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chanoyu-to-wa · 7 years ago

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Rikyū Chanoyu Sho, Book 6 (Part 10c): from the Sōtan Nikki [宗湛日記], (1590) Ninth Month, 20th Day; Midday (Part 2).

[The charcoal utensils used for the sumi-temae at the beginning of the sho-za¹.]

￮ Sumi-tori: hyōtan [炭斗・瓢簞]²; ◦ hane: wrapped with bamboo-sheath³; ◦ kuwa-e suji [クワヱ筋]⁴.

￮ Within the dōko [道籠]⁵: ◦ [on the shelf] the nakatsugi, inserted into a fukuro, and aligned with the exact center of the [cha]wan⁶; ◦ [and] below, mizusashi, beside which was the mizu-koboshi⁷.

￮ At the beginning, the hishaku was [placed on the shelf together with the chawan and nakatsugi] facing upward⁸, and afterward it was hung on the wall [of the dōko]⁹.

◎ Things that were discussed [during the gathering]¹⁰:

With respect to the matter of resting the chashaku on top of [the lid of] the katatsuki, this [practice] was first proposed by [Shu]kō¹¹. He began doing this with [the kansaku-karamono katatsuki called] Nage-zukin [ナケ頭巾]¹².

It was also with [the shifuku for] this same [Nage-zukin chaire] that [Shukō] began tying the o [緒] in an abbreviated manner¹³. Following the [precedent established by the] Nage-zukin [chaire], the ways [we continue] to do these things were all laid down by Shukō.¹⁴

▵ In the shoin¹⁵, on the dashi-zukue [ダシツクヱ]¹⁶:

◦ [With respect to the pair of bun-chin [文鎮]¹⁷, they are] 1-shaku 1- or 2-sun long, and they have a delicate design [etched] within the [upper face]¹⁸.

[Sōtan’s sketch of the objects arranged on Rikyū’s dashi-fu-zukue (built-in writing desk). The writing reads (from the right, above to below): suri-kake no sumi nari (スリカケノ墨ナリ)¹⁹; soto suji-kaete (ソトスヂカヘテ)²⁰; kane no ningyō (カネノ人形)²¹; Kōrai-hitsu nari (髙ライ筆也)²²; kane no ushi (カネノ牛)²³; maru-suzuri (丸スヾリ)²⁴; umi ・ usagi (海・ウサギ)²⁵.]

[This is the end of Kamiya Sōtan’s record of this gathering in the Sōtan Nikki. The reader will notice that Sōtan has made no mention of the menu of the kaiseki, concentrating his remarks primarily on the things that interested him.]

_________________________

¹I added this sentence to clarify when, during the gathering, the sumi-dōgu were used (since Sōtan’s way of organizing this entry does not make this clear).

²Sumi-tori ・ hyōtan [炭斗・瓢簞]*.

That is, a fukube [ふくべ = 瓢], to use the name used by Jōō and Rikyū. A sumi-tori made from a large dried gourd.

According to his writings, when the kama was suspended from the ceiling, Rikyū used a te-fukube [手ふくべ = 手瓢] -- a gourd with a handle-like portion of the skin left to over-arch the mouth -- since the kan were not available to help stabilize the hibashi when they rested across the mouth of the sumi-tori. __________ *Hyōtan [瓢簞] technically means an hour-glass-shaped bottle-gourd. This is different from a fukube, which is shaped like a large bowl.

³Hane ・ take-no-kawa ni te tsutsumite [羽・竹ノ皮ニテ包ミテ].

Hane [羽] is another name for the habōki [羽箒]. Sōtan is describing the fact that the handle of the habōki was wrapped by bamboo-sheath (and tied by two or three paper cords).

In the small room, Rikyū always used a habōki made from feathers that were 5-sun long. Thus this kind of habōki is often called a go-sun-hane [五寸羽].

Traditionally the feathers of the striped owl (shima-bukuro [縞梟]) were used for the go-sun-hane (as in the example shown above).

The habōki would have been placed on the shelf in the dōko before the sumi-temae, perhaps in association with the kōgō.

⁴Kuwa-e suji* [クワヱ筋].

Hibashi [火箸] with handles (e [柄]) made of mulberry (kuwa [桑]) wood.

Rikyū’s ro-yō no hibashi [爐用の火箸] are shown above.

It is likely that Rikyū also used his su-yaki [素焼] hai-hōroku [灰炮烙]† and a lacquered copper haisaji [灰匙] -- also sporting a mulberry-wood handle -- which are shown above‡. ___________ *Suji [筋] is a classical word for hashi [箸], and specifically was the word used to refer to the hibashi by followers of the Shino school of incense -- hence Jōō’s adoption of the term for use in the context of the chakai during his middle years (the period when his influence on chanoyu outside of the Kyōto-Ōsaka-Sakai area was most pervasive).

†This hai-hōroku was made for Rikyū by Chōjirō.

‡Since Sōtan does not mention a kōgō -- and since he probably would have remembered Rikyū’s ruri-suzume kōgō [瑠璃雀香盒] -- it is at least possible that Rikyū did not use one, opting to place the piece of neri-kō on the hai-saji (since this gathering was being held in the middle of the day following a morning gathering, thus the sumi-temae would have been more a matter of repairing the fire, hence abbreviations of this sort would have been appropriate).

⁵Dōko ni ha [道籠ニハ].

Sōtan is referring to the dōko [洞庫] -- a sliding-door cupboard located in the wall on the left side of the utensil mat, in which the utensils could be arranged for ready access from the host’s seat -- and he is going to describe how the utensils were arranged in it.

Note that this was an ordinary dōko (of the type created by Jōō)*, which has a wooden floor, not a mizuya-dōko [水屋洞庫] such as Rikyū had in his Mozuno ko-yashiki. (When the room has a mizuya-dōko, the host does not need a mizu-koboshi, since he pours the used water directly into the dōko.) ___________ *Jōō’s dōko-dana [洞庫棚] was like that shown below: it was a simple box, with a top, a bottom, two sides, and a shelf that crossed from side to side slightly above the middle (this shelf did not extend all the way to the front edge of the box on the side facing the tearoom, however, thus leaving room for a bamboo peg to be nailed into the wall on the upper side of the dōko-dana -- from which the hishaku could be suspended at the end of the temae).

The front side of the dōko-dana was completely open (the sliding door that obscured its contents from being viewed by the guests, was held in tracks that were installed in the tearoom itself; and the dōko-dana was simply placed next to the opening in the wall that was covered by the sliding door), and the back side was usually hinged (so that the interior could be accessed from outside the room -- usually from within the katte).

The original dōko-dana had a pair of sliding doors on the katte-side of the tana, while later versions had a single hinged door that swung into the katte (sometimes with a smaller hinged door opening in one corner of the larger panel, through which the koboshi could be removed as soon as it was placed in the dōko at the end of the temae without disturbing the guests or host).

⁶Nakatsugi, fukuro ni irete, wan to mannaka ni oki-awasete [中續、袋ニ入、碗トマン中ニ置合テ].

The nakatsugi was tied into its shifuku, and then aligned with the chawan on the shelf (inside the dōko, as shown in the sketch below).

⁷Waki ni mizu-koboshi [ワキニ水下].

The mizu-koboshi was placed on the floor of the dōko, on the left (“lower*”) side of the mizusashi (as shown above).

The futaoki was placed inside the mizu-koboshi. ___________ *The “upper side” of the dōko is the side toward the head of the utensil mat, where the temae is performed; the “lower side” is the side closest to the katte-guchi.

⁸Hishaku ha saki ni ao-mukete [ヒシヤクハサキニ仰テ].

Saki ni [先に] means at the beginning (of the temae).

The hishaku was placed on the shelf (together with the chawan and the nakatsugi) when Rikyū prepared the dōko for the go-za.

This is also shown in the above sketch of the initial arrangement of the dōko.

⁹Ato ni ha kabe ni kakaru [後ニハカベニカヽル].

Ato ni [後に] means afterward -- at the end of the temae.

At the end of the temae, the hishaku was hung on a bamboo peg that was nailed into the side-wall of the dōko, while the futaoki was placed on the floor of the dōko near its handle.

The disposition of the various utensils in the toko at the end of the temae is shown above -- the mizusashi, meanwhile, was probably left on the utensil mat, beside the mukō-ro (according to what is written in Rikyū’s densho).

However, some commentators argue that, rather than hanging the hishaku in the dōko, Rikyū had nailed a bamboo peg into the wall on the left side of the room, and that kabe ni kakaru [かべに掛る] refers to hanging the hishaku on this peg (probably with the futaoki placed on the mat near its handle). The problem here is that the fusuma that covers the front of the dōko needs to slide along the wall, making the peg arrangement almost impossible. If the dōko was especially small, this might be a possibility; but in other rooms that Rikyū built around this time, the dōko was fully 3-shaku wide (and so much larger than the dōko that Jōō included in his 4.5-mat room*), and so the fusuma would have to slide completely to the corner at the far end of the mat.

This difficulty could be avoided by making the dōko have two doors, perhaps, but dōko of that sort were created by Sen no Sōtan; Rikyū’s dōko, like those of his teacher Jōō, only had a single sliding door. ___________ *While Jōō‘s dōko was smaller, it nevertheless was situated so that the mouth of the dōko reached the lower corner of the temae-za. And the reason why it was made smaller was because the katte-guchi (= sadō-guchi) had to be able to open fully (on the back side of the wall); thus the dōko had to fit between the lower corner of the temae-za and the point reached by the katte-guchi when it was opened completely (so the host could enter or exit the room).

Since the present room has its katte-guchi at the foot of the mat (rather than in the wall to the left of the mat as in the ordinary 4.5-mat room), the door will have no impact on the size of the dōko. But since the idea is that utensils lifted out of the dōko are then placed immediately onto the temae-za (without the host having to move forward on his knees to reach the temae-za), locating a small-sized dōko at the lower end of the utensil mat (just so that there would be room for a bamboo peg to be nailed into the wall on the far side of the track for the fusuma) would defeat the entire purpose of having a dōko.

¹⁰Go-zatsudan-goto [御雜��㕝].

Zatsudan [雜談 -- it is usually written “雑談” today] means to carry on an informal conversation, chat. Koto [㕝] is an alternate way of writing koto [事], which means “matter” or “affair.” In other words, “matters that were discussed.”

What follows this heading are brief notes that describe Rikyū’s answers to Sōtan’s questions -- which he would have brought up while Rikyū was serving him usucha.

¹¹Kō no shide-sōrō [光ノ仕出候].

Kō [光] is an abbreviation of Shukō's name.

Shide [仕出] means to bring something forth -- in other words, create or initiate a practice.

¹²Nage-zukin [投げ頭巾].

This was a kansaku-karamono* katatsuki chaire, that is now lost.

According to an Edo period description, the chaire stood 2-sun 9-bu tall, and was approximately 2-sun 3-bu in diameter -- and so slightly larger than a ko-tsubo, but smaller than a large katatsuki†. This text (including its accompanying sketch) is shown above, along with a Chinese copy of the Nage-zukin chaire (made to order for a Japanese customer during the Edo period‡).

However, the chaire’s inherent beauty aside, it was probably because the piece deviated from the demands of kane-wari that Shukō decided to use the chaire in the rather casual manner described (i.e., resting the chashaku on top of the lid). It was likely for this reason, too, that Shukō made the himo for its shifuku short (see footnote 13, below) -- so that it could not be tied in the elaborate knots that were used when displaying a chaire that conformed with the orthodox teachings.

The name Nage-zukin [投げ頭巾] means "to throw down ones zukin [頭巾]**": it is said that after Shukō came to Japan, while he was searching for suitable tea utensils, someone offered him this little jar. So struck was he at its beauty, that he took off his cap (a mark of respect, suggesting that he was effacing himself, or his understanding of the orthodox teachings of chanoyu, in its presence -- only people of low estate went bareheaded††) and threw it on the floor. The name was derived (some say by Shukō himself) from this anecdote. __________ *Kansaku-karamono pieces were made in Korea during the first half of the fifteenth century. Consequently, they better reflect the demands of chanoyu than chaire imported from China (which were made for other purposes than tea, usually for the souvenir trade -- holding single servings of medicinal liquor for men that was supposed to increase sexual potency, or special hair-oil for women reputed to have aphrodisiac properties -- the little containers were used as chaire in Korea after the contents had been consumed, since that was all that was left of the gift).

†Technically speaking, a ko-tsubo was 2-sun 2-bu in diameter or smaller; and a large katatsuki was 2-sun 5-bu in diameter or larger.

‡This practice seems to have been fairly common, especially among the daimyō owners of famous utensils (which sometimes had to be returned to the shōgunate upon the death of the individual to whom they had been presented), for whom it may have been a sort of insurance policy (since, if the chaire could not be returned because it had been lost or broken, the family might be required to forfeit a vast sum of money to the shōgun as an apology -- in addition to which a major investigation would likely have been launched, which could inflict all sorts of collateral damage on the family and its legacy).

In his book CHANOYU: the Japanese Tea Ceremony, A. L. Sadler describes an incident related to another famous chaire (in that case, the Hakata-bunrin [博多文琳] that formerly belonged to Kamiya Sōtan, but which was at the time of the story in the possession of the Kuroda family, the daimyō of the Fukuoka-han [福岡藩] -- into which fief Hakata had been incorporated):

“Takahashi Sōan, when recently making a complete survey of all the famous ‘Meibutsu’ for his work the ‘Taisho Meiki-kwan’ and taking photographs of them, was unable to get one of this Bunrin for it is still only displayed on the occasion of the succession of the heir, and it was explained to him that some misfortune would happen if they showed it at any other time. One who saw it when it was on view related that it was put in a row with five others so exactly like it that it was impossible to say which it was.”

**Up until Rikyū's day chajin traditionally wore some sort of head-covering when performing the temae. (Covering ones head with a cap that signified ones social rank was a Korean custom that persisted until the early 20th century.)

When made of cloth (which material perhaps designated a member of the merchant class), this cap was termed a zukin [頭巾]. (Members of the governing class wore stiff caps made from the long hairs of a horse's tail woven into a sort of gauzy fabric, which was then stiffened with lacquered.)

Wearing a zukin also helped to prevent hair from falling into the tea.

In the present day, the only people who usually effect a zukin are monks and laymen who have shaved their heads (become nyūdō [入道]).

††As can be seen from the photo of the copy of the Nage-zukin, the coloring of this chaire was extremely dramatic -- especially when compared with the majority of the ō-meibutsu pieces (which were mostly either very dark brown or black, or a lighter brown with the nadare suggested by darker patches -- such as is the case with the Hatsu-hana katatsuki [初花肩衝], shown above).

Hideyoshi’s swooning over Sōtan’s Hakata-bunrin [博多文琳] (shown under footnote 1 in the previous post) was likely caused by a similar effect in the case of that other visually remarkable chaire. Modern-made pieces with their strongly contrasting nadare were the direct offshoot of these famous examples of the potter’s art.

¹³Onaji o wo mijikaku musubi sōrō-koto [同緒ヲ短クムスヒ候㕝].

Literally, “in the same case, the cord was tied so that it was shorter.”

In other words, Shukō shortened the length of the cord*, and began to tie it with the simple knot that is still used today. __________ *According to Jōō's explanation that was quoted by Uesugi Kenshin in his commentary on the Chanoyu San-byak’ka Jō [茶湯三百箇條] (Three Hundred Lines of Chanoyu), Shukō determined the length of the himo in this way: he measured the width of the shifuku (A→B, in the sketch below), and then measured the length of the seam on the front and back sides of the shifuku from the base to the place where the sides of the shifuku separate (C→D, and E→F, respectively).

Adding these measurements together gives the length of the himo from the wa [輪] to the uchi-dome [打止] (below).

According to Shukō, the knot used to tie the shifuku is called a tsune no tonbo-musubi [常の蜻蛉結び], meaning an ordinary dragonfly knot. The sides of the knot are intended to suggest the wings of a dragonfly, the knot its head and eyes, and so the length of the himo beyond the uchi-dome should be appropriate to the length of the body of a dragonfly with a wingspan of this size.

¹⁴Nage-zukin yori, kono shitsuke itsure mo Shukō no shide sōrō nari [ナケツキンヨリ、此仕付イツレモ珠光ノ仕出候也].

Some versions of the Sōtan Nikki add the words hajime nari [始ナリ] to the first phrase: nage-zukin yori hajime nari, kono shitsuke itsure mo Shukō no shide sōrō nari [ナケツキンヨリ始ナリ、此仕付イツレモ��ノ仕出候也]. While this version emphasizes that these practices* began specifically with the Nage-zukin katatsuki, it does not really change the meaning of the sentence. __________ *In other words:

◦ resting the chashaku on top of the lid of the katatsuki; and,

◦ making the himo shorter so that it can be tied with a simplified knot.

¹⁵Shoin ni [書院ニ].

Sōtan here returns to his description of the arrangements.

This part of the entry refers to the 18-mat hiroma that adjoined the 2-mat ko-zashiki through the 6-mat katte (and 8-mat tsugi-no-ma [次の間]). A sketch of this part of Rikyū’s residence, based on Edo period documents, is shown below.

The hiroma is at the top with the 8-mat tsugi-no-ma below it; the 6-mat katte (where the kaiseki was served during gatherings held in the 2-mat room) is to the left of the tsugi-no-ma in this sketch, with the 2-mat room at the bottom left.

In the shoin (hiroma), the dashi-fu-zukue [出し文机] (built-in writing desk) is located above the 2-mat jō-dan [上段] (where Hideyoshi would have sat when attending a function in this room). The probable location of the daisu is also indicated, adjacent to the jō-dan.

And while modern versions of this room usually have a ro cut in the floor (Omotesenke’s Zangetsu-tei [殘月亭] is supposed to be a reconstruction of Rikyū’s Iro-shoin [色書院], “Colored Shoin”), there is no good evidence that Rikyū’s room actually had one. In Rikyū’s day, the shin-daisu was never used with the ro; but a shin-daisu was always used when serving tea in this large shoin.

¹⁶Dashi-zukue [ダシツクヱ].

The dashi-fu-zukue [出し文机], the built-in writing desk (which, during chakai, was typically used to display an assortment of antique writing equipment, old books, and so forth, for the guests delectation).

¹⁷Bun-chin [文鎮].

This sentence refers to the two long, rectangular objects visible on the right side of Sōtan’s sketch (with a third object resting on top of them).

Bun-chin are paperweights, used to keep the length of writing paper* flat and smooth while writing. Since the roll of paper was on the writer’s left, and the free end on his right, the paperweights were placed lengthwise on top of the two ends of the paper, to keep it smooth, and also to prevent it from rolling up while the person was writing.

Sōtan does not identify the bun-chin by name because this diary was only for his own reference, and he naturally would have known to what he was referring. Neither does he state what the bun-chin are made of: bronze was probably most common, though other metals such as silver and gold (and even iron), and also jade, were used for this purpose on occasion. ___________ *Rikyū was not a painter, so the purpose to which he put the collection of objects displayed on his dashi-fu-zukue (built-in writing desk) was writing letters.

Letter paper came in long rolls, and a length of the paper was spread out on the desk (the free end was on the person’s right, and the roll was on his left, as shown above), held down by the paperweights, in preparation for writing. When one approached the paperweight on the left side, the right weight was removed, the paper rolled up loosely (the ink could still be damp), and this was moved toward the right, so that a clean surface was opened up in front of the person, who continued until he was finished. Only then was the letter cut away from the roll (by custom, a certain amount of blank paper was supposed to remain to the left of the writer’s signature -- to show that the letter as received was intact, and that a postscript had not been removed by someone else prior to delivery).

¹⁸Nagasa isshaku ichi- ni-sun, uchi ni komaka ni mon ari [長サ一尺一二寸、内ニ細ニモンアリ].

Sōtan appears to be less skilled at estimating the size of objects than some of his contemporaries, so he guesses that the paperweights are 1-shaku 1- or 2-sun long (between 33.3 cm [a little over 13 inches], and 36.4 cm [roughly 14.3 inches]).

Uchi ni [内に] -- on the interior (of the upper face). This means that the design was only etched in the middle of the face, and did not extend to the edges. The pair of bun-chin shown below illustrate the effect that Sōtan is describing.

Komaka ni mon ari [細に紋有り]: komaka ni [細に] means things like “delicate,” “fine,” “minute,” and so forth. Mon [紋] means a decorative pattern. While perhaps rather simple, the silver and gold inlay on the above pair of bun-chin give an idea of the sort of decoration that Sōtan is talking about.

¹⁹Suri-kake no sumi nari [スリカケノ墨ナリ].

Suri-kake no sumi [磨り掛けの墨] seems to mean a stick of ink that has been partially rubbed down*. In other words, rather than arranging things for display, Rikyū seems to have left his desk more or less as it was, giving a hint of informality and intimacy to the meeting of these two men. __________ *As the stick is rubbed against the suzuri [硯] to make ink, this means that the stick of ink that is resting on the bun-chin is the ink that he uses when writing letters. It is a used stick of ink (rather than something like a costly imported ink-stick that was only placed out for decoration).

²⁰Soto suji-kaete [ソトスヂカヘテ].

Suji-kaete [筋違えて] means to orient something on a diagonal. Soto suji-kaete, then, means that the handle of the brush is resting on a diagonal inclined toward the outside -- that is, toward the right.

²¹Kane no ningyō [カネノ人形].

The hikka [筆架] (brush-rest) is shaped like a man. It was made of metal (probably bronze), hence most likely either of Chinese or Korean origin.

²²Kōrai-hitsu nari [髙ライ筆也].

The writing brush was made in Korea (Kōrai [高麗]).

In Sōtan’s sketch, the head of the brush appears to be covered with a sheath (called a fude-kutsugae [筆覆]) made of a piece of thin bamboo with a slit down one side, which protects the bristles from accidental contact, as well as dust. This suggests that Rikyū had put his things away -- rather than having been interrupted while writing.

²³Kane no ushi [カネノ牛].

This is the suiteki [水滴], water dropper. It is made of metal (probably bronze*), and shaped like a cow. __________ *And so was imported from either China or Korea.

²⁴Maru-suzuri [丸スヾリ].

Maru-suzuri [丸硯] means a round ink-stone. Rikyū's suzuri is perhaps shaped like the full moon (hence the rabbit: in East Asia it is not a man-in-the-moon, but a rabbit*). __________ *Sometimes the rabbit is said to be pounding sticky-rice into mochi. Which is why rice-cakes are also associated with the moon.

²⁵Umi ・ usagi [海・ウサギ].

Umi [海]* refers to the well of the ink-stone†. The well was carved -- in this case -- to resemble the body of the rabbit (usagi [うさぎ = 兎]). __________ *Umi [海] literally means “sea.”

†Most modern suzuri are merely functional, and so have the umi located rigidly at one end. But old ink-stones are often more imaginatively shaped; and while the umi is usually toward one end, it is frequently delicately carved, not only as a depression that collects the ink, but with various ridges and fenestrations that are used to shape the brush into a point after it has become saturated with ink.

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