the Nampō Roku have included all of this material in a single entry†, both Shibayama Fugen and Tanaka Senshō segregate the material that follows the kaki-ire into a separate section. This is why I have marked the two sections as parts 8.1 and 8.2. __________ *Given the number of errors in the Sadō Ko-ten Zen-shu version (where all of the sketches were redrawn for that edition), it is difficult to believe that the editors actually wanted their readers to truly understand this material. Indeed, the impression is that this is an example of feigned transparency (while trying to make things as confusing as possible).

†This seems to be in accordance with the way the material is distributed in the Enkaku-ji manuscript.

¹Jō-dan ni, chaire・natsume・chawan to, mi-iro narabi-kazari awase-taru toki [上段ニ、茶入・ナツメ・茶碗ト、三色ナラビカザリ合セタル時].

Narabi-kazari [並び飾] means to display (objects) in a row (narabi [並び] means to line things up, arrange them in a row). The meaning is seen in the above sketch, which depicts the present arrangement.

²Hidari no zu no gotoku [左ノ圖ノゴトク].

More literally, “in the sketch that is [found] on the left.”

In other words, the sketch that follows these comments.

³Yō no kane futatsu in wo hasamite oki-koto [陽ノカネ二ツ陰ヲハサミテ置コト].

Hasamaru [挾まる] means to be pinched between (two other things); to be caught in between.

⁴Kore wo tsuzuki no kane to te [コレヲツヅキノカネトテ].

Tsuzuki no kane [續きのカネ] means successive, or sequential, kane. In other words (as shown in the sketch) the chawan and natsume are placed on yang kane, with the chaire placed on the yin kane that is found in between those two yang kane.

For this to work, the chaire would have to be rather small (and probably rather tall, especially if there were four or five guests) -- such as the 1-sun 9-bu* old Seto katatsuki shown below†.

Such chaire were made at the Seto kilns during the second half of the fifteenth century, for orders placed by the members of the Korean expatriate community who wished to continue to practice chanoyu after arriving in Japan. __________ *1-sun 9-bu is the usual diameter of the classical ko-tsubo [小壺] chaire. Yet the height of these old Seto chaire permits them to contain enough tea for even four or five guests (ko-tsubo of this size rarely could be used to serve more than two people: this is why they were preferred in the early days, since only one bowl of tea -- offered to the Buddha -- was made, while their small size prevented waste, since the chaire was always supposed to be filled fully).

The same group of machi-shū chajin seems to have been the force behind the creation of the kan-saku karamono chaire [カンサク唐物茶入 = 韓作唐物茶入] -- which were made in Korea (as the name suggests) -- that imitate the classical ko-tsubo shapes, albeit in a larger size similar to the classical (2-sun 5-bu) “large” katatsuki chaire [肩衝茶入]. (Note that the Japanese nationalist “scholars,” working in the early 20th century, “revised” the interpretation of kan-saku karamono to mean “chaire made during the Han dynasty” of China -- nonsense, since fired pottery of this type did not appear anywhere in the world until many centuries later -- though hatred is almost always blind to inconsistencies in the preferred argument -- and, in fact, they are demonstrably made from Korean, rather than Chinese, clay, and were fired in a Korean nobori-gama typical of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, rather than the pit kilns used in China in those early days.)

In both instances, the intention was apparently to allow the chajin to employ arrangements originally devised for the other type of chaire -- using a katatsuki (albeit a much narrower one) for a ko-tsubo arrangement, and using a ko-tsubo shape (though of much larger dimensions) as a katatsuki. (Ko-tsubo and katatsuki were the two divisions of classical chaire -- as was emphasized in the writings that deal with chanoyu during Jōō's middle period and before.)

†These chaire generally lack applied decorative elements (such as a nadare that contrasts in color with the ground color of the piece). The first chaire to have displayed such an effect was the Hakata bunrin [博多文琳], that belonged to Kamiya Sōtan [神谷宗湛; 1551 ~ 1635]. Any purportedly old chaire that exhibits this kind of effect was likely made in the early Edo period, and perhaps associated thereafter with an old name (since such was the focus of chanoyu during that period -- and after).

⁵Kaku-no-gotoki naru ga yoki to iu-koto ni te ha nashi, yondokoro-naki toki kono kokoro-e-subeshi to iu-iu [如此ナルガヨキト云コトニテハナシ、無拠時此心得スベシト云〻].

Kaku-no-gotoki naru ga yoki to iu-koto ni te ha nashi [此の如き成るが良きと云うことにては無し]: kaku-no-gotoki naru [此の如き成る] means “to be like this;” yoki to iu-koto [良きと云うこと] means “good, so to speak;” nashi [無し] means “(this possibility) does not exist.”

In other words, though Rikyū is alleged to have arranged the daisu in this manner, that does not mean that we should emulate the arrangement as a matter of course.

Yondokoro-naki toki [拠無き時] means “on an occasion when it cannot be helped,” or “on an occasion when (the need to use this kind of arrangement) cannot be avoided.”

Kono kokoro-e subeshi [この心得すべし] means “(you) should know (that it is possible to do things in this way).”

⁶Chaire ・ dōgu ni yori, hidari-migi ika-yō ni mo [茶入・道具ニヨリ、左右イカヤウニモ].

“Chaire ・ depending on the [size of the several] utensils, it can [overlap the kane] to the left or to the right.”

In other words, if the chawan is especially small and/or the natsume is large, the chaire (which overlaps the yin-kane by one-third*) could project in either direction (at least in theory -- in practice, since there is only at most 4-sun 9-bu between the yang kane, it would be difficult to execute this arrangement unless all of the utensils were literally as small as possible).

As explained above (under footnote 4), the arrangement seems to require something like an old Seto katatsuki, arranged together with a natsume and an ordinary small chawan. While a chū-natsume [中ナツメ] is possible (and this is what I have shown in the sketch)†, using a small natsume would make things even more comfortable. A large natsume would be too large‡. __________ *As has been explained before, overlapping the kane by one-third, in practice, means that the object is positioned so that the foot is immediately to the side of the kane, so that its bulk projects across the kane -- usually, by approximately one-third of its diameter.

†The chū-natsume [中棗] was created by Rikyū, based on the diameter of the Kamakura-nasu [鎌倉茄子], the ko-tsubo used for the gokushin futatsu-gumi temae [極眞二ツ組手前]. Both this chaire, and Rikyū's natsume, measure 2-sun 2-bu in diameter.

Theretofore, only two sizes of natsume were used (both created by Jōō): the ko-natsume [小棗] (which is based on the diameter of they typical ko-tsubo chaire, which measure 1-sun 9-bu in diameter), and the ō-natsume [大棗] (derived from the large katatsuki, and measuring 2-sun 5-bu in diameter).

While today it is taught that plain black-lacquered natsume are used for koicha, while decorated natsume are preferred for usucha, this is a convention that arose during the Edo period, as a result of the preferences expressed by Sōtan and his family (in part, because Rikyū’s kaō were usually found only on plain black natsume). Originally, however, the rule was that, for koicha, the host should use his “best” natsume -- which invariably would have been one that was decorated (often heavily) with maki-e work (such as the example shown below).

Plain black-lacquered natsume were considered “blanks,” and first used as containers in their own right when sending a gift of matcha to someone (so that the recipient would have no obligation to return the container to the sender, because that would seem to require a return-gift of tea: since tea was usually given from a superior to a person of lower status, and since superiors usually had access to tea of a much higher quality than their underlings, to send back something inferior could be taken as an insult, or at least would be viewed as inappropriate; so using a “disposable” plain black natsume helped everyone circumvent the dangers inherent in this kind of conundrum).

When plain black-lacquered natsume bear Rikyū’s kaō [花押] (signature in red lacquer), this was not an indication of preference (these natsume were not “favored” by Rikyū -- even though that is how the presence of his kaō has been interpreted since the Edo period). Rather, it was a way of certifying that the tea contained in the natsume had been dispatched by him (usually on Hideyoshi's behalf): it was, thus, a sort of certification of authenticity (that the tea contained in the natsume came, in fact, from one of Hideyoshi's personal tea jars). But while these natsume were disposable, some people kept them as souvenirs, and then reused them (when serving their own tea) later. The practice seems to have begun among the (generally poor) wabi-chajin (since anyone of any standing might be vulnerable to an accusation of fraud -- attempting to pass off their own tea as something that came from Hideyoshi); and it did not become common until the Edo period (at which time Rikyū’s kaō was reinterpreted as an expression of preference -- that is, the natsume in question was assumed to be a konomi-mono [好み物]).

When the natsume contained just sufficient tea for a single bowl of koicha (which would usually be served as sui-cha [吸い茶] -- that is, the single bowl was passed around, with each guest drinking a portion), Rikyū’s kaō was written on the bottom of the body. When the natsume contained sufficient tea for usucha as well as koicha, his kaō was usually written on the underside of the lid (this indicated that the tea should be scooped out, rather than pulled out with the side of the chashaku).

‡The temae seems to have been performed in this way: first the chawan was lowered from the ten-ita and temporarily placed on the left side of the mat. Then the chaire was lowered and placed in front of the mizusashi. And finally the chawan was moved beside the chaire. This left the natsume on the ten-ita, associated with the central kane.

The natsume might be used to serve a second variety of koicha (probably followed by usucha, using the matcha that remained in it); or it might have been used to serve only usucha.

⁷Kaki-ire [書入].

This refers to the statement that begins with the red symbol “〽” -- written below the sketch on the left.

It is not part of the sketch, but provides important information regarding how the sketch should be understood (see the next footnote).

⁸[Ri]kyū koji mitsu-gumi, kono honshiki yori bun-betsu-shi tamaeri [休居士三ツ組、コノ本式ヨリ分別シ玉ヘリ].

Kyū koji [休居士]* is an abbreviated name used for Rikyū, from time to time, in the Nampō Roku.

Mitsu-gumi [三ツ組] is one of the formal daisu arrangements†. It should not be confused with what is being done here.

Bun-betsu-suru [分別する] means to sort, separate, categorize, and things of that sort. In other words, the present arrangement (where the chawan, chaire, and natsume are set out in a row) must be divided from the mitsu-gumi arrangement.

Tamaeri [玉えり = 給えり]‡ is a sort of suffix (to the verb bun-betsu-suru), meaning “to do.”

While one might expect (from the context) that the reference was to a situation where two containers of tea and a chawan were displayed on the ten-ita of the daisu, mitsu-gumi (at least according to Rikyū) refers to the case where a dai-temmoku, a kae-chawan, and a chaire are so arranged**. __________ *Koji [居士] was the non-title that Rikyū received in 1586, which allowed him to enter the Imperial palace in order to assist Hideyoshi with his preparations for the service of tea to the Emperor.

†According to Rikyū’s writings, mitsu-gumi [三ツ組] refers to the case where the dai-temmoku, bon-chaire, and a kae-chawan (in which the chakin and chasen are prepared) are displayed on the ten-ita of the daisu. The sketch of mitsu-gumi from the Nomura Sōkaku-ate no densho [野村宗覺宛の傳書] is shown below (in the version shown in Rikyū’s sketch, the guests would be seated on the host’s left).

The same sort of arrangement was considered in the post entitled Nampō Roku, Book 5 (13.1): the Arrangement [of the Daisu] During the Shoza when [Receiving a] Respected Guest, Part 1. The URL for that post is:

https://chanoyu-to-wa.tumblr.com/post/620572177833623553/namp%C5%8D-roku-book-5-131-the-arrangement-of

That said, Shibayama Fugen relates that his source (who was one of the original group of Enkaku-ji scholars, who passed these teachings on to Shibayama in his old age -- apparently because there was no one left at the Enkaku-ji who was interested in learning such things) explained mitsu-gumi as meaning that the chawan and chaire are displayed on the mat in front of the mizusashi. This appears to be an explanation related to the sōan -- though that interpretation seems irrelevant in this context (especially because, in Shibayama’s teihon, the passage that discusses the display of the hitotsu-mono in the sōan was segregated into a separate entry).

‡Tamaeri [玉えり]: the kanji tama [玉] should be understood as a hentai-gana, representing the sounds tama [たま].

**Perhaps that is why the reader is cautioned not to confuse the two arrangements.

⁹Hitotsu-mono no kazari meibutsu nado, waga-dōgu to te iyashimi ni oyobazu [一物ノカザリ名物等、我道具トテ卑下ニ不及].

Waga-dōgu [我道具] means ones own utensil.

Iyashimi ni [卑下に] means to handle or regard something as insignificant, to deprecate*.

Oyobazu [及ばず] means unnecessary, not to do (something).

As mentioned above, in both Shibayama Fugen’s and Tanaka Senshō’s teihon [底本], the remainder of this section is treated as a separate entry. __________ *In terms of kane-wari, this would mean to orient the object so that it overlaps its kane by one-third.

¹⁰Kane no mannaka, mine-suri ni oku-beki nari [カネノ眞中、峯摺ニヲクベキ也].

Kane no mannaka [カネの眞ん中] means “the exact center of the kane.”

Mine-suri ni oku-beki [峰摺りに置くべき]: mine-suri [峰摺り] means “to rub against the peak” -- that is, an object is displayed so that its center “approaches” (i.e., is displaced ever so slightly from) the exact center of the kane with which it is associated*. The device is usually employed as a way to deprecate ones own meibutsu utensil. __________ *Mine-suri placement is usually associated with one of the three central yang-kane, and was a consequence of these kane being derived from the 3-bu-wide folds of the shiki-shi [敷き紙] (allowing the center of the utensil to deviate slightly from the very center of the kane while still being fully “on” the kane).

¹¹Suri to ha, kane no mannaka wo dōgu no mannaka ni sukoshi zura-suru nari [スリトハ、カネノ眞中ヲ道具ノ眞中ニ少スラスルナリ].

Sukoshi zura-suru [少しずらする] means “to gradually slide something (toward another thing).”

That is, the object should be positioned carefully so that it is almost perceptibly off-center.

¹²Naka-naka me ni miyuru-hodo no koto ni te nakere-domo, kore hiji-kuden nari [中〰目ニ見ユルホドノ事ニテナケレドモ、コレ秘事口傳ナリ].

Me ni miyuru-hodo ni [目に見ゆるほどに]* means appreciably; “so as to be visible.”

Nakere-domo [なけれども] means “even if (it is obvious to the naked eye), nevertheless (orienting it intentionally in this way is a deeply guarded secret).”

Hiji-kuden [秘事口傳] means a secret teaching that should only be transmitted orally†. __________ *In the modern language, it would be me ni mieru-hodo ni [目に見えるほどに].

†In other words, the perfect alignment of the utensil with the kane, even though it is easily taken note of, is, itself, the secret teaching. (Generally, such teachings are notably less than apparent, or less than obvious. As a result, many might be tempted to underestimate the importance of this point.)

¹³Migi wo suri, hidari wo suru-koto shisai aru-koto nari [右ヲスリ、左ヲスルコト子細アルコトナリ].

Shisai [子細] means reasons, circumstances, details, particulars.

In other words, the direction in which the utensil is displaced depends on things like the size of the various utensils*, the orientation of the room (with displacing it slightly away from the guests† being preferred), and so on. These are the things alluded to by shisai. __________ *The direction will depend on how close the neighboring utensils approach. Remember, though, that this displacement is so slight that it is almost unnoticeable.

†When the guests are seated on the host's right, the preferred displacement would be toward them, as a consequence of the inversion of the room while the things on the daisu retain their original configurations.

¹⁴Tsune no dōgu, suri-gane to iu-koto ha nashi [常ノ道具、スリガネト云コトハナシ].

Tsune no dōgu [常の道具] means ordinary utensils; common or non-meibutsu utensils.

Suri-gane to iu-koto [摺りガネと云うこと] means “what we refer to as ‘rubbing against the kane....’”

¹⁵Sōan ni koma-goma no kane ginmi ni mo oyobazu-yō nare-domo [草菴ニコマ〰ノカネ吟味ニモ不及ヤウナレドモ].

Koma-goma [細々] means minutely, in detail.

Ginmi [吟味] means to examine, to investigate.

Oyobazu-yō [不及よう = 及ばずよう] means unnecessary to do (something).

Nare-domo [なれども] means but, however, even if, though.

¹⁶Hitotsu-mono nado ha komayaka ni kanben-subeshi [一物ナドハコマヤカニ勘辨スベシ].

Komayaka ni [細かに] means to inspect (something) carefully.

Kanben-subeshi [勘辨すべし] means (we) should be tolerant (of doing that).

In other words, since hitotsu-mono orientation is used only in the case of extremely important utensils, when such things are used in the sōan*, everyone should respect the rules of correct placement. __________ *Technically, such things should really not be used in the sōan. Nevertheless, if the host owns such a utensil, there is no reason he should not use it -- if he has a special reason for wishing to do so.

¹⁷Shikaru yue ni tsune-no-dōgu mo somatsu ni oki-soroeba hitotsu-mono no yō ni oke-nasu nari [シカルユヘニ常ノ道具モ麁末ニ置候ヘバ一物ノヤウニ置ナス也].

Somatsu [麁末 = 粗末] means crude, coarse, rough -- and so acting in such a manner, negligently.

¹⁸Tan-ren kan-yō no koto nari [煆煉肝要ノコト也].

Tan-ren [煆煉 = 鍛練] means discipline, training.

Kan-yō no koto [肝要のこと] means something that is crucial, imperative, indispensable.

1 note · View note

chanoyu-to-wa · 4 years

Text

Nampō Roku, Book 5 (49): the Shin [眞] Way to Display a Famous Variety of Incense.

49) Mei-kō shin no kazari [名香眞ノカサリ]¹.

[The writing (at the bottom of the sketch) reads: tori-oroshite koko ni (取ヲロシテコヽニ)²; hakobi (ハコヒ)³.]

The kaki-ire [書入]⁴:

① When a famous incense is displayed in a fukuro⁵, certainly the fukuro should be [made] of donsu [純子]⁶, and [the himo] tied in a splendid manner⁷.

Inside the fukuro, [the incense] should be wrapped in gilded paper, or silvered paper. Two pieces [of incense] should be [enclosed in the wrapper], [along with] two uchi-shiki gin-ban [打敷銀盤]⁸.

The kōro should be brought out [from the katte, at the beginning of the temae]⁹.

An ordinary variety of incense may also be enclosed in a fukuro [made of] cloth-of-gold¹⁰.

﹆ As shown, it is suitable to fold the corners [of the wrapper]. Here, too, the uchi-shiki should be enclosed [along with the pieces of incense]¹¹.

﹆ Also, uchi-gumori-kami [打曇紙] may be used [as the material out of which to make the kō-tsutsumi] -- so long as the [pattern of] trailing mist does not [appear to] pass completely through [from the outside to the inside of the paper]¹².

﹆ With respect to the wrapping paper: one sheet is folded in half, with the folded [edge] toward the front. It is then folded up in the usual manner¹³.

As with the previous [type of kō-tsutsumi], it is best for the uchi-shiki to be enclosed [together with the pieces of incense]¹⁴.

② When one piece of incense has been burned, when one piece remains [in the kō-tsutsumi], there is the case where it is again displayed on the upper level [of the daisu]¹⁵. However, if both pieces have been burned, naturally it is better if the [empty] fukuro is taken in[to the katte]¹⁶.

③ Again, even if one piece [of incense] remains, in general, when it will be taken in[to the katte], the fukuro [containing the remaining piece of incense enclosed in its paper wrapper] is placed by itself on a small tray¹⁷.

To be sure, it is always acceptable to bring it in[to the katte, when the appreciation of incense is over]¹⁸.

_________________________

¹Mei-kō shin no kazari [名香眞ノカサリ].

“Famous incense, the shin display.”

Mei-kō [名香] -- “famous incense” -- means a variety of incense that was selected in ancient times, and given a special name. The aforementioned Ranjatai [蘭奢待] is one very well-known example (even today); and that known as Momiji no gyo-ga [紅葉乃御賀]*, one of Ashikaga Yoshimasa's treasures (shown below), is another.

This is the shin [眞] arrangement, because the incense (tied in a cloth fukuro), placed on a tray, is displayed as a mine-suri [峰摺り] in the middle of the ten-ita of the daisu. The arrangement is contrived to do especial honor to the incense. __________ *This variety of kyara [伽羅] is one of the roku-jū-isshu mei-kō [六十一種名香] -- the sixty varieties of incense selected by Shino Sōshin [志野宗信; 1443? ~ 1523?] for Ashikaga Yoshimasa. Shino Sōshin was a member of the expatriate Korean community of Sakai (his line, however, became extinct in 1571, while his school was carried on -- with considerable modification -- by the last Korean generation’s Japanese disciples).

²Tori-oroshite koko ni [取ヲロシテコヽニ].

“When [the tray bearing the mei-kō] is lowered [to the mat], [it is placed] here.”

³Hakobi [ハコヒ].

“Carried out [from the katte].”

A tray* bearing the kōro, taki-gara-ire [炷空入], and a pair of kyōji [香筋]†, is brought out from the katte at the beginning of the appreciation of incense.

Mei-kō would most likely be appreciated at the beginning of the shoza‡. __________ *This tray may be of any shape, and any size that can fit comfortably on the left side of the mat -- without interfering with the hibashi (if they are the sort that are rested on the ji-ita).

A round tray is shown in the sketch to contrast with the tray on which the Shino-bukuro was displayed, though this is not an actual rule: the host would always use the best trays he owned.

†Ebony or ivory chopsticks used to handle the piece of kyara incense.

‡Meaning that the hibashi would be either placed on the ji-ita of the daisu, to the left of the furo, or arranged on the go-sun-ita, as is usual when incense will be appreciated first.

⁴The complete texts of the kaki-ire read:

① mei-kō wo kō-bukuro ni te kazaru-toki, kanarazu donsu no fukuro nari, musubi-gata mo kekkō ni subeshi, fukuro no uchi ni kin-gami ka gin-gami ni tsutsumite, ni-su aru-beshi, uchi-shiki gin-ban ni mai ari, kōro ha hakobu, tada no kō kin-iri no fukuro ni te mo

[名香ヲ香袋ニテカサルトキ、必純子ノ袋也、ムスヒカタモケツカウニスヘシ、袋ノ内ニ金紙カ銀紙ニ包テ、二炷アルヘシ、打シキ銀バン二枚アリ、香爐ハハコフ、凡ノ香金入ノ袋ニテモ];

﹆ kaku no gotoki sumi-ori mo yoshi, kore mo uchi-shiki iri-oku-beshi

[如此スミ折モヨシ、コレモ打シキ入ヲクヘシ];

﹆ mata uchi-gumori no kami ha kiri wo tōsanu-yue tsutsumi ni yōyu

[又ウチクモリノ紙ハ霧ヲ通サヌユヘ包ニ用ユ];

﹆ tsutsumi-kami no koto, ichi-hira wo ni-jū ni orite, ori-taru kata wo mae ni shite, tsune no tsutsumi ni shi, mae no kata ni uchi-shiki wo iru mo yoshi

[ツヽミ紙ノコト、一ヒラヲ二重ニヲリテ、折タル方ヲ前ニシテ、ツネノツヽミニシ、前ノ方ニ打敷ヲ入ルモヨシ]*;

② kō ichi-su takite, ima ichi-su nokori-taru toki, mata jō-dan ni kazari-koto ari, ni-su tomo ni taki-taraba, mochiron fukuro ha tori-iru-beshi

[香一炷タキテ、今一炷殘リタルトキ、又上段ニカサルコトアリ、二炷トモニタキタラハ、勿論袋ハ取入ヘシ];

③ mata ichi-su nokorite mo, ō-yoso hairu-toki ha ko-bon ni fukuro bakari hitotsu nosete, ika ni mo kekō ni hakobi-ire-beshi

[又一炷ノコリテモ、凡入ルトキハ小盆ニ袋ハカリ一ツノセテ、イカニモケツカウニ運入ヘシ]. __________ *The text, at least as it was printed in the Sadō Ko-ten Zen-shu [茶道古典全集] version of the Enkaku-ji text is partially inverted (and contains several questionable readings).

Shibayama Fugen gives what appears to be the original version of the text:

﹆ tsutsumi-kami no koto, Mino-kami wo futae-orite ori-taru kata wo mae ni shite, tsune no tsutsumi ni shi, mae no kata ni ori-shiki wo iru mo yoshi, mata uchi-gumori no kami ha kiri wo tōsanu yue, tsutsumi ni yō

[包ミ紙ノコト、ミノ紙ヲ二重ニ折リテ折タル方ヲ前ニシテ、常ノ包ニシ、前ノ方ニ折シキヲ入ルモヨシ、又内曇ノ紙ハ霧ヲトホサヌ故、包ニ用フ].

⁵Fukuro [袋] refers to the object usually referred to as a Shino-bukuro [志野袋] today. This kind of fukuro is shown below.

This kind of bag is made more or less like a chaire-no-shifuku, with a round bottom (reinforced by a circle of cardboard), with the straight sides a little less than half of the diameter high. It is tied by a long himo -- which traditionally was tied in any of 12 different styles (corresponding to the twelve months of the year), among other systems.

Traditionally, the size was variable (and, in the past, usually much larger than the examples commercially produced and sold today -- often, in fact, determined by the size of a kō-bukuro that was made by some esteemed master of earlier times). Also, while modern-day examples are usually made from scraps of meibutsu-gire (often in contrasting colors and textile types), in the early period, they were specially made, and sewn from the same kind of cloth. The color of the himo was also variable.

◎ The fukuro is used as an alternative to a kōgō -- specifically so as to avoid anything taking the guests’ attention away from the incense itself.

⁶Donsu [純子].

Donsu [純子] is a miswriting of donsu [緞子], meaning a kind of twill-weave silk. Usually two contrasting colors of thread are employed in the weaving.

Chinese donsu was an exceptionally soft kind of cloth, and so was much used for the indoor wear of the upper classes. By the fifteenth century, imported cloth of all kinds was becoming rare, on account of the Chinese trade embargo, and so the cloth from robes that had worn out at the knees was often recycled (using the breast pieces and sleeves) for cushion covers, cloth bags and other sorts of wrappings, and the mounting of scrolls.

As is generally true throughout Book Five of the Nampō Roku, these kaki-ire were added during the Edo period, and reflect ideas current at that time: where donsu was categorized as being suitable for use (as the shifuku) with “shin” [眞] utensils*; kinran [金襴], for “gyō” [行] utensils†; and kanto [カント = 韓渡], for “sō” [草] utensils‡ -- though, in fact, in the early days people used the best cloth to which they had access: first, donsu (in the fifteenth century, and before), then kanto (at the time when locally made utensils started to become common, in the sixteenth century), and finally (white) kinran (which was the first sort of cloth imported from China as the embargo began to be lifted around the middle of the sixteenth century). __________ *Generally defined, at that time, as utensils imported from the continent (primarily China). These were the pieces that were designated ō-meibutsu [大名物] by Kobori Masakazu [小堀正一; 1579 ~ 1647; later he used 小堀政一] (Enshū [遠州]).

†Korean-made utensils, and old Seto pieces (made in the fifteenth century, to order for the Korean expatriate community, so that they could replace the tea utensils that they had left behind when fleeing the Ming invasions in the middle of that century). Enshū referred to these pieces as meibutsu [名物] and chū-ko meibutsu [中古名物], depending on whether they were famous during Rikyū's day, or whether their renown began to spread during the early Edo period.

‡Japanese-made pieces dating from the middle of the sixteenth century and after.

⁷Mei-kō wo kō-bukuro ni te kazaru-toki, kanarazu donsu no fukuro nari, musubi-gata mo kekkō ni subeshi [名香ヲ香袋ニテカサルトキ、必純子ノ袋也、ムスヒカタモケツカウニスヘシ].

“When famous incense is displayed in a kō-bukuro [香袋], absolutely it should be a fukuro [made] of donsu; the way [the himo] is tied should also be splendid.”

Kō-bukuro [香袋], as explained above, refers to the drawstring-bag called a Shino-bukuro today.

Donsu [純子] means donsu [緞子], twill-weave silk -- usually (though not always*) woven using two different colors of threads.

Musubi-gata mo kekkō ni subeshi [ムスヒカタモケツカウニスヘシ]: musubi-gata [結び形] refers to the way that the himo is tied (that is, the style or shape of the knot); kekkō [結構] means “splendid,” “nice,” “wonderful” (in other words, the shape or style of the knot should be exceptionally elaborate†). The person responsible for this kaki-ire seems to have been poorly informed regarding the details of the musubi-gata, or the precedents the that governred the host’s choice of knots. __________ *When only one color is present -- whether it was the threads that were dyed, or the cloth (after it was woven) -- the cloth is known as kaiki [海氣] (the name refers to the visual appearance of the surface of the ocean, caused by wind blowing across it).

†There are several classical collections of such knots, which usually feature a different version (usually resembling the shape of a flower or insect unique to that time of year) for each of the months or seasons.

⁸Fukuro no uchi ni kin-gami ka gin-gami ni tsutsumite, ni-su aru-beshi, uchi-shiki gin-ban ni mai ari [袋ノ内ニ金紙カ銀紙ニ包テ、二炷アルヘシ、打シキ銀バン二枚アリ].

“Within the fukuro, [the pieces of incense] are wrapped in gilded or silvered paper; there should be two pieces; [and] two uchi-shiki gin-ban should also be [enclosed in the kō-tsutsumi].”

Kin-gami [金紙], gin-kami [銀紙]: these words refer to decorative paper that has had gold or silver foil pasted onto one side*.

Ni-su [二炷]: su [炷] is the counting word for pieces of incense -- in this case two pieces. (The kanji is also read taki [炷], as in taki-gara-ire [炷空入], the receptacle for the burned-out pieces of incense). Two pieces were originally used in case one piece was dropped (into the ash in the kōro, for example). Then, rather than digging through the ash (and making a mess of everything), the host could simply use the second piece†.

Uchi-shiki gin-ban [打シキ銀バン = 打敷銀盤]: uchi-shiki [打敷] means to throw-down underneath (something); and gin-ban [銀盤] means a silver plate or saucer. Uchi-shiki gin-ban is an alternate name for the gin-yō [銀葉], the little mica squares‡ on which the piece of kyara is heated in the kōro**.

It appears that this statement was (rather curiously -- since a kō-bukuro and a kō-tsutsumi are hardly the same thing, and uchi [内] refers to the things kept in the kō-bukuro, rather than to its lining) conflated with the previous one, giving rise to the little ko-tsutsumi (made of gilded paper with a piece of donsu glued onto the outer side) sold for use (primarily by practitioners of chanoyu) today. __________ *Using this kind of paper to make the kō-tsutsumi is one possibility. Other versions (using colored Mino-gami [美濃紙], and uchi-gumori kami [打曇紙]) will be described later in the kaki-ire.

The reason why gilded or silvered paper was used was that the metal foil helped to prevent external odors from passing through the kō-tsutsumi, and infiltrating the kyara incense.

†The author of the kaki-ire appears to have been unaware of this reasoning, and so appears to assume that the host might wish to burn both pieces for some reason -- even though they are the same variety of incense.

‡In ancient times, rather than mica, a small silver plate (of the same size and thickness) was used instead. This is the origin of the name gin-yō [銀葉] which means “sliver leaf” (some ancient examples, rather than being square, seem to have actually been shaped like a leaf, with a slightly raised rim).

**As with the two pieces of kyara, two gin-yō are placed in the kō-tsutsumi in case the host accidentally drops one.

⁹Kōro ha hakobu [香爐ハハコフ].

“The kōro is carried out [from the katte].”

In other words, it is carried out, rather than being displayed on the daisu.

The reason is that, when the gathering is going to appreciate mei-kō, the censer should be of exceptional quality as well. For this reason, it is not displayed on the daisu -- so that it will not compete with the incense for the guests’ attention. (Because the piece of incense is consumed as it is appreciated, the host’s decision to use mei-kō is an absolute gift to the guests.)

¹⁰Tada no kō kin-iri no fukuro ni te mo [凡ノ香金入ノ袋ニテモ].

“Ordinary incense, can also [be tied] in a fukuro made from cloth with gold [threads].”

¹¹Kaku no gotoki sumi-ori mo yoshi, kore mo uchi-shiki iri-oku-beshi [如此スミ折モヨシ、コレモ打シキ入ヲクヘシ].

"Just like this, it is also suitable for [the kō-tsutsumi] to have the corners folded; here, too, the uchi-shiki [gin-ban] should be enclosed."

There were two ways to fold the kō-tsutsumi:

◦ the simpler form was made with the paper oriented as a square, and first folded into thirds (more or less), with the upper and lower edges folded backward (so that they overlapped each other slightly, allowing one to be tucked into the other to keep the kō-tsutsumi closed);

◦ the more elaborate version (which Tanaka Senshō states was created by Shino Sōshin) is made by orienting the paper as a diamond, and then folding the corners into flaps (as shown below).

Though less commonly seen today (when the production of kō-tsutsumi has been largely commercialized), other versions have been created by practitioners over the centuries.

¹²Mata uchi-gumori no kami ha kiri wo tōsanu-yue tsutsumi ni yōyu [又ウチクモリノ紙ハ霧ヲ通サヌユヘ包ニ用ユ].

“And again, uchi-gumori no kami [打曇紙]* -- but folded so that the [pattern resembling] mist does not pass through -- can also be used as a wrapper.”

Uchi-gumori kami [打曇紙] is a sort of paper that was widely used for writing poetry during the second half of the Edo period.

This kind of paper -- which is a variety of tori-no-ko kami [鳥の子紙]† -- features two dyed bands -- in authentic uchi-gumori kami, one is blue, and one is purple (according to tradition, the paper should be used with the blue bands toward the top of the page, and the purple bands near the bottom). The dyed bands are referred to as kiri [霧], which means “a trailing line of mist” (such as are seen on the mountain sides during rainy spells in spring).

When making a kō-tsutsumi, the paper is first folded in half to make a more or less square shape‡. Then this square is folded into the desired shape. (The paper is folded in half first so that the rough side of the paper** will be on the inside, and so visible neither on the outside, nor inside the kō-tsutsumi).

When using a piece of uchi-gumori paper, care should be taken that it is not originally folded so that the dyed bands are aligned on both sides of the square (so that it looks like the colored dye had seeped completely through the paper -- which could give a feeling that the paper had not been folded in half first).

There are several issues with this statement, and its current location in the document. Mata [又], the word with which the sentence begins, suggests that this text should follow another reference to the paper from which the kō-tsutsumi is made (in Shibayama Fugen’s version, this sentence comes at the end of this kaki-ire); and, as for the last word, rather than yōyu [用ユ] (which has no meaning), Shibayama Fugen’s manuscript has yō [用フ] -- perhaps indicating that the paper on which the original was written was decaying (or perhaps it was simply a copyist’s error)††. __________ *It is also written uchi-gumori [内曇紙] -- though purists consider this usage to be erroneous.

†Tori-no-ko kami [鳥の子紙] is a variety of paper that has one side finished into a rather hard, smooth surface (resembling the shell of an egg). It was originally made for use as wallpaper (with the rougher side facing toward the wall). This kind of paper was frequently used for both shiki-shi [色紙] and tanzaku [短冊], and so has a long history of elegant associations.

‡Alternately, two square pieces of paper were sometimes placed one on top of the other, with the finished sides facing outward above and below, and so folded into the kō-tsutsumi as if they were a single sheet.

**Handmade paper is usually “finished” on only one side -- while the other side is rougher.

††In Shibayama Fugen’s manuscript, the text of this kaki-ire reads: tsutsumi-kami no koto, Mino-kami wo futae-orite ori-taru kata wo mae ni shite, tsune no tsutsumi ni shi, mae no kata ni ori-shiki wo iru mo yoshi, mata uchi-gumori no kami ha kiri wo tōsanu yue, tsutsumi ni yō [包ミ紙ノコト、ミノ紙ヲ二重ニ折リテ折タル方ヲ前ニシテ、常ノ包ニシ、前ノ方ニ折シキヲ入ルモヨシ、又内曇ノ紙ハ霧ヲトホサヌ故、包ニ用フ]. This means:

“Concerning the tsutsumi-kami: [a piece of] Mino-kami is folded in two, [with] the folded edge toward the front, and it is folded [into a kō-tsutsumi] in the usual way. As in the previous [instance] it would be best if the ori-shiki [gin-ban] is also inserted in[to the kō-tsutsumi].

“And again, if uchi-gumori paper [is used], because the ‘trailing mist’ should not [appear to] pass through [to the inner side], it should be wrapped accordingly.”

Mino-gami [美濃紙] is one type of Japanese traditional paper. It is fibrous, though smooth on one side, and semi-translucent. It was used as writing paper in the Edo period. Mino-gami is thinner than tori-no-ko, and its use for the kō-tsutsumi was probably championed by the wabi-chajin affiliated with the Sen family. (In a sense, Mino-gami is the polar opposite of uchi-gumori kami.)

Both Shibayama Fugen and Tanaka Senshō (whose text agrees with the Enkaku-ji version as printed in the Sadō ko-ten zen-shu, and the Gunsho rui-jū [羣書類従] version of Tachibana Jitsuzan’s original copy of the text, the sketch from which is shown at the head of this post -- though, as has been noted, the kaki-ire seem to have been added later) argue that this kaki-ire was probably added many decades after Tachibana Jitsuzan and the original group of Enkaku-ji scholars finished annotating these sketches.

¹³Tsutsumi-kami no koto, ichi-hira wo ni-jū ni orite, ori-taru kata wo mae ni shite, tsune no tsutsumi ni shi [ツヽミ紙ノコト、一ヒラヲ二重ニヲリテ、折タル方ヲ前ニシテ、ツネノツヽミニシ].

“With respect to the tsutsumi-kami, one sheet is folded in half, with the folded edge toward the front; then it is folded as usual.”

Ichi-hira wo ni-jū ni orite [一ヒラヲ二重ニヲリテ]: ichi-hira [一平] means a single sheet of paper; ni-jū means doubled, two layered. In other words, a single sheet of paper is folded exactly in half.

Sometimes, rather than a single sheet, two pieces of paper (often of contrasting or complementing colors) were placed one on top of the other, and so folded together. In more recent times, paper has been finished on both sides (again, often using different colors), allowing a single sheet to produce the same sort of effect. (High quality origami paper was often made like this.)

¹⁴Mae no kata ni uchi-shiki wo iru mo yoshi [前ノ方ニ打敷ヲ入ルモヨシ].

“As in the previous one, it is better for the uchi-shiki [gin-ban] to be inserted [into the kō-tsutsumi].”

This kaki-ire is addressing a different way to make the kō-tsutsumi.

But once made, all kō-tsutsumi should be handled in the same manner -- meaning that, irrespective of how any given wrapper was made, the kō-tsutsumi should contain two pieces of kyara incense, and two gin-yō (on which the incense will be burned).

¹⁵Kō ichi-su takite, ima ichi-su nokori-taru toki, mata jō-dan ni kazari-koto ari [香一炷タキテ、今一炷殘リタルトキ、又上段ニカサルコトアリ].

“After one piece of incense has been burned, so that now one piece remains, there is the case where once again it may be displayed on the jō-dan.”

Jō-dan [上段], meaning the upper level, is the word used in these kaki-ire for the ten-ita [天板] of the daisu -- the upper shelf.

In other words, this kaki-ire is saying that since this incense is so precious (and this is not just referring to its monetary value, but also to its historical associations), it is acceptable that, if one piece remains, it is returned to the ten-ita of the daisu afterward.

¹⁶Ni-su tomo ni taki-taraba, mochiron fukuro ha tori-iru-beshi [二炷トモニタキタラハ、勿論袋ハ取入ヘシ].

“When two pieces have been burned, naturally the fukuro is better taken in[to the katte].”

If no incense is left, there is no reason why the Shino-bukuro should ever be returned to the ten-ita. Naturally, it is appropriate to remove it, after it is empty.

¹⁷Mata ichi-su nokorite mo, ō-yoso hairu-toki ha ko-bon ni fukuro bakari hitotsu nosete [又一炷ノコリテモ、凡入ルトキハ小盆ニ袋ハカリ一ツノセテ].

“Also, when one piece [of incense] remains, it is usual, when taking it in[to the katte], for the fukuro [containing the unburnt piece of incense] to be set on a small tray.”

When removing the kō-bukuro from the room, it should be placed -- by itself -- on a small tray (which would be the same tray on which it was displayed at the beginning), and carried out in that way.

The point is that it is wrong to carry the fukuro out (whether it is empty or contains the remaining unburnt piece of incense) in the hand; and it is also wrong to place it on the tray together with the other incense utensils, removing everything in one trip. The fukuro (whether or not it is empty) should be formally removed by itself.

¹⁸Ika ni mo kekō ni hakobi-ire-beshi [イカニモケツカウニ運入ヘシ].

“Certainly, it is fine to carry it in[to the katte].”

In other words, it is always acceptable for the host to take the kō-bukuro back to the katte at the conclusion of the appreciation of incense -- whether or not the fukuro is empty.

Lifting the kō-bukuro back up to the ten-ita is tolerated, as an extraordinary gesture of respect for the incense (if that is how the host is thinking). But, since there is no actual reason for him to do so (since incense will naturally not be appreciated again during the same gathering), it is generally better to simply remove it. What is not mentioned is that -- for the same reason that Shino Sōshin's fukuro-dana had a lock on the ji-fukuro (which was were the host stored his precious pieces of kyara) -- it is better not to put temptation in the way of the guests (if only because this might give them some stress).

——————————————–———-—————————————————

◎ Analysis of the Arrangement.

The kyara and gin-yō are enclosed in a kō-bukuro, which is then tied in a Shino-bukuro, and that is placed on a small tray, and so arranged (as a mine-suri [峰摺り]) on the central kane, in the middle of the ten-ita of the daisu, with the habōki contacting the left-most kane.

The furo and kaigu will be arranged as always on the ji-ita, albeit with the hibashi placed either on the left side of the ji-ita (as shown), or on the go-sun-ita (depending on their quality), so that the host will not have to disturb the tea utensils during the appreciation of incense.

At the beginning of the temae, the small tray is lowered to the right side of the mat, a little closer to the center than a chaire-bon; and a tray on which is resting the kōro, taki-gara-ire, and kyōji, is brought out from the katte and placed on the left side of the mat (with care being taken that it does not prevent the host from accessing the hibashi freely either at the beginning, or after the tadon [炭團] has been inserted into the kōro).

5 notes · View notes