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chanoyu-to-wa · 7 years ago

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Rikyū Chanoyu Sho, Book 6 (Part 6): Rikyū’s Hyaku-kai Ki, (1590) Ninth Month, 21st Day; Morning.

6) Ninth Month, 21st Day; Morning [九月廿一日・朝].

￮ Guest: Kobayakawa Takakage [客・小早川隆景]¹.

￮ 4.5-mat [room]².

￮ Shi-hō-gama [四方釜]³; ◦ kiri no chigai-dana [桐ノ違棚]⁴; ◦ Seto no mizusashi [瀬戸ノ水指]⁵; ◦ Hotta-dai [ほつた臺]⁶; ◦ Yakushi-dō temmoku, with the Shiri-bukura [chaire] placed inside [薬師堂天目・中ニ尻ぶくら入]⁷; ◦ Sugō suzuri, kame no mizu-ire [子昻硯、亀ノ水入れ]⁸; ◦ mizu-koboshi: gōsu [水覆・盒子]⁹; ◦ Ama-no-hashi-tate [あまのはし立]¹⁰.

￮ Yaki-mono [焼物] (salmon), soup (wild goose), yu-miso [柚みそ] (yama-masu jū-tsubo bakari [山枡十粒斗])¹¹, rice¹².

￮ Hiki (soshite) [引 (而)]: ◦ sake, tsuke[mono] [酒、漬]¹³.

￮ Kashi: konnyaku [こんにやく], yaki-guri [焼ぐり], zakuro [柘榴]¹⁴.

_________________________

◎ Lord Kobayakawa Takakage [小早川隆景] was a high government official (he was one of the Imperial Counselors) who likely functioned as a sort of liaison between the Imperial Court and Hideyoshi, and he had probably come to the Juraku-tei on this occasion to meet with Hideyoshi and discuss the Court’s response to Hideyoshi’s plans for the invasion of the continent.

Because of his high rank, Rikyū serves him tea using not only a bon-chaire, but also a dai-temmoku (hence a style of service only slightly inferior to gokushin futatsu-gumi [極眞二つ組]), a way of preparing tea that was only performed for the most exalted personages. Nevertheless, mindful of the subtleties, he uses his Shiribukura chaire on its red Chinese tray, and the white temmoku that had originally been used by Jōō, for his temae (in contrast to the Enza-katatsuki on a black Haneda-bon, and his ake-temmoku [朱天目] chawan -- which Rikyū may have believed to be an imported piece -- that he used to serve Hideyoshi), as appropriate to a nobleman who was yet, ultimately, one of Hideyoshi’s retainers.

¹Kobayakawa Takakage [小早川隆景; 1533 ~ 1597].

Kobayakawa Takakage was a daimyō and nobleman, who attained the position of chūnagon [中納言] (Middle Counselor to the Emperor), and the Junior grade of the Third Rank, through Hideyoshi's patronage.

He was a high nobleman, and, in this gathering, Rikyū is treating him accordingly -- with just sufficient deviations from the most formal etiquette to render the service inferior to that accorded Hideyoshi.

²Yo-jō-han [四疊半].

The fukuro-dana is shown as Rikyū was placing it at this point in his career*.

___________ *Originally Jōō placed it so that the side closest to the ro rose up onto the heri. It seems that after Rikyū entered Hideyoshi’s service he started to center the fukuro-dana on the utensil mat -- so that the tana would not obstruct Hideyoshi’s view of what the host was doing. (Some scholars suggest that this was because Hideyoshi was afraid that the host might put poison into the tea -- if he was not able to see everything they were doing clearly.)

Meanwhile, the front edge of the fukuro-dana remained 8-sun beyond the corner of the ro, as Jōō originally prescribed.

³Shi-ho-gama [四方釜].

This is the same kama he used during the previous gatherings.

Since Yoshirō was working with Japanese iron, his kama would rust after a while -- especially when the kama was not used for a while after having been used. Because this was a brand-new kama, there would have been no rust at all at the start, and so by continuing to use it regularly*, Rikyū could help to insure that the water remained as free from taint as possible. __________ *Even when he did not have a gathering scheduled, he still prepared the ro every dawn, and kept the kama boiling all day, every day, until night.

⁴Kiri no chigai-dana [桐ノ違棚].

Rikyū is referring to the kiri-kiji fukuro-dana [桐木地袋棚] that was derived by Jōō from the original tana created by Shino Sōshin.

The arrangement of the utensils on the fukuro-dana would probably have been as below:

◦ on the ten-ita, the suzuri and mizu-ire*, resting on a packet of kaishi†;

◦ on the naka-dana, the hishaku and take-wa;

◦ on the kō-dana, the temmoku-chawan, with the chaire placed inside it; and the chashaku on the left side of the chawan;

◦ on the ji-ita, the mizusashi; and,

◦ within the ji-fukuro, the temmoku-dai, with the host’s fukusa resting on top‡. __________ *A mizu-ire [水入] is the same thing as a sui-teki [水滴] -- the “water dropper” used for adding water to the ink stone while grinding ink.

Perhaps the suzuri and mizu-ire were simply placed on top of the pack of kaishi (lined up, with the sui-teki beyond and the suzuri toward the front), or perhaps they were placed inside a suzuri-bako (a special box made to hold a suzuri and sui-teki; they also frequently have space for writing brushes, name-seal, and pad of seal ink as well).

Also, depending on the size, it is possible that these things could have been displayed somewhere else (since Rikyū says nothing about where they were): if the room had a dashi-fu-zukue [出し文机] (a built-in writing desk -- though surviving records describing Rikyū’s residence within Hideyoshi’s Juraku-tei complex say nothing about the 4.5-mat room’s having a built-in desk), then the preferred place to display these things would be there; if not, but were the suzuri too large and heavy to be displayed on top of the fukuro-dana, then they could be displayed on the floor of the tokonoma. (In an earlier kaiki from several years before this gathering, Rikyū stated that he displayed a suzuri in the toko -- though whether it was this same one or not is not clear).

◎ In any case, regardless of where it is located in the room, the usual way to display a suzuri is by placing it on top of a folded packet of kaishi.

†This means the real kaishi, which was a packet of writing paper. Not the small packet of paper used for chanoyu (which was originally known as hana-kami [鼻紙], meaning paper with which one wipes ones nose).

‡The temmoku-dai would be placed in the ji-fukuro because it is a meibutsu piece. According to Jōō, the guests may open the ji-fukuro to inspect its contents, though they should not touch anything. This is why the host’s fukusa is placed on top of the dai.

◎ The way to begin the temae:

- The host opens the katte-guchi (= sadō-guchi), bows, enters the room, and then bows directly to the shōkyaku. After discussing whatever is displayed in the tokonoma, and the suzuri and mizu-ire (perhaps allowing the guest to inspect these things in his hands at this time), the host returns to the katte and brings the chaire-bon into the room. He sits in front of the fukuro-dana and places the chaire-bon on the mat, next to his left knee.

- The host then opens the door of the ji-fukuro, takes his fukusa and tucks it into his obi, and then moves the chaire-bon forward, so it is sitting on the mat near the mouth of the ji-fukuro.

- The host then lifts the temmoku-chawan (with the chaire still inside it) carefully down to the mat using both hands. He rests the temmoku on the mat in front of the middle of the tana.

- Then the host would then return to the katte and bring out the kae-chawan and the koboshi. After placing the kae-chawan on the mat near his left knee, the chashaku would be temporarily rested across the mouth of the kae-chawan, to the right of the chasen.

- Then the host would pick up the hishaku and futaoki, turn toward the ro, and place them next to the ro. Then the host and the guest would bow together to begin the temae.

◎ Then, after pausing momentarily to collect his thoughts, the host would pull the fukusa out of his obi, fold it, and insert it into the futokoro of his kimono.

- Next, the host would move the temmoku (with the chaire still inside it) in front of his knees. He would lift the chaire out carefully, and place it on the mat between the chawan and his knees, remove the shifuku, and then rest the shifuku on the left side of the ten-ita of the fukuro-dana.

- After releasing the shifuku, the host would drop his hands toward the mat and pick up the chaire-bon. Turning back toward the ro, he would take out his fukusa and clean the chaire-bon. Then he would place the chaire-bon down on the mat, in front of the mizusashi, and return the fukusa to his futokoro.

- Next he would carefully pick up the chaire, take out his fukusa again and clean it, return the fukusa to his futokoro, and put the chaire down on the tray.

- Then, after moving the temmoku forward, he would pick up the kae-chawan and move it to the left side of his hip, take out his fukusa, and clean the chashaku; the chashaku would be placed on the chaire-bon (as shown below, under footnote 10). Then the chasen would be lifted out of the kae-chawan and stood on the mat near the handle of the hishaku.

- Picking up the hishaku, the host would open the lid of the kama and rest it on the futaoki. After performing a yu-gaeshi, he would dip a quarter hishaku of hot water from the kama and pour it carefully into the temmoku.

- After resting the hishaku on the kama, the host would move the koboshi next to the kae-chawan, pick up the temmoku and rotate it above the koboshi, and finally discard the water into the koboshi. After wiping away the drop of water from the mouth of the temmoku, he would rest it on the mat in front of his knees.

- Then the host would add a half-hishaku of hot water to the temmoku, close the lid of the kama, and rest the hishaku on the futaoki again.

- Picking up the chasen, he would rest the chasen inside the temmoku, leaning against the far rim, pick up the temmoku, and place it down to the left of the bon-chaire.

- Then, turning toward the tana slightly, the host would lift the temmoku-dai out of the ji-fukuro, clean it with his fukusa, and place it down on the mat in front of his knees. Then, picking up the temmoku, he would rest it on the temmoku-dai, and perform the chaseh-tōshi.

- The koicha is also prepared with the temmoku resting on the dai.

- From this point on, the temae proceeds as usual when serving tea with a dai-temmoku.

⁵Seto no mizusashi [瀬戸ノ水指].

Rikyū‘s Seto-mizusashi had been made to Jōō’s specifications for use on the fukuro-dana. Displaying it on this tana, then, was like returning it to its original environment.

⁶Hotta-dai [ほつた臺].

This refers to one of the meibutsu temmoku-dai that are collectively known as the kazu-no-dai [数の臺]*.

The name Hotta-dai [堀田臺] (or Hotsuta-dai) means that this temmoku-dai had formerly been in the possession of the Hotta daimyō family, though the details are no longer clear.

Interestingly, given that the guest is Lord Kobayakawa Takakage, Hotta Masayoshi [堀田正吉; 1571 ~ 1629], from whose family this dai’s name derives, served both Takakage and then his son Kobayakawa Hideaki [小早川秀秋; 1577 ~ 1602]. Perhaps this association is what prompted Rikyū to use this dai? __________ *The temmoku-dai shown in the photo is one of the kazu-no-dai. These karamono temmoku-dai were all of the same shape and make, and were imported from China as a single consignment; however, the specific dai named the Hotta-dai that Rikyū used on this occasion has not been identified further, and has possibly been lost.

⁷Yakushi-dō temmoku, naka ni Shiri-bukura irete [薬師堂天目・中ニ尻ぶくら入].

This was the white Seto chawan* that originally had belonged to Jōō. At Joo’s death this temmoku-chawan went to the monk/physician Yaku-in Zen-sō [施藥院全宗; 1525 ~ 1599], and passed from him to Rikyū.

The Shiri-bukura chaire, tied in its shifuku, was displayed on the fukuro-dana inside the Yakushi-dō temmoku. The chaire-bon, meanwhile, would have been placed inside the ji-fukuro of the tana until the beginning of the temae.

Because the chaire was placed inside the temmoku, the chakin and chasen would have had to be brought into the room in a kae-chawan†. __________ *This kind of pottery was the precursor of the white-glazed Shino-yaki [志野焼].

†A kae-chawan would have been brought out from the katte, together with the koboshi, at the beginning of the temae, with the chakin and chasen arranged inside of it.

While a large chawan was used as the kae-chawan with a temmoku in the old days, Rikyū probably used one of his raku bowls.

The kae-chawan would not have been used to serve tea to the guest (unless he asked the host to serve him usucha in it), but only to take the chakin and chasen into (and, at the end of the temae, out of) the room, and probably to clean the chasen with cold water at the end of the temae.

⁸Sugō suzuri, kame no mizu-ire [子昻硯、亀ノ水入れ].

Sugō suzuri [子昻硯] refers to a suzuri [硯] (inkstone) that belonged to Ch��n Zǐ-áng [陳子昂; 661 ~ 702] (the name is pronounced Chin Sugō in Japanese), one of the most important poets of the Tang dynasty: according to scholars, he is regarded as being the poet whose works came to define the unique qualities of the Tang poetic style.

On the left is a Ming period copy of the Sugō suzuri; and on the right is a bronze kame no mizu-ire. Since the pieces that Rikyū owned have not been identified, it is impossible to know how close these are to the things that Rikyū displayed for Lord Takakage’s delectation at this chakai.

⁹Mizu-koboshi* ・ gōsu [水覆・盒子].

The word gōsu means a covered vessel. The original gōsu that were used as mizu-koboshi were ritual bronze containers originally made for use in Korean Ancestor Worship ceremonies. Most commonly, it was a (lidded) rice-bowl from an incomplete set†, such as that shown below, which was salvaged from the smelter’s furnace due to the quality of its workmanship.

The pieces used when offering food to the Ancestors were a little larger than those used by ordinary people for eating, which means that the size was quite suitable for use as a koboshi for chanoyu‡. (While the Koryeo period bronze gōsu shown above has oxidized to a deep green color due to the high copper content of this alloy, most bronze pieces remained a rich bronze-brown, while Korean sawari [四分一] -- which is bronze with a certain amount of silver added to keep the metal from browning -- is usually a deep golden-yellow color; though old sawari tends to be mottled, due to the fact that the silver does not really dispense well throughout the molten bronze.) Elsewhere Rikyū’s gōsu is described as being made of kō-dō [胡銅], therefore it might have been darker -- perhaps almost black -- than the one shown above (the bronze alloy described as kō-dō ranges in color from a dark brownish-black to dark green; it was also produced in Korea during the Koryeo dynasty).

While the gōsu shown above has a prominent foot, pieces from the sixteenth century do not (and since this is when trade between Japan and the continent resumed, the majority of gōsu that were imported for use as koboshi are essentially footless).

As for gōsu that have a lid, while this kind of gōsu was covered when it was displayed on the daisu**, when used in other settings Rikyū felt that the lid was better left in the katte. Furuta Sōshitsu, however, held that when a gōsu has a lid, then it should be used with the lid even when the gōsu was carried out from the katte at the beginning of the temae, and returned there at the end.

Though nothing is said about the futaoki in Rikyū’s notes, it would have been an ordinary take-wa -- which Rikyū even used on the daisu (though not for the formal nanatsu-kazari [七つかざり]††). ___________ *A word about how the word koboshi was written. The actual kanji is mizu-koboshi [水飜]. (The verb kobosu [飜す] means to discard or pour out (waste) water.) The kanji was also abbreviated in antiquity to mizu-koboshi [水翻]. And, of course, most people preferred to write the word phonetically -- mizu-koboshi [水こぼし] (Rikyū himself is generally inconsistent in his usages -- apparently a lingering result of Japanese not being his native tongue).

Occasionally, however, other kanji were used, and the most common of these variants was to write this word mizu-koboshi [水建]. In the Edo period, under the influence of Korean neo-Confucianism (and the interest in Chinese classics which that inspired), people began to look more critically at the names of things written with kanji, and concluded that this latter word was grammatically wrong; so they “improved” things by inverting the order of the kanji (though still retaining the original pronunciation): mizu-koboshi [建水].

However, in the early 20th century, things underwent a new sort of critical assessment (when the sudden influx of hoards of young women meant that things had to be standardized, and brought into accord with the new idea of general education which the nation had embraced), and the result was that the pronunciation of this compound was “corrected” to be kensui [建水]. Which, at a stroke, makes most pre-modern descriptions of temae and utensils incomprehensible.

†In Korea, the entire set of ritual objects (which numbers over 30 pieces, all told) had to be in perfect condition. If even one was damaged or lost, the entire set had to be replaced. However, when made for the King’s household, these were objects of great beauty. So, rather than melting them down (as the custom was), various pieces were reused for chanoyu.

The efugo [餌奮], a common shape for the mizu-koboshi, was originally the vessel into which libations were discarded. Meanwhile, gōsu (which were originally lidded rice-bowls) were preferred for use as the koboshi on the daisu -- because in the early days it was rare for more than one person to be served at the temae, hence a smaller-sized koboshi (the meibutsu gōsu measure a little over 4-sun in diameter) was used; and the smaller gōsu would take up much less space, which made things simpler than when the ji-ita appears to be full.

‡While the gōsu shown in the photo, which was made in the Koryeo period, has a raised foot, later pieces sometimes do not. Katagiri Sadamasa’s prized bronze gōsu (it has lost its lid), which is preserved in the Jiko-in [慈光院] in Nara (the temple he built for his retirement -- during which time Sekishū concentrated on chanoyu), does not have a foot.

Bowls for people to eat from were usually around 4-sun in diameter for the rice-bowl, and 5-sun for the soup-bowl. Bronze or sawari [四分一] (sawari is a kind of Korean bronze with silver added to around 25%) gōsu measure pretty uniformly at around 4-sun 6-bu for the rice-bowl, and 5-sun 8-bu for the soup-bowl (which was the original thing used as a “hira-kensui” [平建水]).

**When the gōsu was displayed on the daisu, it remained in that place throughout the temae (which was unlike other kinds of koboshi, such as the efugo, that were moved to the mat next to the host’s knee at the beginning of the temae).

For this reason, a hishaku-full of room-temperature water (never cold water, since that can cause the gōsu to “sweat” -- which might damage the ji-ita) was put into the gōsu before it was taken out to the daisu: this water kept the gōsu from becoming so hot (as more and more hot water was discarded into it) that it would damage the ji-ita.

The lid was left in place until it was time to empty the chawan. After pouring hot water into the bowl, and returning the hishaku to the shaku-tate (in the orthodox version of the daisu temae, the hishaku was never rested on top of the kama; rather it was returned to the shaku-tate every time it was used -- resting it on top of the kama when using the daisu started with Sōtan, whose machi-shū roots meant that he was ignorant of the proper rules governing the orthodox daisu temae) the host would pause and open the gōsu. He did this by taking hold of the knob, with his thumb on the far side and fingers on the near side. Then the lid was lifted off, held briefly above the mouth of the gōsu (so any drops would fall into the gōzu, rather than draining onto the ji-ita -- some old teachers say that the lower edge of the lid should be rubbed with the left hand to remove any moisture, but others feel that this is not necessary since the lid of the gōsu is larger than the mouth, so the edge is always dry), and then leaned against the front side of the gōsu. (This is the way some of the modern schools teach their followers to handle the lid of the mizusashi during their so-called shin temae for the daisu; but originally this series of actions had nothing to do with the mizusashi, and were the way to open the gōsu.) Then the host picks up the chawan, rotates it above the mouth of the gōsu, and so discards the water into the open mouth.

At the end of the temae, after emptying water from the chawan for the last time (and drying the chawan with the chakin), the lid of the gōsu is closed in the same way it was opened: the host grasps the knob with his thumb above and fingers below, and so lifts the lid onto the gōsu.

At the conclusion of the temae, some say that the gōsu may be left in place, while others hold that it should be taken out to the mizuya, emptied, and then returned to the daisu (which also differs from other kinds of koboshi, since these were never returned to the daisu at the end). If the host opts to take the gōsu out to the mizuya and empty it, after it is dried a single hishaku of room-temperature water should be poured into it before the lid is closed, and in this way it is returned to the ji-ita of the daisu.

Since the days of Ashikaga Yoshimasa’s second retirement, the gōsu has also used on the naga-ita in the same way (and in Yoshimasa’s case, at least, the gōsu was simply left on the naga-ita at the end of the temae without emptying the water out of it).

When used in other settings, while Rikyū used the gōsu without its lid when serving tea in settings where the daisu was not used (and so handled it exactly like any other mizu-koboshi), Furuta Sōshitsu preferred to use it with the lid, even when performing a hakobi-temae (if the lid is present, the hishaku and futaoki either have to be displayed on the utensil mat beforehand, or else carried out separately: because the gōsu always contains water when the lid is used, the futaoki can not be placed inside it). And when doing so, Oribe always followed the rule of pouring a hishaku-full of cold water into the gōsu before carrying it out to the utensil mat.

††Nanatsu-kazari ]七つかざり] is the way the ji-ita of the daisu is arranged for the most formal gokushin-temae. Nanatsu-kazari means an arrangement of seven (objects), and is (perhaps intentionally) misleading (since the count is not what one would expect).

[A sketch of nanatsu-kazari by Furuta Sōshitsu. Oribe’s writing reads, from the right, mizusashi (水指); koboshi (こほし); futaoki (ふたおき).]

The “seven” objects are: 1) the furo (originally a bronze kimen-buro, though by Rikyū’s day lacquered do-buro were also being used on the daisu, as shown in Oribe’s sketch); 2) the kama; 3) the mizusashi; 4) the hishaku-tate; 5) the hishaku; 6) the mizu-koboshi; and, 7) the futaoki. The hibashi were only placed in the hishaku-tate at the beginning of the sho-za, for use during the sumi-temae, and removed from the room in the sumi-tori at the conclusion of that temae, thus they are not counted. (However, the machi-shū, who were not aware of the orthodox teachings, did not know that the actual teaching included the kama and hishaku; they imagined that the number seven included the two hibashi, and so in machi-shū tea the hibashi always remain in the shaku-tate on formal occasions. The modern schools, which derive from Sōtan, adhere to this machi-shū tradition; while the orthodox teaching has been all but lost.)

¹⁰Ama-no-hashi-tate [あまのはし立].

Ama-no-hashi-tate [天の橋立] was the name of a meibutsu chashaku*; but the exact details have been lost to history. __________ *Some accounts say it was a bamboo chashaku made by Shukō, while others hold that it was carved from ivory by Shutoku [珠德; dates unknown, but active during the second half of the fifteenth century] (the craftsman who worked under Shukō’s direction) to be used with this Shiri-bukura chaire. Yet other commentators suggest that it was made by Ashikaga Yoshimasa -- or even by Jōō. All that is really clear is that, at the time of this gathering, the chashaku was already quite old -- and so (this is the critical point) would be much longer than the chashaku that Rikyū made for use when the chaire was resting on his small chaire-bon.

The chashaku shown below is representative of Shutoku’s work.

Some of Shutoku’s ivory chashaku were coated with black lacquer, including one that was owned by Rikyū (who referred to it as nuri-chashaku [塗茶杓]) -- though nothing indicates whether this might have been the chashaku used at this gathering.

◎ Irrespective of its exact provenance, the important thing for us to reflect on is that this kind of chashaku would have been much longer than usual (since it was probably made for use either on a nagabon, or on Jōō’s larger chaire-bon for a chaire of this size).

According to Rikyū’s Bon-date no densho [盆立傳書], then, when such a chashaku is used with a Rikyū-style chaire-bon, the elongated chashaku had to be placed horizontally in front of the chaire, so that their handle projected off the right side of the tray (as shown in the sketch above), rather than toward the front.

¹¹Yama-masu jū-tsubu bakari [山枡十粒斗].

Yama-masu jū-tsubu bakari [山枡十粒斗]: this expression would appear to describe a measuring-container of a certain specific size (though that size is unknown to us), that was used to dole out -- something. Complicating matters further, while in the Rikyū Daijiten [利休大事典] version of this kaiki* this expression is associated with the word yu-miso [柚みそ], in the Sadō Ko-ten Zen-shu [茶道古典全集] version it is clearly related to the word meshi [めし] (meaning the steamed rice served to the guest).

A masu [枡] is a wooden box that is used to measure out standardized unit quantities, and while the size of the masu was fixed in the cities, a yama-masu [山枡] is a home-made masu of non-standard size (such as might be used in the remote mountainous regions). Jū-tsubu bakari [十粒斗] appears to define the volume of the masu -- that is, it holds “just” or “only” (bakari [斗]) ten tsubu (jū-tsubu [十粒]). The problem is that tsubu [粒] (now) means one grain (for example, of rice) -- so yama-masu jū-tsubu bakari would seem to mean a masu so small that it holds just 10 grains of rice (or 10 beans, or other small things like that, if you would). Historically, tsubu has also been used as a counting word for various small objects -- but precisely how large a volume ten such units would occupy was not defined.

Perhaps “a volume of 10 tsubu” had a specific meaning for Rikyū -- one that has been lost to history.

As for whether this expression should be associated with the yu-miso or the rice, the Rikyū Daijiten version is difficult to reconcile with reality†: while it might mean that Lord Takakage was offered a certain amount of the flavored miso, why that would be critical for Rikyū to document is difficult to understand; the more likely explanation is that it refers to the amount of steamed rice Takakage was offered‡.

Since the Edo period, a “yama-masu” has sometimes been used for measuring out, and subsequently drinking, sake (and some have suggested that the expression might mean that an empty yama-masu was included on the zen for this purpose; though this seems rather improbable, given the high rank of the guest**). ___________ *This is the version of the text that I am using as the basis for this translation, since the Rikyū Chanoyu Sho is printed in that book. Unfortunately, the Rikyū Daijiten simply reproduces the text of the various old writings that were included by the editors, without any attempt at commentary or interpretation -- though even the Sadō Ko-ten Zen-shu (where the expression in question is unambiguously associated with the word for rice) does not venture a guess at what this expression actually means.

†Unfortunately, this is not the first instance where the format used when laying out entries in the Rikyū Daijiten has been, shall we say, confusing. Indeed, the frequency of such lapses almost leads me to conclude that there was a deliberate editorial decision to render these old documents as incomprehensible as possible -- the apparent transparency (of making previously “secret” documents available to the public) disguising an attempt at discouraging anyone from considering to put any of these things into practice (and so deviate from the way that the modern schools insist that things have to be done).

‡As this was a morning gathering, in a period when people typically ate just two times each day, perhaps Rikyū means that he was offering Takakage a larger (or smaller -- if he had met earlier that morning with Hideyoshi, and had broken his fast there) amount of rice than was usual -- measured out in a “yama-masu” that held 10-tsubu (however much that was), rather than in a standard mossō [物相].

**Impossibly large sakazuki [盃] certainly existed in that period -- indeed, Rikyū used one that was between 6- and 7-sun in diameter as a chawan-dai [茶碗臺] when serving tea to Jōō in the Shukō-chawan (above); so if the point was to simply offer Takakage larger drinks of sake, it seems that it would have been more appropriate, given his rank, for a sakazuki of a larger-than-average size to be brought out for that purpose.

¹²Yaki-mono (sake), shiru (kari), yu-miso (yama-masu jū-tsubu bakari), meshi [焼物 (さけ)、汁 (雁)、柚みそ (山枡十粒斗)、めし].

Sake [鮭], which is pronounced shake [しゃけ] in Kyōto (to distinguish the sound of this word from the name of the beverage), is the salmon. As a yaki-mono it is skewered, dabbed with salt, and grilled over a charcoal fire.

Kari [雁], the wild goose, was occasionally taken by hawks during their spring and autumn migrations. Kari-shiru [雁汁], like the other kinds of soup made from game birds, is made by boiling the meat and bones to make a broth. Some of the meat is mashed and made into meatballs, which are served in the soup, along with some seasonal vegetables.

Yu-miso [柚味噌] is actually the name of a dipping sauce, that seems to have been one of Rikyū’s personal favorites*.

The way to prepare yu-miso is described in this way: a small yuzu† is taken and the top end (where the stem was attached) cut off like a cap. Then the flesh is carefully removed, leaving the skin intact like a shell. This is filled with miso, and then placed near a charcoal fire (the heat should come from the side, or above, rather than from below) until the outside of the yuzu begins to singe lightly. This miso, then, was served with various raw vegetables (usually cucumbers and carrots, and other things that can be cut into small “spears”). The guest selected his vegetable and dipped the end into the miso before eating it.

These four things (including the bowl of rice) were served to Lord Takakage on the zen. ___________ *Even today, flavored miso (usually garlic, sesame oil, and crushed hot red pepper paste is used today, since something like yu-miso takes too long to prepare) is a popular dipping sauce for raw vegetable spears in Korea.

†The size is probably not too important, so long as it is not overly large (a large miso will begin to char on the outside before the middle of the miso is even hot; and the farther away from the skin the miso is, the less yuzu taste and smell will be imparted).

In Edo period Japan, the preference was to give each guest his own little yuzu filled with miso, into which he dipped his vegetables. In fact, nothing says that Rikyū served it this way: the yu-miso could just as easily have been scooped out onto several small dishes from one larger yuzu, since it was the flavored miso that was important. However, the focus in kaiseki-ryōri became increasingly visual over the course of the Edo period.

¹³Hiki soshite ・ sake, tsuke[mono] [引而・酒、漬].

As mentioned previously, hiki soshite [引而] means that the subsequently named things were brought out separately, afterward.

In this case, they consist of only sake and a bowl of tsuke-mono. Sake would be drunk with the vegetables dipped in yu-miso as its side-dish; and the tsuke-mono would turn the rice into a more substantial meal.

Though this chakai was held in the morning, it seems that Rikyū is offering Lord Takakage a somewhat lighter repast than might be expected as the first meal of the day. Perhaps Takakage ate earlier with Hideyoshi; or possibly he went to Rikyū’s house to wait for his audience with Hideyoshi -- perhaps he had delicate matters that he wished Rikyū to convey to Hideyoshi on behalf of the Emperor (Hideyoshi’s reason for invading the continent was to subjugate China and eventually have himself installed as its Emperor: this would naturally have been of great concern to the Japanese Emperor and his court, if only because Hideyoshi was still the Japanese Emperor’s subject, and great care would have to be taken to avoid giving offense).

¹⁴Kashi ・ konnyaku, yaki-guri, zakuro [菓子・こんにやく、焼ぐり、柘榴].

Konnyaku [こんにゃく = 蒟蒻] is a sort of vegetarian gelatine sometimes translated “konjac.” It is made from the corm of the East Asian herb occasionally sold as a house plant under names like Devil's tongue, voodoo lily, and snake palm (Amorphophallus konjac). While more commonly included in the ni-mono course at tea gatherings today, for use as a kashi the konnyaku would probably have been cut into rather thin strips, and eaten in that way. While the konnyaku was possibly glazed with honey or sweet white miso, or provided with a sweet dipping sauce, this may not have been necessary (in Rikyū’s opinion).

Yaki-guri [焼栗], as mentioned before, are chestnuts roasted over the charcoal fire; and zakuro [柘榴] refers to the fruit of the pomegranate.

It might be good to add that our modern perception of kashi as “sweets” is probably not especially accurate, at least from a historical point of view. The purpose of kashi was to help cleanse the palate, rather than sweeten the mouth. Thus, rather than sweet foods, the more important quality was a certain general blandness that would replace the flavors of the kaiseki that remain in the mouth. After the sense of taste has been pacified by eating the blander kashi, then the residual flavor of these that lingers in the mouth can be flushed away by rinsing the mouth with water at the tsukubai.

It is important to note that, contrary to modern practice, in Rikyū’s day two chōzu-bishaku* of water were used by each guest†: the first was poured over the hands, and the second was used to rinse the mouth twice. __________ *Sometimes (though not really correctly) known as a tsukubai-bishaku [つくばい柄杓 = 蹲踞柄杓].

†The reason only one chōzu-bishaku of water is used today is because most of the original tsukubai from Rikyū's period were cut to accommodate no more than three guests. Once the number of guests was increased to five in the Edo period, the old tsukubai were no longer adequate if the guests continued to wash in the usual way. However, rather than ordering new ones (in the Edo period, antique things were preferred, because of their value and historical associations), the tea masters simply changed the etiquette, and began to teach their followers to use less water when washing.

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