31 Jan 2020 (Fri)
15:00:17
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Life
Tea reading circle: Nanporoku. I started a reading circle on books related to Tea, and started that off with a popular classic.
Nanporoku is a book copied by Jitsuzan Tachibana at 100th anniversary of Rikyu's death (death happened in 1591, so copying would be circa 1691), original authorship is attributed to Nanbo Sokei of Shuan-in of Nanshu-ji temple, who had direct interaction with Rikyu.
Nanshu-ji is a Zen temple in Sakai close to where Rikyu lived.
The book contains lots of interesting concepts, probably not completely authentic but not completely off the track.
I personally went to Nanshuji in Sakai to see where that happened, I was the tourist.
Some notes from each chapter.
- Chapter 1. Oboegaki: What Soeki (Rikyu) said. 1. Having tea in small room is analogous to Buddhist training. 5. When to clean. 6. Wearing Geta or Setta. 10. The secret of tea is to make if summer was cool, winter was warm, and make tea nice to drink, and prepare charcoal enough to boil water. 12 Get water in early morning from the wells and keep it. 19 Value the scripts by Zen monks on the wall as the best decoration for tea.
- Chapter 2. Kai: Records of Rikyu's tea parties. You can read the format, where decoration for first part and second part is usually different, first part is food, second part is tea.
- Chapter 3. Tana: How to decorate the tea room rack with examples. Starts with history of 4.5-Jo (4 and half tatami) rooms. Attributes it to Juko starting it off, Joo following through and Rikyu making it into a So-an (miserable looking room).
- Chapter 4. Shoin: How to organize your tea room.
- Chapter 5. Daisu: How to decorate the tea room rack, in 50 cards, each card comprising a lesson.
- Chapter 6. SUmibiki: The background logic behind how to place objects, Rikyu requested the pages to be destroyed (sumibiki) because it is a top secret only to be taught directly.
Contains things like 5-11, 5 You Kane lines and 6 In Kane lines makes 11 lines and such that you can place your objects in the right places, balancing the You and In.
- Chapter 7. Metsugo: Remembering Rikyu 3 years after death.
2. Tea and enlightenment. 6, Temperature of the water for each season, phases of fire and water and the sound.
14. Do not exceed 5 guests, 2-3 is best because it's hard to maintain good fire for a long time.
36 tilt your cup if it's too low and going to spill.