Cats and Samu

Hello everyone, it's been a long time.  I hope all of you are doing well.  I planned to go to Kyoto for a tea gathering with viewing Gozan no Okuribi (bonfires forming kanji characters and other signs in Kyoto 5 mountains).  But due to typhoon, Shinkansen operations are suspended, so I cancelled it.  For almost two days, I have nothing to do, and I decided to sew rags today to be used in my tea room.  You can buy rags at 100-yen shops, but I want to reuse the white towels which were used for wiping tea utensils.  I'm sewing for each stitch with my hands for piles of used towels which I have saved up. and it is a laborious work, but I'm happy that I can use those towels to the very end.   

My cats are amused and climb onto the table to bother me while I am doing needle works.  Unlike my usual jobs such as cleaning and gardening (I may call them Samu), I tend to put off needle works to do in future.  It is unfortunate that I could not attend the tea gathering, but I appreciate for the time given me by gods and buddhas.  

What is Samu?

Works, Labores in Zen temples such as cleaning, cooking, gardenings.  Considered as a part of Zen trainings.  

          

ネコと作務

皆様、たいへんお久しぶりです。お元気でお過ごしでしょうか。京都に五山送り火の茶会に行くはずが台風で新幹線が運休でキャンセルしました。今日は家で雑巾縫いをすることにしました。雑巾は100均でも買えるのですが、水屋で使った白タオルを再利用したくて、ためておいた古タオルの山を一針一針、チクチクと縫っています。これらのタオルを最後まで使い尽くせることが嬉しいです。

我が家のネコ達は面白がってテーブルに上がって、針仕事のお邪魔しています。いつもの掃除や庭仕事などの私にとっての作務と違い、ついつい、針仕事はいつでもいいと後回しにしてしまいます。五山送り火は残念ですが、神仏様が下さった有難い時間だと感謝しています。

作務（さむ）とは？　

禅の修行の一つで、掃除、庭仕事や料理などの務めをなすこと。

Katsura Rikyu

I visited Katsura Rikyu (Imperial Villa) in Kyoto for the first time.  When I go to Kyoto, I’m always  wearing Kimono as I go there for tea ceremony lessons and/or related events,  but I went there with pants and sneakers, and I was so relaxed.  

From Shinkansen, I was lucky to see Mt. Fuji with a   trace of snow, and enjoyed  eating 3 packs of onigiri (rice ball) for my breakfast.

Meanwhile, I booked a tour of Katsura Rikyu starting from 9:00.  The tour was consisting of more than 10 people with a guide.  It was one hour short tour, but enjoyed it so much.  There were small stone bridges         and a lot of stepping stones.  It was so slippery due to yesterday’s rains and so I walked carefully.  Trees, grasses and moss are shining with dews, and were vivid green color.  I felt so refreshed.

By the way, Katsura Rikyu was started to build about400 years ago  and completed in era of  Emperor    Gomizuno.  There were no fire accidents afterwards, and so almost all constructions have been remaining as they were, but due to flooding of Katsura River,  some of them were damaged.  The surrounding  sceneries have been maintained by taking over neighboring fields.

In old days, guests of tea gatherings moved from a waiting hut to a tea house with a small boat,  guided by moon and stone lanterns on the opposite banks.  Tea rooms are not gorgeous at all,  but  simple,  rustic and aesthetic tastes.  Fusuma (sliding door)   and Tokonoma (alcove) with checkered patterns and allow-style catches of Fusuma looks so modern and innovative.  I’m so much impressed with those  detailed works.

But it is regrettable that those tea rooms  have been not used for tea gatherings for almost 200 years.   Tsukubai (washing stone vasin) are not filled with water but with sands and cannot be used anymore. Though periodical renovations have been done, thedaily cleaning and care might be not enough as they have been not used.  

Some old tea rooms like Urasenke and Jyukoin have been well cleaned and taken care, as routinely used. Old wood polls of those tea rooms are shining with  black luster, and nicely aging, but Katsura  Rikyu are not like them.   I realized that tea rooms can keep its beauty when they have been nicely used for a long  time.   

It is said that after moving of Meiji emperor from  Kyoto to Tokyo, loyal families have been away from  chanoyu maybe due to active introductions of  western culture and due to separation of Shintoism and Buddhism.  Empress Tofukumonin and similar age people like Sotan, Shokado Shojo and Kogetsu Sogan might come to the tea gatherings at Katsura Rikyu.  On my way home, walking along the Katsura River, I enjoyed imaging how those tea gatherings were performed.