#ShoZa

[an-oc-machine]

Semi realism?? Yay or nay?

Either way look how beautiful Adeline is!!!

[bandanasxblvckmvgic]

“SILENCERS” VISUAL FROM THE FORTHCOMING ALBUM “UNDER SURVEILLANCE” BY ME AND MY BREDREN SHOZAE SHOT BY THE DIGGGERS ! YALL READY UP !

[neteyamslovrr]

No cause I completely agree 😭🖐🏻 it’s so fkin ‘ugh’??

like theres one that i like and its the shoza one but other than that it like

'edited by jakesleftpinkietoe' like bro 😭😭

[chanoyu-to-wa]

The Chanoyu Hyaku-shu [茶湯百首], Part III:  Poem 54.

〽 Koicha ni ha yu kagen atsuku fuku ha nao          awa naki-yō ni katamari mo naku

    [濃茶には湯加減熱く服は尙          泡無き樣にカタマリも無く].

    “With respect to koicha, the water should be hot, and the portion free of foam; and also there should be no katamari.”

     Yu kagen atsuku [湯加減熱く]:  kagen [加減] means the state or condition (of the hot water).  Fuku ha nao awa naki-yō [服は尙泡無き樣]:  fuku [服] refers to a dose or portion (of medicine)¹, so fuku ha nao [服は尙] means “furthermore, the portion (should be)...;” awa naki-yō [泡無き樣] means free of foam.

    Koicha does not develop a frothy head of foam the way usucha does, so the scattering of small bubbles (which appear distinctly white against the dark green of the tea) might visually suggest some sort of impurity or contamination².

    Katamari [カタマリ = 固まり] means a lump.  After transferring the matcha into the chawan, the host takes the chashaku and smooths out the tea.  At this time, the host was also supposed to break up any apparent lumps, since they can easily turn into katamari when hot water is added³.

    This poem is not represented in every collection of the Chanoyu hyaku shu⁴; but in those where it is found, the wording is always the same.

_________________________

¹This traditional usage may derive from the fact that tea was originally considered a medicine.

    While the modern schools hold that this is because only one bowl of koicha is prepared, to then be shared by all of the guests, this practice (called sui-cha [吸い茶]) was not really employed by Jōō or Rikyū*, both of whom served koicha in individual portions (or, in the case of Rikyū, did so for the shōkyaku, while asking the other guests share a bowl with their neighbor, in order to save time). ___________ *According to Rikyū’s own writings -- and in contrast to the arguments put forward by the modern schools (who ascribe the origin of the practice to Shukō) -- the practice of sui-cha began in Uji, during the annual auction of the year’s new tea leaves (at the end of the harvest, after the leaves had been processed).  Since each bowl of koicha can be subtly different from the next, even when all other conditions are equal, it was decided that a single bowl of koicha would be prepared, and quickly shared by all the bidders, so they would all have a clear and equal understanding of the characteristics of that particular tea (since this would inform the amount of money that they were willing to bid for the lot -- usually the leaves were purchased by tea merchants, who would take them back and blend them with others to produce that firm’s characteristic flavors, after which they were sealed in jars and stored carefully until the beginning of winter).

    Certain of his contemporaries began to adopt the custom, employing it during their own chakai, but Rikyū felt it was inappropriate.  He held that the shōkyaku should always be served individually (since the gathering was effectively given for him -- so he should be allowed to enjoy his koicha without being forced to worry about leaving sufficient tea for the others), while the others might share bowls in groups of two (it being not too difficult to drink half).

    In the wabi setting, he held that sui-cha would only be appropriate on the occasion of the kuchi-kiri no chakai [口切茶會], when the jar of new tea was cut open for the first time, since time would not permit the host to grind a sufficient quantity of matcha so that it could be served as usual.  On such occasions, since the jar was cut open at the beginning of the shoza, only the tea that could be ground by the time of the naka-dachi would be available, so Rikyū prepared it as a single bowl of rather thin koicha, which all of the guests would share.

²Traditionally this is explained as looking as if poison* had been mixed with the matcha (with the poison failing to dissolve completely during the blending process); but the more likely explanation is that it would look like dust had fallen onto the koicha (such as from the host’s sleeve, as he withdrew the chasen) as the blending process was concluding. ___________ *Which is argued to have been the preferred way of eliminating the opposition by followers of the despised and feared Ikkō-shū.  The problem with this line of argument is that both Jōō and Rikyū (and virtually all of their contemporaries, Japanese as well as the Korean’s of Sakai and Hakata) were followers of the Ikkō-ichi-nen Shū [一向一念宗], apparently having trained as a de facto novice for a certain period of time in their youth.  Thus it is not likely that Jōō or Rikyū would have facilitated the dissemination of what could have been taken to be anti-Ikkō-shū propaganda.

³A katamari begins as a lump in the matcha (often because the tea remained too long in the chaire that it began to be affected by atmospheric moisture).  What happens is that the outside of the lump absorbs water, while the interior remains relatively dry.  Rather than breaking down when the tea is blended with the chasen, the katamari remains intact, becoming quite gummy in the process.

    Katamari are very unpleasant for the guests to drink -- disquieting enough that they will completely destroy the guest’s pleasure when drinking the koicha*. ___________ *While this word is introduced in a discussion of koicha, katamari can also occur in usucha, and are just as insidious in that context.  This is why the matcha should always be sifted using a cha-furui [茶篩] (a specially designed tea-sieve -- since something like a juice strainer may not have the wires close enough together to prevent minute katamari from sifting through) prior to use -- whether the tea will be put into a chaire or natsume, or simply used to prepare a bowl of tea tate-dashi.

⁴Including Jōō’s original collection (that was preserved in the Matsu-ya family archives), and Rikyū’s 1580 version.

    This poem’s absence from the earliest manuscripts suggests that it was written by someone other than Jōō or Rikyū (possibly Hosokawa Sansai, since it is found in the collection associated with him, as well as the Sen family, which was relying on Sansai to fill in many of the details of their understanding of Rikyū and his ideas about chanoyu), and added to the collection -- perhaps in the interests of filling what was perceived to be an omission* that later generations felt was essential advice that needed to be passed on to the beginner in as authoritative a way† as possible. ___________ *The reader has to bear in mind that the way chanoyu was learned changed drastically between the mid-sixteenth century and the mid-seventeenth century (when all of the versions that did not come directly from Jōō and Rikyū were assembled).

    In the sixteenth century, a person interested in chanoyu began by applying to join a tea group (usually one that had coalesced around one of the popular tea masters of the day -- with the master acting more as a living repository of knowledge, tradition, and precedent, while the actual work of teaching was delegated to his principal disciples).  The beginner, once accepted, began participating in the group’s monthly or bimonthly chakai as a middling guest (where his primary responsibility was to watch the goings on quietly and with composure).  Only after several years of this was the novice invited to learn the procedures (something that could be accomplished rather easily and quickly, since he was already thoroughly familiar with most of what he would learn in the context of the actual chakai).  Thus the learning phase lasted no more than several months at most -- after which the novice began to host his own chakai for the group (receiving invaluable criticism after each).

    During the seventeenth century, the modern system (where the student pays the teacher for lessons) began to make its appearance -- in this setting, the beginner usually had very little knowledge of, or experience with, chanoyu when he presented himself at the teacher’s kyōshitsu [教室] for his first lesson.  As a result, matters that had formerly been obvious now needed to be explained, and explained in detail; and it was in this situation that the majority of the spurious poems were added to the collection -- in order to give an authoritative voice (no matter how false) to those arguments that the Sen family (and other leaders) felt needed to be emphasized, but which had not been addressed in earlier times.

†In other words, by putting the words into Rikyū’s mouth (since, by mid-century, the poems were already considered to have been exclusively Rikyū’s productions -- this was, in part, what inspired Katagiri Sadamasa to investigate Jōō’s own hand in the composition of the poems, which is how they became part of the Sekishū canon as well).

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

◎ If these translations are valuable to you, please consider donating to support this work.  Donations from the readers are the only source of income for the translator.

   To contribute, please use the following link:

https://PayPal.Me/chanoyutowa

[favuya]

Shoza and Juza

Shoza joins the Fist of the North Star mobile game. He's Juza's son, and I wasn't aware Juza had a son. Not the best, but there's hardly any reference for him and I wanted to post something while it was still relevant.

[daily-rubbersoul-redux]

Fio made her way around the corner, suitcase in tow. She should be close now.... Ah! There they were!

Erikson was nervously glancing around, before noticing his wife's approach. "Fio!" He grinned, waving at her.

Shoza glanced over with a small huff. Finally. He was getting tired of standing around out here.

"Oh Erikson... How on Earth did you manage to go the COMPLETE OPPOSITE DIRECTION of where you needed to?" She asked, upon reaching the two of them, before lightly bonking her husband on the noggin. "I swear, it's almost as if a switch flips in your brain sometimes that makes you incompetent..."

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Ah, well... I grabbed the wrong map when we left, whoops, hehe... But I'm glad you found us, dear! How was your concert? Oh! Actually, we can talk over lunch!

...We're still going to get lunch before heading home, right?"

She let out a small sigh and smiled. Oh how she loved this man... "Of course, honey." She then turned to Shoza. "And I apologize for taking so long to find you two. I'm not too familiar with this town either, to be quite honest."

"....It is fine. At least you bothered to apologize, unlike some people." He quickly shot Erikson a glare, before closing his eyes with a sigh. "Let's just get going. It is too damn hot out here to continue standing about."

Fio nodded, and the three headed off back in the direction that she had come from.

[Side Quest Complete!]

[shooks-stupid-stuff]

angry man-

[beatsforbrothels]

ShoZae - Victory Lap (ft. Stroka G & Grandmilly)

[underground-hip-hop-affiliated]

(SageInfinite)

[blueisthecolorofmysoul]

Newest episode of our music show is now available our web page! Listen now at https://monumentsinruin.com/blogs/news/monuments-in-ruin-episode-210-music-podcast The world of hip hop has so many twists, turns, connections, distraction, hard hitters, solid supporters and amazing stories. This week we dedicate our sixty minute program to the extremely versatile works in hip hop. It was a difficult decision to break the flow of the music to discuss the track list. It kind goes by fast due to the amount of music squeezed into the hour. Fortunately, you can read below for the full track list. Turn up the volume and your neighbors windows. Produced and edited by Bobby Rayfield for May 30th, 2022 broadcast with the TrendKill Radio Network. (00:00) Monuments in Ruin – Episode 210 Intro (00:35) Mystikal – Did I Do It (04:10) Czarface and MF Doom – The King and Eye (06:36) Street Life featuring Method Man – Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop (10:22) Killer Mike featuring Scar – Untitled (14:11) Grieves – A-Okay (17:45) Grandmilly and Shozae – Graffiti (21:35) Truth – Holding Down The Fort (24:24) Quasimoto and Madlib – Shroom Music (27:02) Doomtree – Bangarang (31:43) Raekwon and Ghostface Killah – 4 In The Morning (34:59) Camp Lo – Time (38:36) Jenova 7 and Eddie Shinn – Cosmic Girl (44:01) Jenova 7 – You Dig? (47:55) Eagle – Easy Breathing (50:36) Superior featuring Blu and Edo G – Make the World Go (53:02) Self Provoked – Friend or Foe (55:26) Blacastan and Stu Bangas – Commando (59:15) Black Milk – Dirt Bells #Mystikal #Czarface #MFDoom #StreetLife #MethodMan #KillerMike #Scar #Grieves #Grandmilly #Shozae #Truth #Quasimoto #Madlib #Doomtree #Raekwon #GhostfaceKillah #CampLo #Jenova7 #EddieShinn #Eagle #Superior #Blu #EdoG #SelfProvoked #Blacastan #StuBangas #BlackMilk #hiphop #monumentsinruin #podcast https://www.instagram.com/p/CeM473lpH3g/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[an-oc-machine]

MERRY CHRIS-MAS!!!

Yes, from now on. I will be calling your birthday Chris-mas.

Anyways, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I hope you have an amazing year!

@thatonegaybastard

[thedigitaltraphouse2]

Cyber Tech Suits - Grandmilly & Shozae

[bandanasxblvckmvgic]

GRANDFLOMAN

[chanoyu-to-wa]

The Chanoyu Hyaku-shu [茶湯百首], Part II:  Poem 49.

〽 Kyaku ni nari soko-toru nara-ba itsu-tote mo          irori no sumi wo kuzushi tsukusu-na

    [客になり底取るならば何時とても          圍爐裏の角を崩し盡くすな].

    “When [one of] the guests [takes it upon himself to] ‘take up the bottom,’ on every such occasion he must be careful not to collapse¹ [the ash in] the corners [of the ro].”

    This and the following poem both refer to the case where one of the guests spontaneously takes it upon himself to help the host with his preparations².     

    The expression “taking up the bottom” (soko-toru [底取る]) refers to the process of cleaning the ro (which was usually done at dusk, and again when the host was closing the tea room for the night).  Here it would probably be referring to the former situation, and so the poem implies that the guest³ has decided to arrive in the late afternoon, at the time when he anticipates the host will be preparing the ro for the evening⁴.

    The way the ash is arranged in the ro is very important, since it controls the flow of air through the ro:  fresh air enters through the four corners, and the heated air rises in the middle of the ro, around the sides of the kama.  Since the Edo period (when this poem was added to the collection), it has been the custom to depress the ash in the corners, while raising “mountains” against the middles of the four sides of the rodan [爐壇]⁵, using the hibashi by pulling the ash up with the hibashi (the “mountains,” which are sprinkled with shimeshi-bai, discourage air from entering there⁶).  This ash shape, suggested in the drawing below, encourages the proper flow of air.

    The process of ‘taking up the bottom’ consists of scooping up the layer of shimeshi-bai and embers, down to the upper surface of underlying ash⁷, within the circle defined by the legs of the gotoku.  Then fresh shimeshi-bai is sprinkled in the ro, followed by the return of several of the larger embers (which act as the shita-bi [下火]), and then a full set of charcoal is arranged around the shita-bi.

    As mentioned above, this poem only appeared during the early Edo period.  So, while all of the collections assembled after that date share the same version, it is missing from both Jōō’s Matsu-ya manuscript, and Rikyū’s 1580 manuscript⁸.

_________________________

¹The ash is pulled upward out of the four corners, towards the center of each of the four sides, with the hibashi, leaving the space closest to the four corners depressed.  This is the effect I hoped to emphasize in the above sketch.

    It is said that the peaks of the four “mountains” that are thus created should rise half way up the sides (relative to the bottom of the depressions in the four corners).

    The concern voiced in this poem is that, if the guest is not careful, he might inadvertently cause one or more of the mountains to collapse and fill the corners when scooping up the bottom layer of ash and embers with the soko-tori [底取り] -- a ladle-like scoop, made of beaten copper, with the handle wrapped in bamboo-sheathe and tied with a dark blue cord, as seen below.  (This soko-tori was modeled on a Korean soup ladle.  Originally the exposed metal was coated with lacquer, which, in this case, has worn away over the centuries.)

    If the corners become filled in, the flow of air will be retarded, potentially leading to a build up of carbon dioxide that will put the fire out.

²While the present poem, which refers to soko-toru [底取る] probably refers specifically to the situation where a guest comes at dusk, with the intention of helping the host with his preparations for the evening*, the case where the guest undertakes to add the charcoal (which is the topic of the next poem) could apply to any instance -- including during the sumi-temae at the beginning of the shoza -- when the host takes the kama out to the mizuya, so as to change the water†. ___________ *When attending to the ro at dusk, the kama is always supposed to be emptied, cleaned, and then refilled with fresh water.  This is because, after being heated since dawn, the water in the kama would probably have acquired a metallic taste.  Thus the old water is discarded, and replenished with water that had been stored, since dawn, in the glazed pottery mizu-kame [水甕] in the mizuya.

†When the host was going to use the small unryū-gama during the season of the ro, Rikyū said that the correct way to do this was to prepare the ro with an ordinary kama, as usual.  Then, during the sumi-temae, when the host lifted the kama out of the ro, he immediately took it out to the mizuya, returning some minutes later (because the first kama had to be emptied and cleaned, and put in the gan-ro [丸爐] to dry, before the second kama could be rinsed and filled) with the small unryū-gama, wet and filled with cold water.

³Possibly this may have been one of the guests who had been invited to the yo-kai [夜會] that was scheduled for later that evening; or a tea friend who, hearing that an inexperienced host was going to be receiving guests that night, had taken it upon himself to visit, and offer his services to the host; or, possibly, it might even have been someone who wanted to spy on the host* -- to see, with his own eyes, whether the host was really following the teachings of san-tan san-ro [三炭三露] (see the next footnote), or just pretending to be a “real” chajin. ___________ *This kind of thing is occasionally mentioned in anecdotes that have been preserved from the sixteenth century.  Whether these stories accurately represent the circumstances, or are apocryphal, is anyone’s guess.

⁴At least this would have been the case with Jōō and Rikyū -- though since this poem was added to the collection after their time, and the records of the way things were being done by the Sen family and their adherents during the early years of the Edo period (which is when the poem was composed) are not entirely clear about details such as this*, it is not really possible to conjecture whether the act of soko-toru might not have been more commonly a part of the sumi-temae of an ordinary gathering during that period than had been the case before (or after).

    If this poem is referring to the practice of san-tan san-ro [三炭三露]†, however, then it might be good to review what san-tan san-ro actually entailed:

◦ the host begins the day by sprinkling a layer of embers in the ro at dawn, and arranging a full set of charcoal on top of them:  this fire would form the shita-bi for the morning gathering (if the host has scheduled one);

◦ at noon the host returns and tidies up the ro, adding charcoal to maintain the fire, and the hot water, until dusk (although it was rare for a gathering to be held in the afternoon‡ -- though notably Rikyū occasionally entertained Hideyoshi, by himself, around 3:00 PM, usually prior to banquets for Hideyoshi’s courtiers in the evening of the same day -- the fire repaired during the noon hour would function as the shita-bi for such an afternoon gathering);

◦ and, at dusk, the host empties the ro, cleans the interior, and then sprinkles a layer of shimeshi-bai; after which he would return some of the larger embers to the ro, and arrange a set of charcoal around them (the remains of this fire would serve as the shita-bi for an evening chakai, if one has been scheduled).

    It is important to understand that these three instances where the host attends to the fire were not usually part of any gathering.  Their purpose was strictly maintenance -- to keep the room warm and the kama hot.  Gatherings were usually scheduled in between, so the remains of the fire that the host was preparing at dawn, noon, and dusk, was intended to act as the shita-bi for the sumi-temae that would be performed at the beginning of such a chakai.

    In the present poem, the guest has seemingly arrived at dusk, with the intention of visiting the host.  Seeing that the host had already begun the process of preparing the ro for the evening (by lifting the kama out of the ro and taking it out to the mizuya, where it would be emptied, cleaned, and refilled), the guest takes it upon himself to prepare the ro for the return of the kama by “taking up the bottom,” cleaning the interior of the ro, and then establishing a new fire to heat the kama that the host would be filling with fresh, cold water during his absence from the room. __________ *The writings of the machi-shū suggest that the way the chakai was conducted was in a state of flux during this period (with many of the well-known anecdotes being written down at this time in an effort to establish a precedent for changes that were being proposed by this or that master).

    Certain scholars, for example, have suggested that the bottom was occasionally taken up during the go-sumi-temae (between the service of koicha and usucha), or even during the tome-zumi [留め炭] (a potentially third sumi-temae performed at the end of the gathering -- especially during a yo-banashi chakai [夜咄茶會] -- in order to encourage the guests to tarry longer, so they and the host could indulge in informal conversation).  This would make it much more common for the soko-toru to be performed when the guests were routinely present in the room, thus giving this poem much more importance.

    There is, of course, the story of Tennōji-ya Sōkyū and the snowy dawn chakai (and this, and the following, poems may have been created in order to interpret that gathering -- or one like it -- during the early Edo period); but accounts of that impromptu chakai only have Sōkyū adding charcoal to the fire, while Rikyū was out of the room, cleaning and refilling the kama with the water that had just been brought from the Same-ga-i [さめがい = 醒ヶ井, 左女牛井].   As the fire that Sōkyū had praised had been laid at dawn, with Sōkyū having arrived (uninvited) perhaps an hour or two later, there would have been no reason why the bottom would have needed to be taken up at this time.  Simply moving the embers to the center of the ro (the dō-zumi would have still been largely intact, so it may have been left as it was), and then, after sprinkling some shimeshi-bai before adding several gitchō would have been more than sufficient (especially if Rikyū was going to replace the original kama with the small unryū-gama, so he could serve his guest tea as soon as possible -- as Sōkyū likely would have eaten his breakfast at home before setting off for Rikyū’s house.  (A guest might presume to visit on a whim; but it would have been rude to expect the host to serve a meal as well).  Though it is also not possible to declare whether this episode happened before or after 1583 (when the small unryū-gama was created).

    It might be good to mention that adding more charcoal to the fire at the end of the chakai (in order to encourage the guests to remain longer) violated Rikyū’s own teaching that once the service of usucha was finished, the guests should take their leave (at least when chanoyu was being given in the small room, in the spirit of wabi).  Likewise, Rikyū also held that adding more charcoal between the service of koicha and usucha could be taken as a sign of the host’s own incompetence.

†As the earliest known version of this poem cannot be dated before the first half of the seventeenth century, it is not really clear how applicable the idea of san-tan san-ro might have been to the chanoyu of that day (certainly the Sen family, which originally adhered closely to the teachings of Imai Sōkyū, seems to have already decided that the gathering should always start with a shita-bi and wet kama, regardless of whether the host was using the furo or the ro -- though it is possible that traces of the older tradition still persisted at the time when this poem was added to the collection).  That said, it is even more difficult to understand how “taking up the bottom” would figure into a chakai being held under such rules -- since the ro would naturally have had to be cleaned and prepared prior to placing the shita-bi in it.

‡This idea came from the theory of yin-yang that Jōō learned from Shino Sō-on [志野宗温; 1477 ~ 1557], and which provided a sort of framework for many of Jōō’s ideas at the time when he was creating the chakai (as a variation on the Shino family’s kō-kai [香會] -- focusing on the service of both koicha and usucha, rather than the appreciation of incense).

⁵It is also called the do-dan [土壇] -- the box-like well, made of mud-plaster (either the yellow ocher-colored Juraku-tsuchi [聚樂土], as seen below, or the more commonly available gray clay*) over a wooden frame, in which the fire is kindled.

    Some ro-dan are also made of cast-iron, sheet copper, and even fired ceramic. __________ *The color of the clay is due to the form of iron that is present.  A preponderance of Fe₂O₃ gives Juraku-tsuchi its yellow-ocher color, while an excess of Fe₃O₄ results in the clay being gray.

⁶Shimeshi-bai is ash that has been moistened with water*.  Because this ash is then sifted through a sieve with rather widely spaced wires, it consists of a mixture of small to fairly large balls of ash (that can approach an azuki bean in size).  The ash, rather than compacting when it is sprinkled in the ro, forms a well aerated layer on top of the base ash.  But, just as importantly, the water that moistened the ash evaporates upward quickly, and since this evaporation is strongest along the sides of the ro (where the ash was formed into mountains), this evaporation draws air into the ro through the corners. ___________ *According to Rikyū.

    However, because ash that had developed a dark brown color came to be preferred (because it was so rare -- requiring many decades of use for ordinary ash to become dark brown), many schools came to moisten their ash with water containing something that will also help to darken the color of the ash more quickly -- with steeped ban-cha [番茶] (a kind of tea leaves prepared according to the Chinese method, where mature leaves are spread out on mats in the sun for several days to dry, resulting in the development of tannins; ban-cha was commonly drunk with meals, though in recent years it has been replaced by low-quality green tea), and a preparation made by decocting cloves in boiling water (in the temple, this preparation was used to dye old robes a dull orange before passing them on to novice monks, with the color declaring their low rank to all; it was also used to dye and perfume the monks’ fans, and occasionally other objects of daily use), seemingly the most common wetting agents being used today.

    It is important, especially when something other than water has been used to moisten the ash, for the shimeshi-bai to be stored properly (in something like old wooden sake casks), since these additives can tend to foster the development of ammonia, which can be overpowering when such ash is sprinkled into the ro.

⁷Because the shimeshi-bai is coarse and granular, it is easy to distinguish from the underlying ash (which was simply sifted through a sieve, to remove bits of unburned charcoal and other contaminants, and so is much finer).

    By dusk, there will be at least two layers of dried shimeshi-bai (that sifted over the layer of embers that were spread in the ro at dawn, and the shimeshi-bai sprinkled in the ro before additional charcoal was added at noon -- plus any that may have been sprinkled during the sumi-temae of a morning, or afternoon, chakai).  The idea is that, after moving all of the pieces of burning charcoal and large embers into the hai-hōroku [灰炮烙]*, the remaining layer of shimeshi-bai mixed with embers is scooped up with the soko-tori, and also deposited in the hai-hōroku†.

    Then a fresh layer of shimeshi-bai is spread in the ro (at this time, too, the guest should be careful not to fill in the corners), followed by a return of several larger embers (to act as the shita-bi), and then the full set of charcoal. __________ *The modern hai-hōroku is around 8-sun in diameter, and, as can be seen in the right photo, has three small feet that elevate the bottom of the hōroku above the mat.

     Rikyū, however, used his hai-ki [灰器], above, which, at 7-sun in diameter, was slightly smaller, and also lacked feet.

†Modern tea people usually scoop up too much of the bottom.  The original idea was to scoop up only enough that all of the small embers were removed (since they will turn white and collapse as they burn out, which can put out the fire).  This is why something like Rikyū’s hai-ki seems, to them, unreasonably small.  The burning charcoal, embers, and hot ash should cover no more than half of the surface of the ash in the hōroku, leaving the rest free so that the host can scoop up shimeshi-bai to sprinkle in the ro.

⁸Possibly because, in the case of Jōō and Rikyū, their ro hai-gata was closer to what was done in the mayu-buro, so that the idea discussed in this poem would not have occurred to either of them.

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

❖ Appendix:  the Way the Idea of Yin-Yang, as Expressed Through the Bāguà [八卦], Applies to the Chanoyu of Jōō and Rikyū.

    As mentioned in the previous post, there are two arrangements of the bāguà [八卦]⁹:  the system commonly referred to as the xiān-tiān [先天], the earlier or natural arrangement of the bāguà (also known as the Fúxī-bāguà [伏羲八卦], or “bāguà of Fúxi¹⁰”); and another system, called the hòu-tiān [後天], or derived arrangement (also known as the Wén wáng-bāguà [文王八卦], “the bāguà of King Wén,” because this system was believed to have been formulated by King Wen of Zhou, who ruled from 1150 BC ~ 1050 BC¹¹).  It is the former system (depicted in the following diagram) that was applied to chanoyu in Korea.

    According to the diagram of the xiān-tiān bāguà [先天八卦] (also known as the Fúxī-bāguà [伏羲八卦])¹², shown above, the cycle of yang (⚊) and yin (⚋) is represented in one 24 hour day, in the following way:

    Looking at this circle of the yin-yang,

▵dawn occurs at the halfway point between the full yang and the full yin, when the yang force is finally able to overcome the yin and begin to manifest itself in the world (as this fire burns away the yin);

▵the morning gathering was held when the yang is waxing toward fullness, and this is why the shoza of the morning gathering is yin while the goza is yang (since the yang energy continues to increase as the gathering progresses:  yang fills the world like the water fills a lake);

▵at noon, the yang reaches its full potential; yet in the midst of this fullness, yin reappears;

▵afternoon represents the initial rising of the yin (the way the wind begins to blow in the afternoon), which causes the yang to begin to decline (since chanoyu is yin, serving tea at this time of day was originally felt to cause a battle with the fading yang, leading to imbalance¹³; 

▵dusk, however, is the time when the manifestation of the yin begins to overwhelm the yang (like a fire being quenched by water);

▵the yin aspect of chanoyu is enhanced during the evening as the yang fades into decline (the image is of a mountain, where the earth presses against heaven) -- which is why the yin and yang aspects of the shoza and goza are reversed in gatherings held at that time (since the shoza is “more yang” than the goza, as the yang continues to decline over the course of the gathering);

▵by midnight (which represents the full yin), everything should be done, everything put to rest;

▵from midnight to dawn chanoyu was not supposed to be offered, because the the yang begins to stir within the yin, producing a feeling of disquiet or apprehension (this is why Buddhism -- and other religions -- encourages the chanting of prayers during this time).

    The seasons of the year were also correlated with the above cycle, with the vernal equinox centered on lí [離], the estival solstice centered on gān [乾], the autumnal equinox on kǎn [坎], and the hibernal solstice on kūn [坤] -- hence Jōō’s early teaching on the type of kōgō that was most appropriate to each of the four seasons.

    While these ideas would have been part of the original Shino family’s teachings upon which Jōō based his ideas for the chakai¹⁴, they do not seem to have extended in influence very far beyond what is said above.

    Ideas associated with yin-yang were reintroduced during the early Edo period, along with many of the other aspects of Korean culture and political philosophy that proved to be so influential on the development of Tokugawa period Japan¹⁵.

__________________________

⁹Guà [卦] refers to one of the eight “trigrams” (the elements composed of three lines that are shown in the column).  The sequence of eight trigrams is what is called the bāguà [八卦] (which means eight guà).

¹⁰The system traditionally ascribed to the mythical first emperor Fúxī, who is supposed to have reigned sometime between 2900 BC and 2000 BC.  He is also credited with the invention of music, hunting, fishing, animal husbandry, and cooking -- in other words, the creation of everything we would consider the fundamental elements of “human culture.”

¹¹The two cycles are depicted below, so that they can be compared directly.

    The xiān-tiān [先天], or Fúxī-bāguà [伏羲八卦] are shown on the left, while the hòu-tiān [後天], or Wén wáng-bāguà [文王八卦] are shown on the right.

¹²According to an old Korean antiquarian, the xiān-tiān bāguà [先天八卦] were a product of an ancient Korean state that was spread across what is now Mongolia, Northern China, and Southern Siberia.  This may be why the Korean culture seems to be partial to the xiān-tiān bāguà, whereas, in China, the hòu-tiān [後天], “derived arrangement” (also known as the Wén wáng-bāguà [文王八卦]) is preferred.

¹³The afternoon was also the busiest time of day for members of the merchant class, which meant it was an inconvenient time during which to schedule a chanoyu gathering.

¹⁴These teachings were lost when the original Korean lineage of the Shino family became extinct upon the death of Shino Shōpa [志野省巴; 1502 ~ 1571] (his name is also pronounced Shōha, particularly by the later Japanese “generations” of the school).

    Also lost at that time was the Shino family’s emphasis on the use of incense appreciation as a way to cultivate samādhi (utilizing the stimulation of the sense of smell as an entrée to the purification of the senses).

¹⁵It was at this time that the neo-Confucian teachings of in-yō go-gyō [陰陽五行] (the duality of yin and yang as understood through the five states of change, represented by the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth) began to infiltrate the philosophy and practice of chanoyu, beginning around the middle of the seventeenth century (which reappeared and gained renewed influence on certain of the modern schools during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries).  Nevertheless, it is essential to keep the body of teachings based on the Korean ideas that appeared in Japan during the seventeenth century separate from your understanding of the chanoyu of Jōō and Rikyū -- since it postdates their time by a century and more.

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[mythandlaur]

Burai here on anon, rip Side-blog personal blog. Anywhoo-- The Will of the Swarm, Children of the Archives, Light Unseen, and are ya winning the tournament son. If you don't mind.

The WIP Tag Game

@buraidragon​ You should know these--you were involved in at least two of them.

Lots of text under the cut!

The Will of the Swarm (working title only) - Spiral Knights - 2018

A collaborative project with friends Burai and apprenticeNerd; a roleplay adaptation that would’ve made for a multichapter fic. Knight-Elite Ixtharion and his protégé, the slightly pyromaniacal Ashoza, are called on for a cryptic rescue mission in the Wildwoods, only to find the person they’re rescuing is none other than Parma, reconnaissance specialist of the lost Alpha Squad, who bears worrying information from the Core and evidence of her claims in the form of a dark miasma that appears to have eaten away her right arm. Ix has some knowledge on prosthetics, and takes over the effort to get Parma set up with one, facilitating interaction and camaraderie between the trio--and it’s them who chase after Parma when she delves back into the deepest layers of the Clockworks upon word coming back of the fate of the Alpha Squad’s technician...consumed by the Swarm and working for Herex.

I still really enjoy this concept tbh??? Like I don’t know if I could WRITE write it but if you guys still wanted to poke at it after all this time I’d be game. I don’t have a snippet, but I do have some nigh-incomprehensible notes from a document dated August 2018

Events:

Parma needs to recover a little bit, explore Haven when she can (her arm’s definitely going though)

Ix dinner party

Discussion of important things/she lets them in on what she found

Vanguards find Shadow Rulen in the depths and Parma immediately runs off looking, Ix and Shoza having to follow after her

Other ideas and stuff:

Scout slowly becomes a Seraphynx

Drunk Ashoza happens at some point

Concepts:

Shadow Rulen/Technomancer Rulen:

Is possessed/corrupted by the Swarm and taken in by Herex

Speaks in the plural in this state

Creates a very large mech (possibly named “Omega” something for irony?)

Swarm turret gatling gun

Shard bomb launcher

Tears out bits of the world and slams them down on enemies

Weak to overheading

Last ditch attempts to escape deeper into the core

Potential concept of Rulen losing his body to the Swarm and becoming a spirit who possesses/manipulates technology

Grantz’s Sword:

This dude took his oath way too seriously and stuck around even after dying, possessing his sword which remains around the core

Doesn’t realize he’s dead

Inadvertently possesses whatever knight holds the sword

---

Children of the Archives - Hollow Knight - 2019

Another collaborative project between the same trio, an AU affectionately referred to as “Monomom”. There isn’t so much a plot summation for this as there are a bunch of concepts; basically, in this verse, a very large amount of Vessels find their way out of the Abyss and into the Teacher’s Archives, becoming mainstays around there long before the Infection starts to take hold. Though Monomon still fulfils her duty, she isn’t happy about it or the Pale King’s plan, and Quirrel stays behind to take care of the Vessels after she’s gone, though becomes infected as a result. Several events in the game go differently, partially because Hornet is aware of the vessels and is more open with Ghost because of that awareness. Was meant to probably be a verse with a lot of domestic nonsense going on overall.

I don’t have a snippet, but there’s a doc with a lot of concepts, including about three pages’ worth of Vessels created between the three of us. Have some favorites:

Trio - Early model, has three arms. Acts like the older brother to other Vessels. Probably has three small Nails. 

Ase - Broken Vessel, stoic leader, mature, has been wandering longer than the others, cares about siblings more than themself - Insists they’re strong and independent and don’t need help, try to get to the void, fail, several others from the Archives sneak out to drag them back to the Archives badly injured and scare the living daylights out of Quirrel

Lantern - Likes putting lumaflies in their head. Yes, the eyes glow depending how many there are. Theoretically if they Consume the shock ones, they could have laser beam eyes? 

Vault - Taller and thicker vessel that likes storing stuff inside of them. Not a fighter. They fight by flinging stone writings at people and running.

Spite - Seven horns, is upset about that, breaks one off that forms the core of their nail, always down to fight. Will probably stab you if you insult a sibling.

Ink - Gets really good at making ink, their shell’s always stained, loves learning, pesters the students. Probably carries brushes instead, and would hang around Sheo for art.

Legion- One Shade spread over five Vessels. They act as a collective within a collective. If threatened will pile into a very stable tower and initiate a five-tiered Loom. Highly skilled in combat, as you need to take all five of them out within a short time period to fully incapacitate them. You might find one of their Shells roaming Fog Canyon, too keep a scout’s eye out for any potential dangers. If nothing else, they’re bouncing off of jellyfish because it’s fun. Each Shell of Leigon’s has a pentagon inked onto the back, with a dot in each corner responding to which Shell it is. Legion’s shade is as large as Hollow’s. 

Smith: Slightly-large Vessel, missing a leg, really wants to be a Nailsmith. Alters between studying under The Nailsmith and practicing Nailcrafting on sibling’s blades. Keeps them in shape, if nothing else. Has a metal peg-leg they are perfectly willing to take off and smack you with if they’ve lost their nail.

---

Light Unseen - Destiny 2 - 2019

A backstory oneshot for Kaira, a blind Guardian only capable of seeing traces of Light where it’s present, and her Ghost, Nel, who acts as her guide. This particular bit of writing was meant to be Kaira and Nel’s first meeting, and Kaira’s first (and second) revival, as Nel tries to figure out how to accommodate her and help her escape from a Cabal ambush in the EDZ, eventually assisted by more experienced Guardians Irina and Elara-4, who become Kaira’s good friends.

I really, really love this character and I really, really want to do something more with her, but D2′s writing has gone in the crapper since Forsaken and I don’t agree with basically anything Bungie’s done with the game in the last year, so I’m in a bit of a pickle. I do have a snippet, though. Trigger warning for a brief description of an extremely long-dead corpse/skeleton.

Other Ghosts do this for years, he’s heard. But for him, it only takes a few minutes.

Sticking out of some bushes, the Ghost finds a leg. Not much of a leg, of course; the flesh has long since rotted away, and the elements have left just the barest scraps of fabric from the deceased’s clothes. As he delves into the bushs, branches scraping and poking at his shell, he sees the rest of the remains tangled inside are similarly skeletal. The skull is the worst, mangled and caved in around the eye sockets. He wonders how they’d come to be in a place like this, in a state like that. Had they fallen? Had someone, or something, tried to hide their body?

There’s no way for him to know, and he doubts he ever will. But it doesn’t matter, because what he does know is that this is it.

He doesn’t know in any logical capacity, but he knows because he can feel something inside of those bones reacting to his presence, like a pair of magnets drawn to each other’s polarities. He feels...warm, and whole, and his shell is buzzing as if with errant electricity, except it is not electricity, it is Light, his Light, the Light the Traveler had given him with the sole purpose of passing that wonderful gift on to another.

Their body isn’t really in an ideal position for resurrection, and he can’t do much about that given his lack of both size and limbs. But that doesn’t dampen his growing excitement, as he looks at those bones and wonders not for the first time what they’ll be like, what sort of adventures they’ll go on together.

There’s only one way to find out, he knows.

The red-shelled Ghost hovers there, relishing this moment of anticipation for a few seconds longer. And then, he can’t contain it any longer.

He opens himself up to the gift of the Light, and it all but consumes him; his form expands, a little blue sun with little metal planets orbiting around it, and every mechanical sensor cuts out. The part of him that isn’t mechanical reaches out, and from the tiny floating solar system comes a beam that bathes the lost bones in Light.

Flesh reforms itself in the wake of shimmering waves, and clothes over that. The skull rearranges its broken, twisted parts and knits itself back together. After what feels like an age to him, his sensors come back online as his shell wraps around him again, and he drifts back to check his handiwork.

They wear the cloak, hood, and mask of a Hunter, hiding their face. Their shape is vaguely feminine--he’s going to assume until they tell him themself. Her chest rises and falls slowly with her newly-restored breathing, as if she’s not yet fully awake, and she doesn’t seem to realize the fact that she’s lying in a bush.

“...Guardian?” He quells his excitement, trying to keep his voice soft as he flies in closer to her face--then quickly back as he realizes he may be too close. The branches rustle with a slight movement of her arm, and her head turns sluggishly. “Guardian, wake up. I’m sorry, I couldn’t move you--you’re going to have to get up.”

She tilts her head slightly upwards towards his voice. For a moment, there’s no other reaction, but then the words seem to register and she starts pushing herself into a sitting position. Branches snap and crack as she pushes against them, struggling, before she seems to realize a better way and starts sliding her feet along the ground, dragging herself out with her knees little by little until she can sit up unhindered. Once she’s up, she crosses her legs under her and sets her hands in her lap, chin dropped towards her chest as he hovers around her to make sure she’s all in one piece.

He can hardly believe it. His Guardian, living and breathing once again, right here in front of him. The Ghost flies around to hang in front of her face. “How do you feel?” No response, no acknowledgment. He guesses she’s still a little rattled. “Not much of a talker? Okay, you don’t have to talk right now, but we do need to get moving, there’s--”

The Hunter abruptly raises her head, and he stops talking. In the silence, a loud rumbling can be heard, gradually growing louder. Seconds pass, and he turns his eye upward to see a shadow in the sky above the trees--a very familiar shadow, as he’s seen several of these during his scouting missions.

“...Maybe they’ll pass us.”

The dropship stops in the air, almost directly overhead. The side of a wing is all he can see, but he can hear grunts and shouts all too close nearby, feet hitting the ground hard.

So, he’d been quite lucky to find his Guardian so quickly and easily. But apparently, he’d used up all that luck at once, and now a Cabal scouting party is here, for whatever reason.

“You know what I said about moving? We’re going to need to start on that right now.” The Ghost quickly disappears in a shimmer of light, still keeping an eye out around them. “I’m still here. I’ll explain everything later, I promise, but right now we’ve got to run. I’ve got a marker up for you, just follow that and don’t stop. Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.”

The Hunter stumbles to her feet, holding her arms out to steady herself. The Light is still waking inside of her; she probably doesn’t know how to control it, and without a gun, running is their only chance. She glances about wildly, and then takes off--not exactly in the direction of his marker, but he trusts she’s got a plan. If she’s a Hunter, she’s likely got impeccable instincts.

---

are ya winnin the puyo tournament son (doc name) - Puyo Puyo - October 2020

You know I had to do it. This is a oneshot based in an AU where Sig’s ancestor, Ajisai, is reconstituted by the deus ex machina duo themselves, Ecolo and (much to their chagrin) Satan. After spending a few weeks living in the middle of nowhere, Ajisai hears about an upcoming Puyo tournament and decides to participate in the festivities, using it as an excuse to endear themself to varying degrees to the students and visitors. Eventually, they confront Satan about his unacceptable behavior, and get a hint that Satan’s actions may be a bit more tragic than merely pathetic.

Basically this is just ‘what if Ajisai lived because I want to write more for them and I want to see how they’d interact with more characters’. It’s mostly just me goofing in 15th anniversary’s style and I don’t know if people would be interested, but I’m getting some enjoyment out of it.

Looking down on Primp Town from the ridge is rather like watching a beehive--except instead of honeycomb, the excited bees are rushing about building a network of colorful streamers and decorations hanging between buildings.

“You certainly have a lot of celebrations here, don’t you.”

Sig gives the barest of shrugs, not even bothering to glance up from the caterpillar that’s made itself at home on a finger of his claw. “Guess so. It’s fun, though.”

“What is it this time? The Primp Festival wasn’t too long ago. It can’t be that again, can it?”

“Puyo tournament. The school’s running it.”

“Ah, I see.”

“They did it last year, too. Bunch of Arle’s friends showed up.”

“You do realize I was there for the last one, yes?”

Sig finally looks over, and they patiently wait for him to arrive at the realization. “Oh, yeah. Right.”

Ajisai chuckles quietly under their breath as their descendant goes back to admiring the caterpillar. It is easy to forget that they’d been present during many of the major events in Sig’s life, if only because they look and act so different now that they have a whole body to themself again. It’s a small price to pay for their freedom, of course, and they owe Ecolo a great deal for the service.

Well, not just Ecolo, they suppose. There had been...others involved.

“It’s different playing in it yourself, though,” Sig continues after a pause. Ajisai shakes their head to dislodge the loose thoughts before turning back to him.

“Are you going to be joining in this year, then?”

“Yeah.” A tiny smile comes to Sig’s face, though he still doesn’t look up. Nothing more needs to be said, so a comfortable silence stretches on between them, as Sig watches the caterpillar climb his arm and offers his right hand to crawl on instead so he doesn’t lose the little thing. Meanwhile, Ajisai can’t help but glance back down towards the frenetic party preparations, slight fangs poking at their lower lip in thought.

They’ve been alive and well for at least two weeks now, and only four people even know about it; they’ve either been staying at Sig’s house rereading the collection they’d passed down to him or wandering about the Forest of Nahe aimlessly, occasionally slipping into town at night to have a look around before quickly leaving again. But...they’d like to go into town, if only to visit the library. There are so many of Sig’s classmates they’d never gotten to meet properly, too. After so long isolated, they finally remember what it’s like to feel a need for companionship.

There’s only the question of if they deserve it. If they’ll be welcome there.

Ajisai takes a deep breath. “Is this tournament only for the students?”

“No,” Sig replies without missing a beat, “Bunch of other people are probably gonna play. Arle’s friends, Ringo’s friends, the space guys, Ally…Dunno who’s coming, but I’d be surprised if those guys didn’t.”

“Hm.”

“You wanna play too?” Sig takes his attention from the caterpillar, looking over at them with half-lidded, questioning eyes and pursed lips. “You’re really good.”

“Well…” Leave it to their ‘nephew’ to see right through them. Ajisai looks away, hair flicking in slight agitation. They’ve picked up a thing or two about Puyo over the years, it’s true--they’ve even given some of Sig’s classmates a run for their money in the past. Though that only brings up the circumstances of those battles, which were...less than ideal. “Do you think they’d be willing to have me?”

“You’d have to ask Ms. Accord.” Typical Sig--doesn’t even notice their internal struggle, or perhaps he does and doesn’t think it’s an issue. He points down at the town with a clawed finger. “She’s probably down there helping set up.”

Ajisai narrows their eyes, considering it. They suppose the worst that can happen is them being told no and having to go back to the forest, but the idea of just walking into town as they are is a bit unnerving. Still… “Would you mind if I went down there now, then?”

“Go ahead,” Sig says, focus returning to the caterpillar. They can’t help but chuckle a bit under their breath at their nephew’s fascination, the same all-consuming interest that they had for books and stories. 

Ajisai stands, shaking the grass out of their cape before resting a hand on Sig’s left shoulder and squeezing slightly. “Don’t go running off,” they say with a wry smirk, fully aware that Sig will probably still be watching the caterpillar twenty minutes from now.

Sig knows it too, and huffs a little, amused snort through his nose. “Yeah, I’ll try not to.”