Читать книгу Stories from a Tearoom Window - Shigernori Chikamatsu - Страница 14
Оглавление1. Tearoom in the Old Day
In the old days, there were no fixed rules about the dimensions or arrangement of the room used for the tea ceremony. A square hearth was set into the floor wherever it suited the room. For example, a room designed by Murata Shuko is said to have been the size of six tatami in area. And the hearth was installed in any of three places, irrespective of the size of room. It is reported that these were the “upper” position, the “lower” position, and a spot quite close to the sill, in front of the utensil tatami. Later Takeno Jo-o reduced the size of the room to four and a half tatami in area, and the hearth was installed only at about the lower middle of the room. Since then this has come to be called the four-and-a-half-tatami style. Afterward, Sen no Rikyu designed a room of three tatami and one daime tatami in area, and called it the daimegamae style. He installed the hearth above the middle of the room. This is the origin of the daimegamae-style hearth. The terms “upper” hearth and “lower” hearth, which had long been applied, came to be disused. At present there are very few tea connoisseurs who know of the old style.
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Murata Shuko (1423-1502): originator of the tea ceremony
tatami: straw floor-mat, about 0.9 by 1.8 meters
Takeno Jo-o (1502-55): tea master and teacher of Sen no Rikyu Sen no Rikyu (1522-91): the greatest tea master, who perfected the tea ceremony
daimegamae: type of small arbor-style tearoom using daime tatami (about three-fourths the size of standard tatami)
2. Ground plan of a four-and-a-half-tatami tearoom.
2. Lord Yoshimasa’s Tearoom
Jishoinden, Lord Yoshimasa, loved the tea ceremony greatly, and Shinno was his instructor. In Lord Yoshimasa’s day, the procedures for the tea ceremony were formulated, and its performance was formalized. The lord’s room for the tea gathering was eight tatami in size, and on the four walls were hung eight scrolls with landscapes by the priest Yujian, including his praise of his own work. Flowers were arranged and displayed as well. It is said that the tea ceremony was held there using a daisu.
3. Rikyu’s Early Days
Sen no Rikyu was called Yoshiro when young. When he was planning to serve tea for the first time, he asked Kitamuki Dochin, who was already famous as a venerated tea master in Sakai, to give him instruction. Dochin’s friends also joined him in teaching Yoshiro. They all found him to have great qualifications for the tea ceremony and expected him to become an outstanding tea master in the future, but they felt that some correction was needed in his way of serving tea. They said he should not take such large scoops of powdered tea out of the big chaire he used. If he would try to use only a small amount of tea and whisk it in a scouring manner, his method would indeed be conspicuously improved. These were their comments. On hearing them Rikyu was able to recognize their true significance, and afterward he developed remarkably, it is said.
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Kitamuki Dochin: Araki Dochin (1504-62); instructed Rikyu in the tea ceremony and then introduced him to Jo-o
Sakai: trading port near Osaka; birthplace of Rikyu
chaire: ceramic caddy for powdered tea, used in the preparation of koicha (thick tea) (pp. 30, 71)
3. Utensils of the tea ceremony arranged on a daisu. Left to right: (above) whisk in tea bowl, scoop, and tea caddy in cloth bag; (below) kettle on brazier, ladle and charcoal chopsticks in ladle stand, kettle-lid stand in waste-water vessel, and fresh-water jar.
4. The Creativity of So-on
Rikyu thought of various innovations. In the tea ceremony using a daisu, he reduced the two bags enclosing the chaire to one, and shortened the long string of the bag. There was an old custom of tying the string variously in an open dragonfly knot, a closed dragonfly knot, and so on, but he tied it with only the open dragonfly knot. He made many such revisions.
However, the opening of a slit in the chaire bag was the idea of So-on, Rikyu’s second wife. She was very clever. Once, when she was sewing a bag for a chaire, she cut a slit in it for the first time. In another case, she was creative enough to open a hole in the post of a tankei, where there had been none in former days, so it is said.
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So-on: Riki (d. 1600)
tankei: oil lampstand. The wick is fed through the hole in the post.
4. Ceramic tea caddy (katatsuki chaire) and its bag.
5. An oil lampstand (tankei) used at evening tea.
5. Rikyu the Connoisseur
Rikyu practiced many times distinguishing good natsume tea caddies from bad ones among those lacquered by Joami. After much study he was able to make no mistakes even when shown many natsume mixed together at random.
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natsume: lacquered caddy for powdered tea, usually used in the preparation of usucha (thin tea); shaped like a natsume (jujube) (p. 58)
Joami: also known as Joho; considered the finest of lacquerers
6. The Horse Trappings of Rikyu’s Design
The design of horse trappings is not what it was years ago. It happened one day that Lord Nobunaga wanted to have new horse trappings designed for his personal use, and he himself showed some of his ideas for them. Just at that time Rikyu arrived to pay homage. The lord at once requested Rikyu to present his own ideas for redesigning the trappings. At first Rikyu wanted to be excused from the task because it was out of his area of expertise. And yet, since the lord requested him to do so, Rikyu cut out a paper pattern on the spot and presented it to him. Nobunaga accepted it with a compliment, saying, “Well done!” But a while later he said to Rikyu, “That pattern you cut seems to have disappeared, so cut another one.” The lord compared the new pattern with the first one and found them not a bit different from each other. He was extremely pleased with this design and decided to adopt it. It has been used ever since. There are many tea utensils known to be of Rikyu’s design, but in the case of the horse trappings no recognition of his design was given, probably because he was not after all a warrior.
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Nobunaga: Oda Nohunaga (1534--82), greatest general of his age and enthusiastic sponsor of the tea ceremony
7. The Ashiya Kettles
The Ashiya kettles were cast not at Ashiya in Settsu Province, but at Ashiya in Chikuzen Province. The kettles with designs sketched by Sesshu are said to be the best ones. Sesshu was a man of Iwami Province, but he often traveled to Ashiya and its vicinity. Metal craftsmen at Ashiya asked him to draw sketches for their kettles. It is said that the Ouchi family was most powerful and influential in those days. They employed the metal craftsmen of Ashiya and also invited Sesshu to draw designs which they had cast. His sketches were mostly of pine, cedar, plum, bamboo, and other trees.
Later, in the days of these craftsmen’s descendants, it once happened that a criminal who had committed a diabolical crime was sentenced to death by boiling in a caldron cast by Ashiya craftsmen. Since then, tea connoisseurs have disliked newly cast Ashiya kettles. Consequently, the craftsmen were forced to earn their living by casting only kitchen utensils such as pots and pans for daily use.
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Settsu Province: Hyogo Prefecture at present
Chikuzen Province: Fukuoka Prefecture at present
Sesshu: Sesshu Toyo (1420-1506), Buddhist priest and great sumie (ink painting) artist
Iwami Province: Shimane Prefecture at present
Ouchi family: lords of several provinces, including Iwami, and patrons of the arts
8. The Temmyo Kettles
The Temmyo kettles were made by the kettle casters of Temmyo in Sano, Kamitsuke Province. They are also called Kanto kettles. The best meibutsu kettles were said to be those which were cast at Ashiya or at Temmyo.
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Kamitsuke Province: Tochigi Prefecture at present
Kanto: district taking in Tokyo and the surrounding area, including Temmyo
meibutsu: article of historical fame
9. Yojiro’s Kettles
A man named Tsuji Yojiro lived in Kyoto at the time of Rikyu, and he was a master of kettle casting. His descendants have not followed his art. His kettles are commonly called Kyo kettles. It is said Rikyu loved them so much that he possessed many kettles cast by Yojiro.
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Kyo: abbreviated form of “Kyoto”
6. Three kinds of iron kettle.
10. Metal Casters
Otogoze,Juton, shiribari, and so on are all names of meibutsu kettles of the time of Rikyu. The kettle rings made by the metal casters of Nara are commonly called Nara rings. The kettle rings cast by a man by the name of Kanamori Tokugen are said to be the best ones. Trivetshaped kettle-lid rests, pothangers, and other items were cast by him as well.
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otogoze: kettle with a rounded shape, like that of a moonfaced woman (otogoze)
futon: according to one opinion, a kettle shaped like a round cushion (futon); on another view, a kettle which Rikyu wrapped in a cushion for protection when it was lowered from a castle tower in which a tea gathering had been held
shiribari: kettle with the shape of wide hips (shiribari)
kettle rings: removable handles inserted into holes of a kettle when moving (p. 84)
7. Otogoze kettle.
11. The Placement of the Tankei
There seems to be no fixed rule as to where to place the tankei. This is said to be a comment made by Rikyu to Lord Nobunaga. (p. 31)
12. The Hot Temper of Hideyoshi
While Lord Hideyoshi was pitching camp at Odawara, Rikyu discovered a very fine type of Nirayama bamboo. Rikyu said to the lord that it could be made into an excellent flower container. On hearing this, the lord ordered him to cut the bamboo and work on it. So Rikyu got to work and produced an astonishingly marvelous masterpiece, and presented it to Hideyoshi. Contrary to his expectations the lord did not like it at all, but looked quite displeased with it, and threw it away into the yard. So Rikyu then worked another piece of Nirayama bamboo into a shakuhachi flower container, and showed it to Hideyoshi. This time it pleased him very much. Actually the new container was not so good as the first one, Rikyu said to himself, but the lord treasured the new one.
8. Contrary to Rikyu’s expectations, Hideyoshi was displeased with his flower container and hurled it into the yard.
Later, when Hideyoshi put Rikyu to death, the lord was so angry that he broke this flower container and threw it away. Imai Sokyu stealthily picked up the pieces and joined them together, and treasured the container. Years later, Sumiyoshiya Somu of Sakai came to possess it. After his death, Itamiya Sofu bought it at a price of one hundred kan and treasured it in his house, so it is said.
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Hideyoshi: Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-98), greatest lord in Japan after Nobunaga’s death; learned the tea ceremony from Rikyu
Odawara: city in Kanagawa Prefecture
shakuhachi: lit., “a shaku and eight,” hence a bamboo flower container 1 shaku 8 sun (55 em.) long, with no opening on the side. (p. 42). Shakuhachi is also the word for the Japanese bamboo flute.
Imai Sokyu (152-93): merchant and great tea master
Sumiyoshiya Somu (1534-1603): tea master and disciple of Rikyu
Itamiya Sofu: merchant and tea aficionado
kan: large monetary unit. One kan could buy about 20 koku (3,608 liters) of rice, i.e., enough to feed an adult for twenty years.
13. The Onjoji Flower Container
The first flower container that Lord Hideyoshi threw away hit a stone in the yard and cracked in some places. Rikyu picked it up and brought it home to Shoan as a souvenir. One day Rikyu hung it above the alcove with flowers arranged in it. His guest noticed that the tatami was wet with water leaking from the cracks, and asked Rikyu, “What is the matter with this flower container?”
Rikyu answered, “This leaking of water is very much like human life itself” Rikyu then thought of the sound of the bell of Miidera temple, and wrote “Onjoji, Shoan” on the container. Afterward gold powder was pasted on the writing. Later this flower container was passed on to Kanaya Sotei, and then Ebara Jisen of Kyoto bought it at a price of eight hundred ryo. One day Nomura Soji of Bishu Province, who had been staying in Kyoto, went to his friend Jisen to say goodbye. At that time Jisen said to him, “Do come up to Kyoto again next year without fail, on the occasion of the opening of the tea-leaf jar. The Onjoji flower container, which has not yet been used in a tea gathering, will be on display for the first time.” Soji came up to Kyoto again with the sole object of seeing it. The Onjoji really was displayed and the ceremony of opening the tea-leaf jar was conducted. A new tearoom had been constructed, but not a single piece of bamboo was to be seen. This was probably due to Jisen’s desire to pay deference to the bamboo of the Onjoji. The tea aficionados of Kyoto admired his taste.
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Shoan: Sen no Shoan (1546-1614), second son of Rikyu; tea master
Miidera or Onjoji: large temple in Shiga Prefecture, famous for its cracked bell, which Rikyu associates with the cracked flower container
Kanaya Sotei: merchant and tea aficionado
Ebara Jisen (ca. 1730): critic of lacquer ware
ryo: monetary unit, equal to about one-fiftieth of a kan
Nomura Soji: a very wealthy man
Bishu Province: Aichi Prefecture at present
opening the tea-leaf jar: The new tea leaves harvested in spring are sealed in the jar, which is opened in November or December. Then the leaves are ground into powder, which is kept in the caddy until it is wanted for making tea. (p. 53, 182)
9. Bamboo flower-containers.
14. The Value of Onjoji
Ebara Jisen had no children of his own, so he adopted his nephew, Tokusuke, brought him up, and bequeathed all his property to him. Later his family became poor. A merchant of Edo, Fuyuki by name, had desired to obtain the Onjoji flower container. Jisen had purchased it for eight hundred ryo, but Jisen’s descendants were impoverished, so they asked Fuyuki to buy it for a hundred ryo less. Fuyuki said that it would not be good to lower the price, because that might decrease the value of the utensil. Therefore, he had no wish to have the price reduced to seven hundred ryo, but would purchase it at the original price of eight hundred ryo. It was sold to Fuyuki as he desired.
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Edo: the old name for Tokyo
15. The Mozuya Katatsuki
The katatsuki tea caddy named for Mozuya is a meibutsu very well known in the world. It is said to have been possessed by Oda Uraku.
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katatsuki: chaire with protruding shoulders (p. 71)
