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chanoyu-to-wa · 2 years ago

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Nampō Roku, Book 7 (38a): the Way to Orient the Fukuro-dana [袋棚] on the Utensil Mat (Part 1).

38) With respect to the way to arrange the fukuro-dana [on the utensil mat], it should be placed 8-sun [toward the far end of the mat], or maybe 1-shaku 2-sun; and 4-me on the sides¹.

But even if this accords with the rule, there is also the case where it may be placed 7-me -- so Rikyū taught². [Yet] if that is so...[I] was confused over how this conundrum might be resolved, so I asked [Rikyū] about it occasionally³.

[Ri]kyū explained “Jōō’s 4.5-mat former room was [covered] with inakama-datami⁴, and you should know that this was the original 4.5-mat room⁵. The fukuro-dana was arranged so that, on the sides, and front to back, it was placed in the exact center [of its half-mat] -- so even if this is not a secret matter, it is nevertheless the orthodox way⁶.

��In general, throughout the whole gathering, from beginning to end, the tana should maintain its position, never being moved to [either] side [after it has been put in place before the guests arrive]⁷ -- it is just as if it were a built-in piece of furniture, this is the way [you] should understand the matter⁸.

“With respect to the 4-me, this refers to the case [where the fukuro-dana is being arranged on a] kyō-datami; in an inakama [where the size of the mats is variable], the me have to be counted out [appropriately]⁹.

“There are people who [arrange the fukuro-dana so it is] exactly 4-me [from the heri] on the side [of the tana] toward the guests, but this is a serious mistake¹⁰. [It is only] because saying ‘in the exact center’ sounds rather superficial, [that we] say 4-me and 8-sun¹¹.”

_________________________

◎ With respect to the text of entry 38, the alternate versions are very similar to what is found in the Enkaku-ji manuscript, so any differences will be discussed in the footnotes. But since both Shibayama Fugen and Tanaka Senshō have misunderstood the dimensions of either the inakama-datami, or the fukuro-dana itself, their commentaries confuse rather than explain, and so will not be discussed here.

Idiomatic usages overwhelmingly suggest that this entry was largely redressed during the Edo period. Perhaps in his memorandum Nambō Sōkei did express his bewilderment over the direction that the explanation of the orientation of the fukuro-dana had changed in the years after Rikyu’s death*; but if that is the case, the resolution of his conundrum appears to have been entirely rewritten by someone acting on behalf of the Sen family: according to an Edo period compendium of Sen family teachings known as the Rikyū den [利休傳], the teachings on the fukuro-dana were passed down to the Sen family from Imai Sōkyū -- and it was from the time that the Sen family started to assert their authority over the use of the fukuro-dana that confusion began to appear in the popular tea literature of the day.

Consequently, before going any further, it might be best to review the original teachings, as they are made clear in Rikyū’s own writings.

Jōō’s way of arranging the fukuro-dana is described in detail in Rikyū’s Nomura Sōkaku-ate fukuro-dana no densho [野村宗覺宛袋棚の傳書], which was written in Tenshō 9 [天正九年] (1581). In that document, he wrote:

fukuro-dana no oki-yō ha, irori no sumi yori hassun nokete oku nari, tadashi oki-dokoro saki no tsukae-zaru tokoro ha hassun yoshi, saki no tsumari-taru toki ha, saki tsumete oku mo yoshi, tana wo oku-tokoro, tatami no heri no ue ippai ni oku nari, katte no kata ha amari shidai

[袋棚の置き様は、圍爐裏のすみより八寸のけて置く也、但し置所先のつかへざる所は八寸よし、先のつまりたる時は、先つめて置くもよし、棚を置く所、疊のへりの上一ぱいに置く也、勝手の方はあまり次第].

Fukuro-dana no oki-yō ha, irori no sumi yori hassun nokete oku nari [袋棚の置き様は、圍爐裏のすみより八寸除けて置く也] means “regarding the way to place the furkuro-dana, place it 8-sun from the corner of the irori.” This is what is shown below (the overlapping of the heri is described at the end of this quote).

Tadashi oki-dokoro saki no tsukae-zaru tokoro ha hassun yoshi [但し置所先の使えざる所は八寸よし] means “however, with respect to the unused space on the far side of where (the tana) is placed, 8-sun is suitable.”

Saki no tsumari-taru toki ha, saki tsumete-oku mo yoshi [先の詰まりたる時は、先詰めて置くもよし] means “when reducing the (space on the) far side, placing it even closer (to the far end) is also acceptable.”

The distance between the tana and the far end of the mat depends on the utensils that are being used. While Rikyū is being vague (he does not like to talk about exact measurements), Jōō defined the maximum distance (in front of the tana) as 1-shaku 2-sun. Ultimately, Rikyū is explaining the arrangement as originally created by Jōō,

The idea of a maximum distance of 1-shaku 2-sun from the ro seems to come from the idea that, on an inakama-datami, when there is 1-shaku 2-sun in front of the tana, its far side will be 4-sun 5-bu from the far end of the mat -- the daisu was placed 4-sun 5-bu from the far end of the mat, so Jōō did not want to impinge on that space.

Tana wo oku-tokoro, tatami no heri no ue ippai ni oku nari [棚を置く所、疊の緣の上一ぱいに置くなり] means “as for where the tana is placed, it should be placed on top of the heri fully (to the edge of the mat)†.”

Katte no kata ha amari shidai [勝手の方は餘り次第] means “as for the katte-side (of the tana), the surplus (space on that side of the tana) is as it will be.” This is significant, since it indicates that Rikyū did not wish to take a stand regarding the actual distance from the heri (perhaps because, even then, the dimensions of the inakama-datami were in a state of flux‡)

Thus, up until that time, Rikyū continued to follow the rules laid down by Jōō during his middle period.

But by Tenshō 15 [天正十五年] (1587), however, Rikyū had modified this way of arranging the fukuro-dana -- probably in keeping with Hideyoshi’s directions (since Hideyoshi preferred to have all tana centered on the utensil mat) -- as we see in his Yorozu-ya no Shinshiro-ate no densho [萬貫屋新四郞宛の傳書]:

fukuro-dana no oki-yō ha, tatami no ryō-me ni ryō go-me-zutsu oki, saki ha roku-sun ni oki, irori yori ha, sumi hassun bakari nokete oku nari

[袋棚の置き様は、疊の兩目に兩五目づつ置き、先は六寸に置き、圍爐裏よりは、すみ八寸ばかりのけて置く也].

Tatami no ryō-me ni ryō go-me-zutsu oki [疊の兩目に兩五目ずつ置き] means “the (number of the) tatami’s me on both (sides), (the fukuro-dana) is placed so that both are 5-me each.”

In other words, the tana is centered between the heri.

Saki ha roku-sun ni oki [先は六寸に置き] means “on the far side it may be placed 6-sun (from the far end of the mat).”

At the end of the utensil mat, there is a 5-bu-wide yū-yo [有餘], so the 6-sun starts at the inner edge of the yū-yo. Thus, the far side of the tana is 6-sun 5-bu from the end of the mat. As a result, on a kyōma-datami there will be a space of 1-shaku 2-sun in front of the tana (Rikyū’s reluctance to speak in terms of measurements is probably the reason for his seeming evasion).

Irori yori ha, sumi hassun bakari nokete oku nari [圍爐裏よりは、すみ八寸ばかり除けて置くなり] means “from the irori, (from) the corner it should be placed exactly 8-sun**.”

This is referring to the case where the orientation is measured from the corner of the ro. Here Rikyū is simply repeating Jōō‘s teaching.

The two orientations are mutually exclusive. Since the fukuro-dana is being arranged on a kyōma half-mat (which measures 3-shaku 1-sun 5-bu from the midline to the far end of the mat), when it is 6-sun from the far end, there will be 1-shaku 2-sun 5-bu in front of the tana; while when there is a space of 8-sun in front, there will be 1-shaku 5-bu on the far side.

Returning to the present entry, its length (as well as the inclusion of the above tutorial) necessitates its being divided across two posts (the second of which will follow next time). ___________ *The fukuro-dana seems to have been used fairly regularly since his middle period until at least the 1580s -- a not surprising development, since it originally offered the host the only real alternative to the use of the daisu (meaning that utensils that had formerly been scorned as not sufficiently perfect for the earlier setting could now be used with impunity in this new, distinctly wabi, setting). And it appears to have even been placed within the kamae at the head of the daime (indeed, the size of the kamae, as well as the location of the mizusashi when no oki-dana is present, derive directly from this practice -- since kamae of this sort were a traditional feature of Korean domestic architecture designed to hide furnishings that were not considered decorative -- storage chests, dry sinks, and things of that sort). And the original mizusashi-dana created by other notable chajin were derived from the half of the fukuro-dana on which the mizusashi is arranged, and they were originally placed on the utensil mat so as to located the mizusashi in its erstwhile place. These things only began to change after Rikyū created the tsuri-dana (in 1582) -- which functioned like the naka-dana of the fukuro-dana.

The general decline in the popularity of the fukuro-dana seems to have dated from that time as well, though notable chajin of the early Edo period (such as Furuta Sōshitsu and Kobori Masakazu) still preferred to use it in their kusari-no-ma [鏁ノ間] (the wabi 6-mat room appended to the more formal 8-mat reception-room version of the shoin).

†The reason why the fukuro-dana was placed on top of the heri is because, at the time when Jōō first began to use this tana, the only way chanoyu had been performed theretofore was with the daisu. -- the large daisu in a kyōma room (a room whose floor was covered with kyōma-datami, which measure 6-shaku 3-sun by 3-shaku 1-sun 5-bu), and the small daisu in the inakama (though a range of descriptions purporting to memorialize the dimensions of the inakama-datami are found in the literature of the period, and after, it seems that Jōō used an “inakama-datami” that measured 5-shaku 9-sun by 2-shaku 9-sun 5-bu -- this size of mat was deliberately made to accommodate the antique small daisu, possibly the one originally used by Shukō, that Jōō had acquired).

By placing the ji-ita of the fukuro-dana on top of the heri, Jōō moved the mizusashi (which was naturally centered within its compartment on the fukuro-dana) to the same spot it had occupied when arranged on the small daisu. This is shown in the sketch.

‡Unlike the kyōma-datami, the dimensions of which seem to have been fixed since earlier times, the inakama-datami was always calculated based on the space available. The lots available to most townsmen (since it is to this kind of tatami that the term “inakama” refers, in practice -- even though the compound inaka [田舎] means “countryside”) were determined by subdividing the space between major thoroughfares, and usually represented the minimum amount of space that a household could occupy. In Kyōto and Ōsaka they were always painfully small (which is why the classics are replete with complaints that, in the poorer parts of the capital, the neighbors seem to be living in the same house, rather than next door); but in Edo (where the government pushed this minimizing to an extreme) the plots for machi-ya were called “eel beds” (meaning long and narrow, and only big enough for the occupants to wriggle into). So, while Jōō may have based his inakama-datami on the dimensions of his antique small daisu, the actual size probably differed based on the expectations of each chajin -- and so they were probably closer to what are called “apartment-sized tatami” today. A 4.5-mat room of that sort seems more similar, spatially speaking, to a 2-mat kyōma, rather than to a 4.5-mat kyōma room!

**In the Tada Sōgen-den Rikyū hyakka-jō [多田宗玄傳利休百箇條] (“Rikyū’s Hundred Lines, as Transmitted to Tada Sōgen” -- not to be confused with the Hundred Poems), which seems to have been the last of his densho, however, Rikyū wrote:

fukuro-dana, irori-kamachi, soko yori tana-kamachi made, hassun go-bu oite yoshi

[袋棚、圍爐裏かまち、底より棚かまちまで、八寸五分置いてよし].

This means “the fukuro-dana, (measuring) from the sill of the irori to the space occupied by the tana, placing it 8-sun 5-bu (away) is suitable.”

Irori-kamachi [圍爐裏框] is referring to the ro-buchi [爐緣] (kamachi means a sill or frame). Tana-kamachi [棚框] is referring to the front edge of the fukuro-dana: the legs are recessed from the edges of the shelves by 3-bu (and the door that closes the ji-fukuro is recessed 5-bu from the front edge), giving the impression that the ji-ita is surrounded by a sort of frame.

This densho dates from the very end of Rikyū’s life, after he moved his household to Mozuno. At that time, according to his kaiki, he had begun to use Jōō’s larger chaire-bon together with the chaire with which they had been paired. Since these trays are mostly between 8-sun and 8-sun 5-bu square, perhaps this slight change in the orientation of the tana was intended to compensate for the larger size of these trays.

(When a naka-bon [中盆] was used -- this was one of the reasons why the tana was placed 1-shaku 2-sun away from the ro -- the tray measured 1-shaku 2-sun 3-bu in diameter. But the meibutsu naka-bon was a round tray, and so, even though it technically projects onto the space reserved for the host’s seat, the intrusion is only from a small part of its rim, so its presence will not inconvenience the host. But the chaire-bon were usually square trays -- most of the antique “higashi-bon” were originally used for this purpose -- so the likelihood that they might be bumped by the host’s sleeve would warrant keeping those trays away from the host’s seat.)

¹Fukuro-dana no oki-kata, iri ha hassun ka isshaku ni-sun, waki ha yon me　[袋棚ノ置方、入ハ八寸カ一尺二寸、脇ハ四目].

Fukuro-dana [袋棚] is a variety of large oki-dana [置棚] (a tana that is portable, one that is not built-in) that was created by Jōō, based on a Korean tana that was brought from the continent by Shino Sōshin [志野宗信; 1443? ~ 1522]* during the second half of the fifteenth century.

While Sōshin’s tana was stained dark brown, with brass fittings (such as corners, as well as a latching mechanism to lock the ji-fururo [地袋]), Jōō‘s tana was of unpainted paulownia wood†, and had a single lift-out door that could not be locked.

When Jōō first began to use the ro, in a room covered with the smaller inakama tatami‡, he adopted the fukuro-dana as a way to display the utensils (since up to that time only the daisu had been used, so the customs of the day required the various objects to be displayed prior to the service of tea for the delectation of the guests). Because of the precedent of the daisu, Jōō placed the ji-ita of the fukuro-dana on top of the heri on the side closest to the ro, so that the mizusashi would be in the same place as it was when arranged on the daisu, as explained above.

The ten-ita and ji-ita of Jōō’s fukuro-dana measured 2-shaku 4-sun by 1-shaku 3-sun**, and this is the size that matches Rikyū’s explanation. However, during the Edo period, a fukuro-dana whose ten- and ji-ita measured 2-shaku 5-sun 5-bu by 1-shaku 3-sun was favored by the Sen family, and it is to this sort of tana that the author of this entry occasionally refers.

Since the board that forms the inner side of the ji-fukuro, and then rises to support the naka-dana (it is sometimes called the kabura-ita [蕪板]†† because the openwork somewhat resembles a turnip) is 5-bu thick, this means that the compartment occupied by the mizusashi on Jōō’s fukuro-dana measures approximately 1-shaku 1-sun by 1-shaku 3-sun (while on the larger version, the compartment is approximately 1-shaku 2-sun square). The mizusashi is always placed on the ji-ita, centered within this compartment; and this side of the fukuro-dana should always be closest to the ro‡‡.

Iri [入り] means pushed “inward” -- that is, toward the far end of the mat.

Hassun ka isshaku ni-sun [八寸か一尺二寸] means 8-sun or maybe 1-shaku 2-sun.

Waki ha yon-me [脇は四目] means on the side (of the tana), 4-me. ___________ *Shino Sōshin’s dates are unclear since both the father and his son (who was also born in Korea, and emigrated in the company of his father) used the same name, so the latter date (and probably the other as well) most likely refers to the son. The first generation born in Japan, Shino Sō-on [志野宗温; 1477 ~ 1557 or 1562] could have been the son of either man. The Korean line died with Shino Shōha [志野省巴 1502 ~ 1572] (his name is sometimes pronounced Shōpa), who was Sō-on’s second child (Shōha was a close friend of Rikyū’s).

After Shōha’s death, the school was continued by the family’s Japanese disciples (and it was from that time that the original meditative style of incense appreciation favored by the early generations began to be replaced by a focus on the classical incense guessing games that had been pastimes of the Japanese aristocracy since the Heian period).

The Shino family’s fukuro-dana had a pair of hinged doors that closed the ji-fukuro, and these were provided with a bronze lock (since their precious kyara [伽羅] incense was stored in the ji-fukuro). In contrast, Jōō‘s version of the tana had a single, lift-out door, which Jōō encouraged the guests to open, so that they could inspect the utensils that were arranged within the ji-fukuro. The ji-fukuro is said to be the origin of the dōko [洞庫], according to many scholars.

†Some old examples of Jōō’s version of the fukuro-dana that survive from the sixteenth century are also rubbed with dark brown lacquer (which is a mixture of the iron-blackened shin-nuri [眞塗] and the transparent, honey-colored Shunkei-nuri [春慶塗]), and some scholars have claimed that this was the original type (so that the only difference was that Jōō’s tana lacquered the metal fittings -- which, in Japan, were made of silver in the beginning, since bronze-making was not introduced, from Korea, until the mid-1590s). Be that as it may, Rikyū certainly favored the unpainted variety, and this is the kind that is best known in chanoyu today.

‡It seems that the inakama 4.5-mat room was the original setting in which the ro was used for chanoyu. Only somewhat later was it also cut in a room covered with kyōma-tatami, and it was in that kind of room that the kyū-dai daisu [及第臺子] was used (since this allowed for a more formal arrangement that mirrored the way the kaigu were placed on the daisu). However, since there were originally only a few kyū-dai daisu (some accounts mention 3), and they were not being made in Japan, very shortly afterward the fukuro-dana came to be used in that setting as well -- and it was from that time that the questions regarding how to orient the fukuro-dana on the utensil mat, that are discussed in this entry, began to arise.

**Shibayama, however, gives the size as 2-shaku 5-sun 5-bu by 1-shaku 3-sun (which is the modern size of the fukuro-dana, and the size that is recognized by the Sen family). The result, however, is that he misinterprets everything discussed in this entry.

††Kabura-ita [蕪板]: kabura [蕪] means a turnip, and seems to be referring to the shape of the window cut into the board between the kō-dana and the naka-dana (which somewhat resembles a turnip in profile).

This ancient decorative motif (which is seen throughout East Asia) is usually called a kōzama-sukashi [格狹間透し or 香狹間透し]. The precise meaning of “kōzama” (the kanji used for the name are hentai-gana, which in this case seem to be from the Korean idu [이두 = 吏讀] writing system -- what are called manyō-gana [萬葉仮名] in Japan, and which formed the basis for the Japanese hiragana system) has been debated by scholars, without any good resolution (perhaps because it is a Korean, rather than Japanese, word).

The openwork featured on the Korean tana used by Shino Sōshin appears to have been the same as what is found on Jōō’s fukuro-dana.

‡‡Because the fukuro-dana could not originally be disassembled, it had to be ordered in either a hon-gatte [本勝手] (today this means that the mizusashi is on the right), or gyaku-gatte [逆勝手] (where the compartment for the mizusashi is on the left side of the tana), configuration.

In recent years, versions that can be taken apart (for storage) have appeared, and these can sometimes be assembled in reverse, if the room makes that necessary. Nevertheless, they are invariably of the larger size described by Shibayama, and so are useless if one’s purpose is to recreate the arrangements discussed in this entry.

²Jōhō naredomo, nana-me ni oki-koto ari to Kyū oshie-tamau　[定法ナレトモ、七目ニ置コトアリト休ヲシヘ玉フ].

Jōhō naredomo [定法なれども] means “but even if this is the rule....”

Nana-me [七目] means 7-me [目], seven lines on the mat*.

This appears to be referring to a corruption of Jōō's way of arranging the fukuro-dana on an inakama-datami, since, instead of being placed on top of the heri, the tana is placed fully between the heri, and oriented so that the side toward the guests touches the heri -- which seems to have been the way that Imai Sōkyū related this teaching to his machi-shū followers†.

Kyū oshie-tamau [休教え給う] means “Rikyū bestowed this teaching‡.” The way this is phrased is extremely deferential** -- the way the Sen family referred to the edictal pronouncements of “Rikyū the tea-kami,” rather than the way that someone who was one of his intimates (such as was Nambō Sōkei) would have ascribed the quotation††. ___________ *There has always been a certain amount of variability between the different weavers of the omote [表] (the woven grass surface of the tatami mats), but the me are rarely (probably never) exactly 5-me apart (most seem between 4.8-bu and 4.9-bu, according to my own measurements of mats in various parts of Japan). This is why Rikyū usually preferred to talk in terms of me, rather than exact measurements, and why these were only approximations, intended to guide the beginner (because he can see and count the me when he is placing the utensil down on the mat).

†When the fukuro-dana is placed so that it is fully between the heri on an inakama-datami, and arranged so that it touches the heri on the side of the mat toward the guests, the space on the katte-side will indeed be 7-me. But when the ji-ita is placed on top of the heri, the space on the katte-side will be approximately 9-me.

Apparently this line of thinking turned on the idea that nothing should ever be placed on top of the heri, and so the saying of heri ippai [緣一ぱい] was now interpreted to mean not “fully on top of the heri,” but so that the ji-ita “should abut the heri fully” (in other words, there is no space between the ji-ita of the fukuro-dana and the heri on that side; the ji-ita touches the heri).

‡Though it should be noted that Rikyū did not actually state the measurement of the space on the katte-side of the tana. He said katte no kata ha amari shidai [勝手の方は餘り次第] means “on katte-side, the excess is whatever it is.”

**Linguistically, this form would be appropriate to the Edo period.

††Also please see the sub-note under footnote 10 for additional insights on this matter.

³Sono tōri made ni te ha, rakuchaku-shi-gatashi to tabi-tabi tazune-mōsu　[其通マデニテハ、落著シガタシト度〻尋申ス].

Sono tōri made [その通りまで] means (even if) that is (also) correct....

Rakuchaku-suru [落着]* means to settle (a matter), to resolve (an issue).

In other words, Nambō Sōkei (since he is the presumed author) is saying that he is unable to make up his mind about this matter, or he is unable to decide which is the proper course, with respect to reconciling these two different teachings. Consequently, from time to time (tabi-tabi [度々]) Sōkei asked (tazune-mōsu [尋ね申す]) Rikyū about this matter.

Sōkei is confused because he does not understand how these different orientations might be possible. When the fukuro-dana rests on top of the heri, as Jōō and Rikyū taught, this leaves 4-sun 5-bu (roughly 9-me) on the katte-side of the tana (on an inakama mat); meanwhile, when the fukuro-dana is centered between the heri, there will be approximately 3-and-a-half-me on either side on an inakama-datami, and 5-me and a half me on either side on a kyōma-datami†.

Here, Shibayama’s teihon has sono tōri made ni te ha ochi-tsuki-gatashi to tabi-tabi tazune-mōsu [其通迄ニテハ難落附ト度〻尋申ス]. Ochi-tsuki-gatashi [落ち附き難し]‡ means it is difficult to satisfy ones mind (over the correct way to do things), so the meaning is the same. ___________ *Usually rakuchaku is written rakuchaku [落着] in the present.

†Or, if we consider a fukuro-dana that measures 2-shaku 5-sun 5-bu by 1-shaku 3-sun, if the side toward the guests is placed on top of the heri, there would be a space of 3-sun (6-me) on the katte-side, when it is arranged on an inakama-datami.

And if it is centered between the heri, there would be 1-sun (2-me) on both sides on an inakama-datami, and 2-sun (4-me) on both sides on a kyōma-datami.

While the latter agrees with this text, there is no way to reconcile a fukuro-dana of this size with the 7-me purportedly proposed by Rikyū (without going into explanations that are clearly specious, especially when viewed in light of the orthodox teachings that Rikyū adhered to all his life).

‡However, today this would be written ochi-tsuki-gatashi [落ち着き難し], which is a grammatical variation on the above construction.

⁴Kyū iu, Jōō no yo-jō-han ha inakama-datami ni te arishi nari　[休云、紹鷗ノ四疊半ハイナカ間疊ニテアリシナリ].

Arishi [在りし] means previous. In other words, this text is stating that Jōō’s original 4.5-mat room was covered with inakama-datami (which is historically inaccurate).

Certainly the original ro was installed in a 4.5-at room covered with inakama-datami [田舎間疊], which was a room type that Jōō favored (prior to that innovation, he had been using the small daisu, with its series of simplified arrangements, in the same setting). However, prior to that time Jōō used the daisu, and the daisu could not be used with the ro. Thus a 4.5-mat room without a ro had to have come first -- and this room was apparently constructed to accommodate an antique small daisu that Jōō managed to acquire (possibly this was the small daisu that, according to some accounts, had originally belonged to Shukō).

Nevertheless, while this assertion is generally true, in so far as at least one of Jōō’s early rooms (though probably not his first) was an inakama yo-jō-han [田舎間四畳半], we should always be suspicious of any statement where Rikyū is shown to be explaining to Nambō Sōkei about things that Jōō said or did during his middle period -- because not only had Sōkei been one of Jōō’s early disciples, but he had been associated with Jōō before the young Rikyū was introduced to Jōō, and had also been present during Jōō’s middle period, for much of which Rikyū had been absent (during his decade on the continent).

While Jōō gave Rikyū a notebook of Jōō’s secret teachings* (of which nothing seems to be known with certainty), along with Jōō’s original copy of his Daikoku-an no uta [大黒庵の歌]†, from his deathbed, Sōkei received the collection of secret arrangements for the daisu, arranged in historical order (this collection is preserved as Book Five of the Nampō Roku) -- which suggests that Sōkei was also an extremely important disciple of the master, someone to whom such common knowledge of Jōō and his methods would never need to be explained. ___________ *Perhaps describing his ideas about wabi-no-chanoyu, and possibly including a the text of his Hundred Poems of Chanoyu (Chanoyu hyaku shu [茶湯百首])

†Waga na wo ba Daikoku-an to iu nareba fukuro-dana ni zo hiji ha komekeru [我名をば大黒庵といふなれば袋棚にぞ秘事はこめける]: “if my name may be said to be Daikoku-an, then it is surely in the fukuro-dana that I conceal my secrets!”

The possession of this poem indicated that Rikyū was to be regarded as Jōō’s heir (since it permitted him to use the name Daikoku-an as the name of his own compound) -- all of which Rikyū himself relates to his interlocutors in his early densho.

⁵Kore hon-shiki no yo-jō-han to kokoroe-beshi　[コレ本式ノ四疊半ト心得ベシ].

Hon-shiki no yo-jō-han [本式の四疊半] seems to be overly broad, since the phrase means that this inakama room was the “original” 4.5-mat room. It might be better to say that it was the original “wabi-style” room (which seems to be the direction in which this essay is moving).

The prototypical 4.5-mat room was the Dōjin-sai shoin [同仁齋書院], which. of course, is covered with kyōma-datami. So to assert that the inakama 4.5-mat room was the original kind of room used for chanoyu appears to be a machi-shū attempt to rewrite the history of chanoyu.-- as, indeed, was the trend at the beginning of the Edo period.

⁶Fukuro-dana hidari-migi mae-ushiro mannaka ni oki-koto hiji mo naku hon-shiki nari　[袋棚左右前後眞中ニ置コト秘事モナク本式也].

Hidari-migi [左右] means (on the) left, and (on the) right.

Mae-ushiro [前後] means in front of, and behind.

In other words, the orientation parameters -- the distance between the fukuro-dana and the heri, and between the far end of the mat and the midline of the mat (below which the ro was cut).

Mannaka ni oki-koto [眞中に置こと] means centering (the fukuro-dana) -- between the heri*, as well as between the far end of the mat and the middle†.

Hiji mo naku [秘事もなく] means (the idea of centering the fukuro-dana) is not a secret matter; centering (the fukuro-dana) is not a secret.

Hon-shiki nari [本式なり] means (this is) the orthodox way (of orienting the fukuro-dana on the utensil mat).

The implication seems to be that the orthodox way to do things is always a closely guarded secret‡, yet in this case (in lieu of any other rules) it seems rather obvious -- which might cause people to doubt its truth.

Once again, this explanation deviates even further from what Rikyū said -- which was a feature of Imai Sōkyū’s way of explaining Jōō’s teachings** (possibly in an effort to discredit Rikyū, whom he considered an upstart, while Jōō was the authority)

In Shibayama Fugen's teihon the sentence is punctuated a little differently (which makes the meaning less ambiguous), but the meaning is the same.

Nevertheless, if the fukuro-dana is placed in the very center of its half mat, regardless of the size of the fukuro-dana or the type of the mat (inakama-datami, or kyōma-datami), none of the measurements work††. ___________ *Though not the way Jōō originally did things, there is historical precedent for this.

†This is completely contrary to both Jōō’s and Rikyū’s teachings, and so is likely a spurious interpolation (which agrees with machi-shū accounts written in the early Edo period).

‡As was certainly the case in the Sen family’s chanoyu. This refrain of “that is secret” became so pervasive in the Edo period that people simply assumed that anything that was common knowledge, or that was obvious or logical, could not possibly be true. The details of the orthodox way were overlaid by layer upon layer of intricately contrived secrecy, that, like an onion, could only be pealed away through countless years of dedicated (and unquestioning) study.

**Imai Sōkyū argued that Jōō’s teachings were all modified (though he would have said corrupted) by Rikyū after the two men interacted following Rikyū’s return from the continent. So he rejects whatever could be associated with Rikyū, and asserts that the correct way was however he preferred to do things (since he seems to have assumed that that was how RIkyū came up with his teachings).

††And, as mentioned above, centering the fukuro-dana between the heri does not seem to have become a thing until sometime after Rikyū entered Hideyoshi’s household, in the autumn of 1582.

⁷Sōjite ichi-za shi-jū oki-tsuke ni suru tana nado, waki ni yoru to iu-koto nashi　[惣而一座始終置付ニスル棚ナド、脇ニヨルト云コトナシ].

Sōjite [惣而 = 総じて] means in general, on the whole. In other words, this sentence is going to explain the way things are usually to be done.

Ichi-za [一座] is effectively an Edo period expression, derived from kabuki, that refers to the entire gathering*.

Shi-jū [始終] means (from) beginning (to) end.

Waki ni yoru...nashi [脇に寄る...なし] means (the tana) should not be moved to one side or the other.

In other words, the host positions the tana when he arranging the room for the chakai, and it remains in that position until the gathering ends. Specifically, the host should not place it one way for the shoza (so as, for example, to accommodate an especially large kama during the sumi-temae), and then reposition it during the naka-dachi, since so much space will not be necessary if the host is going to use an ordinary chaire and chawan during the goza. ___________ *A kabuki performance traditionally started at dawn, and continued until sunset (since there was no safe way to provide artificial illumination that would not risk starting a fire), and this was referred to as the ichi-za. Nevertheless, the performance was divided into sections, separated by intermissions -- and so the term came to be applied to the chakai, which also had two parts separated by the naka-dachi.

⁸Tsukuri-tsuke-taru kakyo no gu to kokoro-e-beshi　[作リ付タル家居ノ具ト心得ベシ].

Tsukuri-tsuke-taru [作り付けたる] means something that has been built-in (such as the chigai-dana in the shoin); something that is permanently installed and can not be moved.

Kakyo no gu [家居の具] means household furnishing(s).

In other words, the reader should understand that once the fukuro-dana (or any other tana-mono, for that matter) has been set up on the utensil mat, it should be dealt with as if it were a permanently installed piece of furniture. Once it has been situated according to the host’s lights, it must stay as it is until the gathering is over.

⁹Yon-me to iu ha kyō-datami no koto naru wo, inakama ni te me wo kazoete　[四目ト云ハ京ダヽミノコトナルヲ、イナカ間ニテ目ヲカソヘテ].

Yon-me to iu ha kyō-datami no koto naru [四目と云うは京畳のことなる] means 4-me refers to the kyō-datami.

Here this appears to refer to a fukuro-dana of the modern size (which appeared during the Edo period) -- one where the ji-ita (and ten-ita) measures 2-shaku 5-sun 5-bu by 1-shaku 3-sun. When centered on a kyōma-datami, there is a space of 2-sun (approximately 4-me*) on both sides of the tana.

Inakama ni te me wo kazoete [田舎間にても目を數えて] means the me have to be counted on the inakama[-datami] -- that is, the number of me between the tana and the heri are different (from what is stated here) when the fukuro-dana is arranged on an inakama-datami. ___________ *The inner edge of the heri coincides with a me on the side of the mat toward the guests. And the traditional rule is that when objects are arranged on the mat, the side toward the guests should likewise coincide with a me. Therefore, on the side of the mat toward the guests, the fukuro-dana will be exactly 4-me from the heri. On the other side, however, it will be a little more (because the me are slightly less than 5-bu wide).

¹⁰Yon-me kyaku-tsuke no kata bakari kazoe-atte-oki hito ari, higa-koto nari　[四目客付ノ方バカリカゾヘ合テ置人アリ、ヒガコト也].

Kyaku-tsuke no kata bakari [客付の方ばかり] means only on the side where the guests are sitting.

Kazoe-atte [數え合って] means to agree with the count (of exactly four me).

Oki-hito ari [置き人あり] means there are people who place the fukuro-dana so that it is exactly 4-me on the side toward the guests. As mentioned in the sub-note found in the previous footnote, this was the orthodox way it was supposed to be done.

Higa-koto [僻事] means something that is wrong*, something that is a mistake.

Obviously this contradicts the orthodox way of doing things -- and it is the orthodox way of arranging objects that Rikyū describes in his densho. __________ *However, the nuance of higa [僻] includes the sense of something being immoral, a heinous act.

This teaching seems to come from the way the fukuro-dana was arranged within the daime-gamae (which, incidentally, is where the two positions of the mizusashi within the kamae -- even when the mizusashi is placed directly on the mat -- originated).

In the Chanoyu hyaku shu [茶湯百首] (erroneously referred to as the Rikyū hyaku shu [利休百首] today) is the poem:

ni-jō-dai san-jō-dai no mizusashi ha mazu konotsu-me ni oku ga hō nari

[二疊臺三疊臺の水さしは先ず九ツ目におくが法なり]

“In the 2-mat dai[me room] and the 3-mat dai[me room], the mizusashi is placed approximately 9-me [from the heri]: this is the rule.”

Konotsu-me [九ツ目] is a contraction, more commonly encountered in the spoken form of the language than in its written form -- though used here on account of the needs of the syllable count.

Me [目] is used only when counting in the direction of the me (hence this cannot be mistaken to mean something like “from the far end of the mat”).

When the fukuro-dana (with a ji-ita measuring 2-shaku 4-sun by 1-shaku 3-sun) is centered within the kamae -- both front-to-back as well as side-to-side -- the mizusashi ends up in the place described in this poem. This is shown below. In this case the tana is 1-sun 7-bu 5-rin from the heri on both sides. However, since the right heri does not correspond to the underlying me, the practice of centering the tana without worrying about matching the right side of the tana to a me arose (and this was elaborated into Imai Sōkyū’s teaching which we are considering in this entry).

Alternately, the mizusashi can also be placed 11-me from the heri, which describes the arrangement shown below (where the left side is a distance equal to 1-me from the heri, and the right a distance equal to 6-me from the heri).

Note that the excess space when the fukuro-dana is placed between the heri totals 7-me, and this appears to be the actual origin of that number.

(Regarding the kane-wari markings, the kane are distributed as if this were on a full-width kyōma-datami, even within the kamae; and, front to back, the 5-bu at the far end next to the wall, and the 2-sun at the front of the kamae that is occupied by the naka-bashira are both yū-yo [有餘] -- that is, off-limits, so nothing should ever be placed there. The remaining 1-shaku 4-sun, measured front to back, is likewise divided by five horizontal kane, with both the fukuro-dana and the mizusashi centered on the middle of these -- as shown in the drawings. While it is customary to open the wall at the bottom of the sode-kabe today, this practice dates back only to Furuta Sōshitsu, and became popular in the years after Rikyū’s death through Oribe’s influence as Rikyū’s de facto successor, possibly in response to Hideyoshi’s order; Rikyū’s sode-kabe was fully plastered all the way down to the baseboard on which this sleeve-wall rests, so the interior of the kamae was not visible to the guests.)

¹¹Mannaka to itte ha, hitoe ni asa-asashiki kikoyuru yue, yon-me hassun to iu nari　[眞中ト云テハ、ヒトヘニアサ〰シタ聞ユル故、四目八寸ト云也].

Mannaka to itte ha [眞中と云っては] means “with respect to saying that (the fukuro-dana should be) exactly centered....”

Hitoe ni [偏に] means things like alone, entirely, only, exclusively, solely.

Asa-asashii kikoeru yue [淺々しい聞えるゆえ] means “because this sounds rather superficial.”

Yon-me hassun to iu nari [四目八寸と云うなり] means we say 4-me 8-sun.

In other words, because saying “exactly centered” sounds rather nitpicky, we say 4-me (and) 8-sun -- even though 4-me is not truly accurate (according to this author).

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murmurmurl · 11 months ago

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i need u to tell me everything about your unit so when ill be writing once i have time, i can put them in it too

hohoheheoehehehoheoe,,,,,,, I'm gonna use this as an opportunity to shove all of the most important info into one place. Everything is a little all over the place tho, but it's always like that wjkhkskh

Helianthus♡Light!

Helianthus is the genus which includes sunflowers. Fumi and Seina suggested this part of the name, since Fumi loves flowers and the flower language/symbolism behind them, and Seina knows the more,, biological/scientific stuffs. The "Light" part is both because it also has to do with sunflowers, and Toshiro suggested that they're "reaching for light", because they chose the name at the end of their main story and they were feeling very hopeful,, it's not like they're not hopeful now, idk why I phrased it like that ANYWAYS.

I'm kind of not sure what type of music they play (mainly because I don't know ANYTHING about music genres lol), but it's definitely something warm, nostalgic, maybe a bit echo-y, somewhat soft, and their cover arts definitely include a lot of nature stuff,,,,, I haven't designed their virtual singers yet, but they're probably gonna be Rin and Luka (and Miku obv)

Unit members!

Toshiro Hasegawa (they/he)

178 cm tall, unit leader, probably main vocalist?, class 2-B (post-3rd anni), class 1-C (pre-3rd anni). Pretty energetic and outgoing, straight-A student, very afraid of failure and tends to try to earn love and affection through exceeding at everything because family problems, yay. Has an older brother (Hiroto Hasegawa, he/him), who is a part of ANOTHER unit,, The two are pretty distant. The whole family actually is, woops. Toshiro is also VERY into crystals and spirituality. It gives a sense of certainty. Also has an orange cat named Surfer. They're a big MMJ fan, specifically Airi fan. Friends with Ichika and An. Always braids/does everyone's hair.

Matsu Kimura (he/him)

162 cm, probably also vocals, but mainly deals with the uhm technical musical stuff that I know nothing about?? class 3-C (post-3rd anni), class 2-B (pre-3rd anni). Very bubbly, energetic, affectionate, super-uber-extra autism (sea-flavoured), very average grades because he only really does what he's interested in, but he does it rlly good. Used to get bullied in middle school, struggles with people's expectations and trying to fit in. Very-very silly. Only child. Keeps pet fish. Friends with Emu. Very tactile, loves tackling people.

Fumi Hatanaka (she/they)

169 cm, loves musical instruments and plays guitar, class 2-A (post-3rd anni), class 1-B (pre-3rd anni). A surprisingly bad student, doesn't care about school. She's pretty reserved and a bit grumpy most of the time but tends to easily get angry and even a little aggressive. Cares a lot about her friends, even though she doesn't really know how to show it. Also doesn't want to show "weakness". Blames herself for being too soft in middle school and not being able to help Matsu. Her family owns and runs a small flower shop. Friends with Shiho, dislikes Tsukasa and Rui (thinks they're too obnoxious and chaotic lmao). Also an only child. Doesn't have pets, but feeds strays that often hang out around the shop. Friends with Shiho and pretty much all of leo/need, as well as Toya. Can be pretty distant physically, but likes subtle physical gestures of affection.

Seina Amari (she/her)

175 cm, writes lyrics for their songs, loves writing in general, the only one in the group who goes to Miya girls', class 3-B (post-3rd anni), class 2-B (pre-3rd anni). Does VERY good at school, super responsible, helps everyone, though isn't actually all that interested in most subjects except literature. She's very calm and caring, always tries to help everyone, has a very gentle energy about her. This mostly comes from the fact that she had hurt a dear friend in the past, which was actually genuinly her fault, but also some shit happened, and she ended up dealing with this by being overly-caring and not letting her loved ones see when she's struggling. Doesn't mean she doesn't ACTUALLY care though. She very much does. Has a younger sibling (Taru Amari, they/them), who's also part of the same unit Hiroto is! Also has a pet bunny named Puddle, who's very similar to her, which I think is funny,, not exactly friends with Mafuyu, but just a little bit closer than regular acquaintances. Close friends with Shizuku and pretty much the rest of MMJ too (Toshiro nearly fainted when they found out). Has a part-time job at a local coffee shop, where she met and became friends with Ena. Often shows affection/compassion by something like placing a hand on someone's shoulder.

I decided that they all should have emojis because,, idk,,,, it's fun,,,,,, so:

Toshiro – 🍑

Matsu – 🦈 (or jellyfish, but I don't have this one and don't want to have to copy-paste it every time,,)

Fumi – 🍊

Seina – 🍃 or ✒️ (but here I mostly use ✒️)

How all of them know each other!

(Because I wanted ALL of them to have some kind of connection to each other before the unit was formed. I think it's fun.)

🦈🍊 Matsu and Fumi are childhood friends and went to the same middle school. It was very awkward and tense at first when they met again in high-school, because back then Fumi felt extremely guilty and ended up distancing herself, eventually kind of abandoning Matsu when he needed support most.

🍑🍊 (fucking fruits /j) Toshiro's brother visits Fumi's family's flower shop very frequently, that's how Toshiro and Fumi met, since she often helps out with the shop in the evenings. Though they didn't become close until the main story started and the unit was firmed.

🍑✒️ Toshiro and Seina know each other because their siblings, Hiroto and Taru, are friends! So they kinda met through Seina accompanying Taru whenever they wanted to visit Hiroto.

🍊✒️ Fumi loves coffee and met Seina when going to the coffee shop Seina works part-time at. Because Fumi ended up being a regular customer there, even with their tough personality the two became acquaintances, but also didn't become very close until the events of the main story.

🍑🦈 Toshiro and Matsu just kinda bumped into each other at school. They became friends before the events of the main story.

🦈✒️ I think Matsu and Seina are the only exception though. They've only met when the main story started.

[also, side note – none of them canonically have labels, but the pronouns are canon]

Dynamics!!

🍑🍊 They bicker and argue a lot, but not, like, SERIOUSLY. They're both aware they're joking and most of the time it's affectionate. Fumi isn't as big of a fan of physical affection as it seems the rest of the unit is, so Toshiro doesn't get the chance to braid her hair that often. But when he does, it's very nice and relaxing for both. Surprisingly, Toshiro might be the closest to Fumi, after Matsu, that is.

🍑✒️ Toshiro loves braiding/doing everyone's hair, as I've mentioned already, and his favorite to do this to is Seina. They especially like braiding these tail-like longer parts of her hair. Overall, they're pretty close because of their siblings, and Toshiro might be one of the first people Seina eventually opens up to. Also, I keep forgetting that Toshiro is actually taller. Most of the time, Seina just. FEELS taller, idk.

🍑🦈 These two are very close. They both kinda admire Rui and Tsukasa, which worsens their already chaotic behavior. They're actually two menaces together and no one is safe. Matsu loves tackling Toshiro more than everyone else and Toshiro might sometimes jokingly complain, but loves the attention. Matsu's hair is also his second favorite to braid. Also they drag Matsu to MMJ concerts and keep trying to convert him into being an MMJ fan,,,,,,

🍊✒️ Seina has a surprising way of calming Fumi down better than anyone else. Sometimes, maybe if they're waiting for something or riding a train somewhere, Fumi even allows herself to rest on Seina's shoulder. She's less harsh with Seina (even if her harshness isn't malicious with her friends). Seina sometimes has to stop Fumi from getting into fights. Even if she struggles to show it, Fumi tries her best and appreciates Seina a lot.

🍊🦈 As I mentioned before, Matsu and Fumi are childhood friends. At the beginning of the unit story things are still pretty awkward and Fumi is very tense around Matsu, as she still feels guilty, but isn't sure how to properly express any of it, while Matsu still feels a little hiet over her abandoning him. Though as the story goes on, this conflict pretty much gets resolved, even though it will still take a lot of time for any awkwardness to disappear completely. After the unit is formed, they're pretty close again, despite, uh, all of what I just said. They need some time to get used to each other again, but ARGHHH I LOVE THEM SO MUCH, they care about each other A LOT, even if Fumi isn't the best at expressing it. The whole reason she became so mean and harsh is to be able to protect Matsu.

✒️🦈 Seina kinda feels like an older sister figure to Matsu, I think? At least, for me,, She worries about him a lot, maybe even more than with the others, helps in overwhelming situations, all that. He's still very affectionate, but it's kinda like his affection is more calm with her (basically, he doesn't tackle her as hard as everyone else /hj)

SEKAI description!!!

(I just copy-pasted this from the post where I first described it. I'm NOT typing all that ever again)

I mentioned that I call it the overgrown sekai. Because it's, well, overgrown. As you could hopefully guess. The main part of it is an old stone structure, with some intricate carvings still remaining visible and even discernable, although everything does look like it's at least.. a few centuries old, no less. However, taking into account that it's a sekai, it probably isn't that ancient. Almost everything is pretty much overrun by plants – ivy spreading across the grey stone walls, grass (and most importantly flowers) breaking their way through the floor that seems to be made of marble, but it's too old, overgrown and at times dirty to be completely sure. The said flowers are a strange mix of forget-me-nots and sunflowers that may not quite make sense, but it *is* a whole ass other dimension, after all. There's plenty of light, despite practically no windows in sight, save for a few small ones. The reason for that being the roof, shaped like a dome, with holes in it that clearly weren't here by the first design, having appeared because of the stone collapsing over time. Unsurprisingly, the flowers are concentrated in the areas where the most light seeps through those holes. And speaking of light, the time here is always the same – late afternoon, with the season always remaining a comfortable sunny summer.

There's some furniture in the building, mostly along the walls, with the center looking almost like a flowerbed. That furniture seems to represent each of the owners of the sekai – an old desk made of dark wood with a quil and some paper thrown around it, almost giving it an impression that the owner left in a hurry. The paper has become a light yellow color over what may or may not be a rather long amount of time. Next to it – a somewhat fancy wooden chair. There are mirrors hung around this part of the space – some broken, some have the glass taken out entirely. Just a little further – a shelf and an armchair. Both items' materials and overall look fit that of nearly very other piece of furniture here. The shelf is filled with items that seem to have some spiritualistic significance – amulets, crystals and stones, all of them hand-made and hand-carved, yet seeming to lack in accuracy and having been made in a hurry. The armchair strangely has a few long chains hanging on its back. One of the more noticeable pieces of furniture is... a fish tank. It has no fish. In fact, it doesn't even have water, though it's probably not intended to be that way – the tank is spacious and has pretty much almost everything a fish would need to be happy and content in captivity. But it's old and worn out – the driftwood rotting away, whatever plants used to be inside have withered and everything is covered in a thin layer of... dust..? The tank itself stands on top of something of a dresser. If you care to open its doors, you will see rows upon rows of books – as many as could fit in the little space there is inside. Most of them have to do with marine life, but there are also some journals full of incomprehensible messy writing, as if whoever was filling them either didn't have much time, or was feeling too much emotion to care. Perhaps the strangest item in the building is a cage. It's designed just like one of those small restricting bird cages, glistening with gold in the light from above, but for some reason, the cage could easily fit a human. If you decide to step in, you might notice an unexpected aroma. It's vague and subtle, but... it almost seems like fresh black coffee mixed with something citrusy. Outside, the building is surrounded by a dense forest. The light can't penetrate the abundance of trees, but somehow, it doesn't feel eerie or threatening. It feels familiar in an unexplainable way. Have you already seen these woods somewhere..?

I think that's pretty much all the important stuff..? I ramble A LOT about small details pretty often, but uhm. Explodes.

#wahoo #ask #Helianthus♡Light!#toshiro hasegawa #matsu kimura #fumi hatanaka #seina amari #hiroto hasegawa #taru amari #pjsk oc #oc ramble!

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