日本語は英語の後に続きます。Japanese follows.
We had a tea gathering for the first time
in 3 months. First, we had usucha (thin tea)
with “arai-chakin (a washed linen cloth)”
thin tea procedure and mizuyokan
(soft azuki-bean jelly) of Murakami with
gold powder typical of Kanazawa. It was
smooth down my throat and made me feel cool.
Arai-chakin is a thin tea procedure in which
people enjoy the cool summer feeling. Fill
a flat tea bowl with plenty of water for about
70% and leave the chakin (linen cloth) in it.
The water surface and the sound of water
bring out a cool feeling. It is said to have
started when Kamon Seta, one of Rikyu
shichitetsu (Rikyu’s seven sages), filled a large
biwa-coloured tea bowl with water, linkened it
to Lake Biwa, likened the chashaku (bamboo tea
scoop for making matcha) to the Karahashi bridge
hanging over Lake Biwa, put chakin in it and made
the sound of water cool by squeezing chakin.
After that, we devoted ourselves to studying
chabako (tea box thin tea procedure) with fun.
Chabako is a special box for tea-ceremony
utensils used for making matcha in the field.
It was a hot summer day that ended quickly.
お茶仲間で３ヵ月ぶりのお茶遊び。まずは
洗い茶巾で薄茶を、金沢らしい金粉を施した
村上の水羊羹とともに。つるっとした喉越し
で涼しくいただく。
洗い茶巾は、夏に涼を味わう点前。平茶碗に
たっぷり七分目程の水を張り、その中に茶巾
を晒したままで行う。水面と水音が涼感を
誘う。
利休七哲のひとり、瀬田掃部が琵琶色の
大きな茶碗に水を張り、琵琶湖に見立て
茶杓を琵琶湖にかかっていた唐橋に見立て
その中に茶巾を入れ、水音涼しげに茶巾を
絞る点前をしたのが始まりとか。
その後は、ひたすら茶箱のお勉強。あっと
いう間に終わってしまった真夏の一日。