日本語は英語の後に続きます。Japanese follows.
October is the last month to use the brazier
in the Way of Tea. During this period when
you feel a little chilly, you do tea-making
procedure by putting fire closer to the guest
which is called “nakaoki”.
“Gogyodana” is a shelf to put a brazier for
“nakaoki”, and it represents “ying, yang and
5 elements”. The top (“ten” in Japanese which
means “heaven”) board represents “yang”, and
the bottom (“chi” in Japanese which means
“earth”) board represents “ying”. Three bamboo
pillars have different numbers of joint. In the
theory of 5 elements in Ying-Yang, the guest side
which is ying, has an even number of two (even
numbers are ying) joints in the piller, and the host
side which is yang, has an odd number of three
(odd numbers are yang) joints in the piller.
Between the heaven (top board) and the earth
(bottom board), 5 elements (wood, fire, earth,
metal, water) of ying-yang are placed. The shelve
represents wood, charcoal represents fire, the
brazier made by roasting clay represents earth,
the iron kettle represents metal, and boiling
water represents water.
In addition, since both the fixed position of the
brazier and the sunken hearth correspond to the
yang of ying-yang, it is also said that the brazier
is placed at the centre of tatami-mat, as the last
month of transition from the brazier to the
sunken hearth, from the yang to the yang.
I had a bowl of matcha with a Japanese wagashi
sweet called “chrysanthemum in garden” by
Tsuruya Yoshinobu.
10月は風炉を使用する最後の月。風炉を
点前畳の中心に据え、少し肌寒さを感じる
時期、火をお客様に近い方へ寄せる「中置」
という点前をする。
五行棚は、中置用の風炉を置く棚で、陰陽
五行を表す。天板は陽、地板は陰、三本の
竹の柱は節数が異なり、陰陽五行説で陰で
ある客付には、陰の数である偶数二節の柱が
陽である亭主側には、陽の数である奇数三節
の柱を据える。
その天地の間に五行の木の棚、火の炭、土の
土風炉、金の釜と、水の湯を置く。また風炉
の定位置も炉も陽になるので、風炉から炉に
移る最後のこの月、陽から陽へ移る間として
点前畳の中心に据えるとも言われている。
もう一説あるが、それは追々。
鶴屋吉信の「園の菊」で一服。