#Rikyu: Answers. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

chanoyu-to-wa · 4 years

Text

Nampō Roku, Book 5 (1): Rikyū's Preamble¹ to Book Five.

1) The Daisu, Together with the Kyū-dai daisu [及第臺子], [and] the Naka-ita [中板]².

Furthermore³, as the fifteenth day [of the Tenth Month] was an auspicious day, although it was [an] appropriate [time] to begin your training in the various forms of the daisu, [I] unfortunately had gone out from my residence⁴. I am concerned⁵. Yesterday, since you had gone back [before I returned] -- because [I] had no way to anticipate [your visit] -- I feel a great sense of regret [that I had not been here to receive you].

[Rikyū’s Guidance for Those Contemplating the Study the Daisu.]⁶

￮ With respect to the daisu-sōden [臺子相傳]⁷, when performing before a lord, while we should do so with an attitude of reticence⁸, we, moreover, should endeavor to do everything in accordance with [the nobleman's] desires⁹.

￮ With respect to the daisu, only after [the candidate] has ardently desired [to learn] the details of the practice for many years¹⁰ should the deepest of the innermost secrets be imparted¹¹. And in light of this, [the candidate] should determinedly keep in mind that even a hint of these matters must never be divulged [to others]¹².

￮ Since it is difficult to learn [this material] without illustrations, sketches¹³ should be provided [by the teacher] -- since we¹⁴ who have already received these teachings, after [a time], find [ourselves] unable to reproduce these numerous arrangements [correctly], having forgotten the details.

￮ Even though [I] have said, again and again¹⁵, that [the true heart of chanoyu] is unique to the ko-zashiki [小座敷], the true heart of chanoyu is [actually] very difficult to realize¹⁶. It is imperative that [you] should actively endeavor¹⁷, morning and night, to achieve it [by unstintingly immersing yourself in the chanoyu of the wabi small room].

￮ When [fresh] vegetables come in from [my] fief, I will send you a basket¹⁸.

Kashiku [かしく]¹⁹.

[Genki san-nen (元龜三年)²⁰] Jū-gatsu yō-ka [十月八日]²¹.

Hō一 [抛一]²² Sōeki [宗易]²³.

Shū-un-an Shu [集雲庵主]²⁴ mairase-sōrō [まいらせ候]²⁵.

_________________________

¹This brief “cover letter” was modified* so that it appears to contains Rikyū’s thoughts regarding the daisu -- perhaps to obscure the fact that the collection of sketches that follows was prepared by someone else, and only passed to Rikyū with the request that he verify its authenticity.

The way he addresses Nambō Sōkei in his letter implies that the two men had not really been acquainted before Sōkei approached Rikyū with his request† -- suggesting that this is the “previous occasion” to which Rikyū alluded in his opening words in the Nambō-ate no densho [南坊宛の傳書]. Since that document is dated the sixteenth day of the Ninth Month of Tenshō gannen [天正元年], 1573, it would seem that his review of the contents of this collection of sketches was undertaken during the autumn of 1572‡.

While the actual timeline is not clear, the best guess is that Sōkei came into this collection of sketches from an unnamed third party, and was so struck by its contents (and, perhaps, unable to satisfy his questions elsewhere), that he went to Rikyū’s house on the spur of the moment**. And, finding Rikyū out, he simply went back to the Shū-un-an (which was about 10 minutes walk from the site of Rikyu’s Ima-ichi-machi residence). ___________ *It is difficult to know what, if any, of this material is actually authentic. If any of it is, then the letter that forms the first part of the entry (expressing Rikyū’s regret for having been absent when Sōkei called at his house) is most likely.

The admonitions that follow seem to have no connection with the letter; but neither do they have any direct connection with the contents of the book. This suggests that they were added as a way to influence the reader’s approach before he sets eyes on the contents of this book. Oddly, the admonitions degenerate after the third, with the fourth apparently advocating that wabi tea is the only true chanoyu (and so the contents of Book Five should be ignored?); while the last is not an admonition at all (even though it is formatted in exactly the same way, and written in exactly the same sort of language), but a silly little offer, to Sōkei, of a basket of fresh greens from time to time.

†Of course the two men would have seen each other, and possibly even had spoken briefly, since they were both disciples of Jōō. Nevertheless -- if only a consequence of Sōkei’s responsibilities to the Nanshū-ji, coupled with the fact of Rikyū’s absence from Sakai for almost a decade (while studying on the continent) -- they had probably had very little to do with each other until the present occasion, when Sōkei approached Rikyū and asked him to review the contents of this collection of documents.

The tone of Rikyū’s letter suggests that he was not used to receiving visits of this sort -- indeed, this may have been the first occasion when someone approached him in the capacity of, if not a teacher, then as a senior and respected disciple of Jōō.

‡The letter, or the appended admonitions, does not directly address the sketches that make up Book Five -- though the third of them implies that access to such a collection would be desirable, as a mnemonic tool (since otherwise it is simply too easy to forget the details).

**The surprise in Rikyū’s letter, in addition to showing that he was unaccustomed to receiving visits from the shuso [首座] of the temple (who was probably the third highest-ranked monk in the major temple in Sakai), seems to suggest that Sōkei was on his way back from making inquiries somewhere else, and, passing Rikyū’s gate, decided that maybe he might be able to provide some answers. Nothing indicates that Sōkei left the sketches there at that time, or even left a message regarding the specifics of his visit. He probably visited (or wrote to) Rikyū later, and tendered his request that Rikyū review this collection of papers, and make his assessment.

Given the relationship that developed between the two men thereafter (it seems that Sōkei eventually began to act as Rikyū’s unofficial steward after his duties to Hideyoshi required him to take up residence in Kyōto), Sōkei may have kept this letter as a sort of memento of his first interaction with Rikyū.

²Daisu narabi kyū-dai daisu ・ naka-ita [臺子并及第臺子・中板].

Narabi [并 seems to have been used as a shorthand for 並び] means a line or list. In other words, the collection includes arrangements for all three of these tana.

The name daisu [臺子] specifically means the tana that we refer to as the shin-daisu. This tana, which is painted with shin-nuri, has four legs, and was supposed to be used only with the furo. While a medium-sized bronze kimen-buro [鬼面風爐] was the original choice of furo for the large daisu*, and a small Chōsen-buro [朝鮮風爐] was originally used on the small daisu†, by Rikyū's day ceramic furo of several different shapes‡ were also being used on both.

The kyū-dai daisu [及第臺子] has two legs, and the ji-ita (2-shaku 7-sun 5-bu x 1-shaku 3-sun) is smaller than the ten-ita (2-shaku 9-sun 5-bu x 1-shaku 4-sun). It was painted with shin-nuri, and had a slightly raised rim around the ten-ita**. On account of the size of the ten-ita, the kyū-dai daisu could only be used on a kyō-ma tatami. This daisu was used only with the ro††.

Naka-ita [中板] refers to the board that is now known as the naga-ita [長板]. Since it was made from the discarded ten-ita of an old (large) shin-daisu (by cutting away the edges to the innermost corner of the four leg holes‡‡, and then relacquering the entire board), there was always a certain variability in its dimensions. It was first used by Ashikaga Yoshimasa during the period of his brief second retirement (from the end of 1489, to the first month of 1490, when Yoshimasa died). Traditionally it could only be used with a large (often iron) furo***

This would appear to be the title for this entry, though whether it was part of his letter, or whether it was intended to apply to the entirety of Book Five as well, is unclear††† . __________ *The shelves of the ō-daisu [大臺子] measured 2-shaku 9-sun 5-bu x 1-shaku 4-sun. This daisu was used in a room covered with kyōma-tatami [京間疊] (these mats are 6-shaku 3-sun x 3-shaku 1-sun 5-bu), where the large daisu fit perfectly between the heri.

In the early days, at least, the height of the ten-ita was determined by the physical stature of the host.

†The ko-daisu [小臺子] measured 2-shaku 7-sun 5-bu x 1-shaku 3-sun. It was originally intended to be used in a room covered by inakama-tatami [田舎間疊] (which measure 5-shaku 9-sun x 2-shaku 8-sun 5-bu).

The ko-daisu was sometimes used in a kyōma room (because this gave a feeling of insufficiency). While originally intended to be used only with the furo, during the Edo period certain schools began to argue that the large daisu should be used with the furo, and the small daisu with the ro, and this idea has persisted into the present.

‡The original ceramic furo was the Nara-buro [奈良風爐]. It was shaped rather like a pumpkin (spherical, with a flattened top and bottom), with a round hole cut in the top for the kama, and a himado [火窓] in both the front and the back. The kiri-kake gama rested on a pair of small wooden blocks, placed on the left and right sides of the hole, and so produced the same effect as a kake-awase furo.

Later, after the idea of the gotoku [火卓, later 五徳] began to catch on (this trivet was derived from the small rest on which the saucer of oil was stood in a night light: originally, the gotoku was used with the ring uppermost, and the feet standing on top of the hai-gata), the ceramic furo morphed into what is now called the mayu-buro [眉風爐] -- since this kind of furo lasted much longer than the earlier Nara-buro (in which the heat weakened the clay on which the weight of the kama rested). This kind of furo has generally straight sides, with a himado cut only in the front. The gotoku was arranged so that the upper side of the ring was at the same level as the top of the sides of the furo, with a space between it and the sides (for enhanced ventilation) and the kiri-kake gama sat within the gotoku, resting on a pair of wooden blocks that were placed on the ring just as it had on the Nara-buro.

**Originally made for use as a writing desk on the continent, the raised edge kept writing brushes from rolling off and falling onto the floor.

††Meaning that it only came into use during Jōō's middle period.

‡‡This is what naka-ita [中板] means -- the inner part of the board (after the outer edges have been cut off).

Since the name was often written with kana during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and since, in classical times, the daku-ten [濁点] (the diacritical dots that change ka [か, カ] to ga [が, ガ]) were frequently omitted, by the Edo period (if not before) the name was assumed to mean naga-ita [長板], “long-board” (in analogy with the names of the shiki-ita -- the ko-ita [小板], “small board,” and ō-ita [大板], “large board”).

***The naka-ita/naga-ita was originally used to support the set of kaigu that were made to be used on the o-chanoyu-dana, when Yoshimasa began to use them in the shoin (when his storehouse was fired, he lost all of his precious imported utensils; but since his mansion was not damaged, the disused pieces on the o-chanoyu-dana in the anteroom to the shoin survived). As these were significantly larger (originally tea was prepared at the o-chanoyu-dana by an underling, and the utensils were especially large so that tea could be available throughout the day, without any danger of running out of hot or cold water), and because at least some of them were locally made, it was not appropriate to place them on a daisu. Because the ten-ita of his old daisu had survived the fire with minimal damage, Yoshimasa decided that reusing it in this way was appropriate to the general mood of the objects that would be arranged on it.

†††Tachibana Jitsuzan’s title of this book is Fifth [Book of the] Nampō Roku ・ Daisu [五南方録・臺子].

The collection consisted of a stack of individual sheets of paper, which lacked a general title (or even a way to keep them together -- thus any arrangements of which he did not approve could simply have been removed, without any evidence that they ever existed).

That said, it is unlikely that this line was actually part of Rikyū’s original letter, or (as seems more likely) was added later (by Nambō Sōkei, Tachibana Jitsuzan, or even another hand, during the Edo period), as a sort of sub-title for the book (since the scope of the book is not limited to the daisu alone, but also includes the kyū-dai daisu and naka-ita/naga-ita -- the arrangements for the latter two being derived directly from the daisu).

³Nao-nao [尚〰].

Nao-nao [尚々] means furthermore, all the more.

This word suggests that the first part of the letter has been lost, though whether through deterioration, or because it was intentionally expunged so as to eliminate its contents*, is unclear. __________ *During the early Edo period there was a more or less concerted effort to remove Nambō Sōkei from the historical record, and transfer all of those references that could not be deleted to Takayama Shigetomo [高山重友; 1552 ~ 1615] -- who is better known (by his title) as Takayama ukon [高山右近]; and by his baptismal name, as Takayama Justo [高山ユスト] (or Dom Justo Takayama).

In fact, there seems to be no possibility that Shigetomo could have been referred to as Nambō until after he renounced his offices in 1587 (the Nambo-ate no densho is clearly dated Tenshō gannen [天正元年], 1573), since this was accomplished by “shaving his head” and nominally becoming a Buddhist monk (his renunciation was occasioned by Hideyoshi's promulgation of the Expulsion Edicts against the Christian Missionaries, and the prohibition of the practice of Catholicism by the inhabitants of Japan); but the sobriquet does not seem to have been actually used until he abandoned Japan for Manila in 1614 (“nambō” [南坊] means “the Monk in the South”) -- as a snide and offensive way of alluding to his (forbidden) Christian vocation.

⁴Gu-taku [愚宅].

“My foolish residence.” A self-deprecatory term used when especial deference is appropriate.

⁵Kashiku [かしく].

While generally used today to mean “sincerely yours” at the closing of a letter, here -- since it is not at the end of the letter (even if we suppose that the letter itself was limited to these first several lines) -- kashiku [恐] seems to mean “to be fearful” or “apprehensive.”

Rikyū is (perhaps politely) exaggerating his mortification that, because he was not available*, he may have caused some trouble for Sōkei.

If this was actually the usual form kashiku (which indicates the end of a letter), that would suggest that Rikyū intended to end his letter here -- and then decided to add another sentence†. And then wrote kashiku once again after that‡. ___________ *Possibly thinking that Sōkei may have gotten off to a bad start in his study of the daisu -- but that assumes that Rikyū knew the purpose of Sōkei’s visit at the time when he wrote this letter.

†In either case, though, the admonitions could not have been part of the letter, since there is nothing that leads up to them, or suggests that Rikyū has some advice to impart to Sōkei at this time.

‡With the five admonitions inserted between the end of the letter and the second kashiku at a later time.

⁶I have added this title to the list of five points* that follow, since some sort of transition from the letter to the admonitions seems necessary.

As I have already implied, there is a decided sense of non sequitur between the text of Rikyū’s letter, and these five admonitions† -- as if an important (expository) part of his letter was missing‡. Furthermore, and equally perplexing, there are no closing remarks following the list -- another point that is uncharacteristic, in the light of Rikyū’s numerous densho (which were always written in letter-form).

Given how the modern schools have used these admonitions to further their financial agendas**, one is lead to conclude that these points were simply tacked on to the end of Rikyū’s letter later, during the Edo period††. ___________ *While all of the printed versions are formatted as if there are five admonitions of equal seriousness, in fact they begin to peter out after the third -- the fourth refers to the superiority of wabi no chanoyu; and the fifth is a chatty little piece of nonsense where Rikyū promises to send Sōkei a basket of greens whenever they are available (calculated to suggest that the two are old friends, when they appear -- at least from the tone of Rikyū’s introductory letter -- to be near-strangers).

†While the document is formatted so that it appears to have five admonitions (we do not know if this is the responsibility of Tachibana Jitsuzan, of if the original from which he made his copy was already arranged in this way), the fourth has nothing to do with advice to someone who is going to embark on a study of the daisu (indeed, if anything, its purpose is to dissuade the reader from continuing, since it suggests that a study of the daisu will be nothing but a waste of time that might better be spent in the pursuit of wabi); and the last is a totally irrelevant piece of inappropriate nonsense.

‡The dicta are usually interpreted in such a way to suggest that Nambō Sōkei was actively seeking Rikyū’s instruction (as one would go about gaining entree to a fashionable teacher) -- thus establishing Rikyū’s supremacy as the paramount teacher of his generation (in 1572). In fact, it appears that he only began to move into such a role in the years that followed the drafting of the Nambō-ate no densho (which appeared one year after this one).

Rikyū’s letter -- which precedes his admonitions -- suggests, to the contrary, that he was not used to being the object of such attentions; and was extremely apologetic for not having been there to receive Sōkei’s (apparently unannounced, and unexpected) visit.

**Kumakura Isao devotes four full pages (which constitutes about a third of his brief overview of Book Five) to this entry: not only the preeminence of the iemoto (who is supposed to be the sole recipient of the isshi sōden [一子相傳]) and the modern schools’ fixed curricula and menjō system (as well as the argument for increasing the amount of the fees for instruction in the “higher temae”) is largely based upon the assertions found in these admonitions.

††Since the kiri-kami were apparently made into a sort of notebook (by folding them in half and stitching along the free edge -- this would explain why the sketches are found on one page, while their titles, and Rikyū’s kaō, are found on the next page), the paper on which Rikyū‘s letter was written could have been split open, and the “admonitions” written on the back side. This would also explain why the second “kashiku” appears to dangle after the last of the five admonitions.

This scenario is plausible because, if we eliminate the admonitions -- which, as has been mentioned, have no apparent connection with the letter that precedes them -- this is just the place where Rikyū’s closing (the date, his title and signature, and the name of the addressee) would fit in most comfortably.

⁷Daisu-sōden [臺子相傳].

Sōden [相傳] means the inherited teachings, the teachings that have been passed down from generation to generation, since ancient times. (This contrasts with those teachings peculiar to a certain teacher or master, which originated with him.)

In Rikyū’s period, the daisu was primarily employed as a way to serve tea deferentially to a nobleman. The reasoning behind this comes directly from the original practice, where tea was prepared, using the daisu, and offered to the Buddha. Since the Buddha is an image, and so cannot drink the tea, it was then offered to the most honored person present (or the person that he or she indicated should take it in their stead), as a substitute for the Buddha (while also acknowledging the inherent Buddha-nature of human beings). This thought colors, or lies behind, the four admonitions recorded here.

⁸O-yurushi sōrō-aida [御免候間].

O-yurushi [御免 =　お許し] means (to ask) forgiveness, (to seek) permission, (to beg ones) pardon; sōrō-aida [候う間] means while doing something. In other words, one should maintain a reticent or reserved manner while serving tea with the daisu.

⁹Kono ue ha o-kokoro-shidai ni sōrō koto [此上は御情次第ニ候事].

O-kokoro-shidai [情次第] means “according to (ones) mind” or “in accordance with (ones) desires.” The honorifics indicate that this refers to the nobleman's wishes or preferences.

¹⁰O-konmō ta-nen no shisai ni tsuke [御懇望多年之子細ニ付].

O-konmo [御懇望] means plead, make an earnest request, entreat.

Ta-nen [多年] means (for) many years, an extended period of time.

Shisai [子細] means the details (of the practice associated with the daisu).

In other words, the candidate must approach the teacher and sincerely request this instruction first -- the teacher should not simply offer it to him. And the candidate must demonstrate the sincerity of his desire (by continuing to beg for these teachings for a prolonged period of time -- thus showing that this is not simply a whim). Only after carefully vetting this disciple should the teacher decide to impart the details to him.

Therefore, to simply say that “this is the next menjō in the series” -- as the modern schools do -- is wrong. So, too, is it wrong to hand this information out casually, or, worse, make it available for a certain price. The result of such behaviors will be a trivialization of this practice -- and, perhaps ultimately, the loss of precisely those disciples who would most benefit from these teachings.

¹¹Himitsu no ōgi-sōden [秘密之奥儀相伝]

Himitsu [秘密] means the Mysteries, the esoteric teachings.

Ōgi-sōden [奥義相伝] refers to the most secret of that body of teachings that have been handed down from generation to generation.

¹²Koto-sara gyo-i ni taishi, isasaka mo roken aru-majiku-sōrō koto [殊更御意ニ対、聊かも露顕あるましく候事].

Koto-sara gyo-i ni taishi [殊更御意に対し]: koto-sara [殊更] means (to do something) deliberately, intentionally; gyo-i [御意] means will, desire, intention; taishi [対し] means “in response to,” “in relation to.” Thus, one should be resolved, in light of the fact that these teachings should only be imparted to one who has exhibited a sincere and dedicated desire (over a long period of time) for this knowledge....

Isasaka mo roken [聊かも露顕]: isasaka mo [聊かも] means “even a little (amount);” roken [露顕] means to disclose (specifically something that is a secret). Aru-majiku soro-koto [あるまじく候事]: aru-majiku [あるまじく] means should not exist, must not exist; sōrō-koto [候う事] means a case or situation where this is done.

In other words, (in light of the above consideration), to disclose even a little (of the secret teachings) to others (specifically, those who have not gone through the vetting process and been deemed worthy to receive these teachings*) is something that should never be done†. ___________ *Araki (“Kitamuki”) Dōchin’s reticence, when pressed by Jōō to relate these details, is a good example of this.

†Because people are not likely to respect teachings that have been shared so casually.

¹³Ko-kiri-kami [小切紙] literally means (sketches) on small pieces of paper. In other words, sketches on individual leaves of paper.

This statement was probably inserted as an attempt to explain why this collection of sketches came to exist.

The person who added this statement seems to have wanted to imply that Rikyū presented the sketches to Sōkei, after Sōkei -- who was one of Rikyū's long-term students* -- applied to Rikyū for instruction in the practice of the daisu†. However, Rikyū's kaō, indicating his approval‡, coupled with the story told in his cover letter**, precludes any such interpretation. __________ *From the beginning the Senke have always been of two minds about Nambō Sōkei. On the one hand, they were inclined to deny his very existence (since his existence would -- and did -- directly challenge the validity of Sōtan’s teachings); yet there is also a tsutsu for a chashaku carved by Sōkei that was signed by Kawakami Fuhaku [川上不白; 1705 ~ 1751], an important disciple of the Sen family (he was apparently authorized, by the great Sen Jōshinsai Sōsa, to establish a Sen school in Edo); and another that was said to have belonged to Sōtan (given to him, or to Shōan, his father, by Sōkei), according to Kanshū oshō-sama.

†Perhaps this was based on Rikyū’s introductory comments in the Shin no dai-temmoku, onaji daisu no koto no densho [眞の臺天目、同臺子の事の傳書]. However, that densho (which appears to have been written in 1586) postdates the interaction described here by some 14 years.

‡As has been mentioned before, the kaō suggests that the sketches were prepared by someone else -- given their format and other details, probably (originally) by Jōō, though since both Sōkei and Rikyū would have been familiar with Jōō's writing, these were likely a copy of Jōō's collection made by someone else -- and then came into Sōkei's possession in some way. Perhaps accompanied by a statement that these sketches were originally by Jōō. Sōkei, then, decided to visit Rikyū, to see if he could determine their authenticity.

**As discussed above, the tone of Rikyū's letter indicates:

1) that he had had no forewarning of Sōkei's visit, and so was nonplussed to hear about it when he returned home (which, in turn, suggests that he was not used to receiving such attentions); and,

2) the deferential usages suggest that, while the two men probably had a passing acquaintance with each other (since both had been numbered among Jōō's principal disciples), they were hardly intimate, and this, in fact, was probably the first time that Sōkei had made bold to contact Rikyū directly.

While Nambō Sōkei's dates of birth and death are not known, the body of evidence surviving from that period suggests that he was at least several years older than Rikyū. And, furthermore, since Rikyū had originally studied chanoyu with Araki Dōchin, Sōkei was surely the senior of the two, in terms of being one of Jōō's disciples. Both of which would have made Sōkei's applying to Rikyū for help (it is not really possible to say that Sōkei was asking Rikyū for lessons, even if this is how many Japanese scholars, sponsored by the modern schools, prefer to interpret the course of events: Sōkei simply wanted to know if this collection of sketches was authentic, or if some of them were, perhaps, spurious) unusual -- if not unprecedented. In the several densho that were written in the several years after the Nambō-ate no densho, Rikyū goes to considerable length to link himself with Jōō, and in that way establish his credentials (specifically by bringing up the matter of the Daikoku-an no uta [大黒庵の歌] -- possession of which he seems to have felt demonstrated that Jōō considered him to be his successor, since owning Jōō's autograph gave him the right to use the name Daikoku-an as his own: Rikyū's need to do so shows that he was not, in fact, well known as a teacher of tea, or, more importantly, generally regarded as Jōō's heir, as certain scholars suggest).

Rikyū's conflict with Imai Sōkyū, which ultimately boiled down to which of the two men had the right to train Jōō's son Sōga, is significant, since it would appear that the majority of the machi-shū ultimately chose to side with Sōkyū, and turned a blind eye (even if they offered no active assistance) to the repudiation of Rikyū's reputation, and his interpretation of the practice of chanoyu, following his seppuku.

The more commonly bandied story, where Sōkyū’s sale of pieces of Jōō’s collection (to finance Sōga’s upkeep), is difficult to accept as being the major cause of tension between him and Rikyū precisely because it was Rikyū who was instrumental in finding buyers (and negotiating the prices) for these objects.

¹⁴Warera mo shiden sude ni ato, kazu-kazu no kazari wa tsune ni tori-dasazu [我等も師傳已後、數〻之飾ハ常ニ不取出].

Warera [我等] means we, in the sense of that faction of the tea community who have been initiated into the practice of the daisu.

Sude ni [已 = 已に, 既に] means already.

In other words, “we, who have already received the master's teaching, afterward....”

Tori-dasu [取出す] means to bring out, bring forth, produce. Here it is the negative form that is used, meaning “not (re)produce (many of these arrangements)."

¹⁵Mōshi te mo mōshi te mo [申しても〰].

Mōshi te mo [申しても] means “even if I said that.” The repetition adds emphasis (i.e., “even if I have said it again and again and again...”).

¹⁶Ko-zashiki nara de ha, chanoyu no hon-shin ha itari-gatashi-kōtō ni soro [小座敷ならてハ、茶之湯之本心ハ難至事ニ候].

Ko-zashiki nara de ha [小座敷ならでは] means “(it is) unique to the small room.”

Hon-shin [本心] means things like “true feelings,” “true mind,” “true heart.”

Itari-gataki-koto [至り難き事]* means difficult to reach, difficult to realize (itaru [至る] means “to reach something;” gataki [難き] means “difficult”).

While this series of admonishments is ostensibly an introduction to this collection of ancient daisu arrangements, yet the person who added this to the manuscript† was obviously a fervent practitioner of wabi no chanoyu‡. This entry could be interpreted as an attempt to dissuade the reader from looking into this matter seriously. __________ *Possibly 難至事 is a miscopying (the order of the first two kanji has been inverted).

†While Rikyū firmly believed that chanoyu reaches its highest development in the wabi small room, he would never have disparaged the practice of the daisu (as this admonishment seems to do) -- since the daisu is the basis, the foundation, for wabi practice.

As I have written before, when Rikyū made tea in his Mozuno ko-yashiki [百舌鳥野小屋敷], using his small unryū-gama, a kiji-tsurube, a chū-natsume, aka-raku chawan, and take-wa, he was performing the gokushin temae just as surely as he would have done seated in front of the shin-daisu with futatsu-gumi [二ツ組] and nanatsu-kazari [七ツ飾]. I will attempt to explain this as we study this book.

‡Perhaps someone closely affiliated with the Sen family.

A person of that sort would also have seen the need to minimize the presence of Nambō Sōkei, while also deleting anything that might allude to the rather insignificant status of Rikyū at that time.

¹⁷O-kufu [御工夫].

Kufu [工夫] means to actively work, to actively plan, to actively devise, actively invent, and so forth. The important thing is diligently and unceasingly making the effort. The honorific shows that this refers to Sōkei’s effort.

¹⁸Chigyō-sho no yasai ori-fushi rai-mama , ichi kago okuri-mōshi-sōrō [知行所之野菜折ふし來候まゝ、一籠送申候]

Chigyōsho [知行所] means a fief -- land given to a samurai, from which his income (in rice) is derived. During the Edo period, this term appears to have referred specifically to the fief given to a banner man (hatamoto [旗本]), or member of the lord's family. In this context, it is usually interpreted to mean Rikyū's fief at Mozuno -- though, chronologically speaking, that would have been impossible (if this document was written in 1572).

Yasai [野菜] means greens, vegetables.

Ori-fushi rai-mama [折節来間々]: ori-fushi [折節] means “from time to time;” rai-mama [来間々] means “at those times when they come in.”

Though this line is formatted as if it were another admonition, it actually is a chatty little piece of nonsense, absolutely out of keeping with the tone of the letter (which seems almost to have been written in a state of trepidation over his faux pas -- of being absent when an unexpected caller visited) that began this entry.

Once again, it appears that this was added, during the Edo period, to “associate” Rikyū with the person he became at the end of his life (which seems to have been all of him that the Sen family knew -- since, contrary to their family history, Rikyū married Shōan's mother, Sō-on, out of Hideyoshi's harem, where she would not have gone to live until after her husband -- Miyaō Saburō Sannyū [宮王三朗三入; ? ~ 1582], Shōan's father -- was killed during the battle of Yamazaki, in the summer of 1582: Saburō Sannyū died personally defending Hideyoshi, and Hideyoshi’s care for the widow was out of respect for her husband’s sacrifice -- as was Hideyoshi’s restoration of the Sen family name to Shōan, Saburō Sannyū’s son, several years after Rikyū’s seppuku).

¹⁹Kashiku [かしく] is a standard closing for a letter, usually translated as something like “sincerely yours.”

Perhaps this word was added to make it seem that the list of admonitions was part of the letter.

Alternately, it may have been that Rikyū originally was going to close his letter at the first kashiku (see footnote 5, above), changed his mind and added another sentence, and then closed it with this second kashiku.

In either case, the five admonitions would not have been part of that letter.

²⁰Presumably.

The Genki [元龜] era ended on the 28th day of the Seventh Month* of Genki 4 (August 25, 1573 in the proleptic Gregorian calendar). Since the present document is dated to the eighth day of the Tenth Month, and since the Nambō-ate no densho (which mentions that Rikyū's first communication with Nambō Sōkei occurred roughly one year previously) is dated Tenshō gannen [天正元年] (the first year of the Tenshō era -- which also began on August 25, 1573), it follows that this letter must have been written in 1573. __________ *The Seventh Month had 29 days in this year.

²¹Jū-gatsu yō-ka [十月八日].

The date would have been November 2, 1573, in the proleptic Gregorian calendar.

²²Hō一 [抛一]

This alludes to Rikyū's sai-gō [齋號], Hōsensai [拋筌齋].

The sai-gō originated in the temple system, and was the name of the cell in which the monk lived. Thus it was given in addition to their Buddhist name (the name that begins with the kanji Sō [宗]). Later, laymen started to use this kind of name (which reflected either the name of their private study -- their shoin [書院]), or, as in this case, the name of their tea room.

Other than in the present instance, the name Hōsensai is mentioned occasionally in records dating from the eighth decade of the fifteenth century, beginning around 1574. Thus it would appear that Rikyū used it as part of his formal signature on this occasion because he had only recently been awarded this title (his master Kokei Sōchin [古渓宗陳; 1532 ~ 1597] was, like Sōkei, a monk of the Nanshū-ji in Sakai), and it would have been recognized by Sōkei. (This is another place where Rikyū seems to be working to firm his credentials with Sōkei.)

²³Sōeki [宗易] was Rikyū's Buddhist name, which he (as was the custom in that period) used as his professional name.

²⁴Shū-un-an Shu [集雲庵主].

“The Master of the Shū-un-an.” Rikyū does not use Sōkei's personal name, since this would have implied an inappropriate familiarity (assuming that, as I have suggested, the two men were not close at this time).

²⁵Mairase-sōrō [まいらせ候].

Mairase-sōrō [參らせ候う] means something like “to call upon (the forenamed individual)” -- that is, the letter is intended to take the place of a personal visit.

It is a polite way of indicating the intended recipient of the letter.

1 note · View note

phoenix1966sbottom · 6 years

Note

Hi, do you have any j2 fic recs where they are step brothers? Thanks!

Stories where J2 are step-brothers. As always, please heed the warnings where the stories are listed. And please take a moment to comment and kudo the works you consume. It’s the only “pay” an author ever gets.

know it while you have it by rikyu on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. Jared can’t wait for his stepbrother to get home from college, and it’s not for any of the right reasons.

A Fine Line Between Hate and Love by imthehotgirl on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. Jared is the stepbrother that Jensen never wanted. And Jared is determined to help Jensen continue believing that. At least that’s what Jensen thinks…(no penetrative sex, but Jared is definitely the dominant/strong one in the relationship)

Baby Steps by cherie_morte on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. AU: Jared is nine years old when his mom marries Jensen’s dad.

Settling In by Anonymous on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. It’s pretty nice of his stepbrother to help Jared adjust in his new college apartment.

Heart-Shaped Hole by tebtosca on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. Money is tight in the Padalecki-Ackles household. Jared wears his stepbrother Jensen close to his chest. (no penetrative sex)

I’ll Take Care of You by RaisonDetre on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. Alphas have collars to reign in their aggressive tendancies, unfortunately the grid that keeps them in check fails. Jared is visiting his step brother Jensen when his mother tells him to hide.Unfortunately, Jensen’s collar is only given to the most unruly Alphas- and he happens to want Jared. (warning: this is tagged as Teen and Up, but I would definitely rate it Explicit.)

Shoestring Heart by sleepypercy on Ao3. Jared/Jensen?Danneel. J2 AU. Jensen can hear his step-brother jacking off behind the door whenever he and his girlfriend have sex in his room. He doesn’t mind, though. In fact, he thinks he might invite Jared to join them.

Project Get Jared Banged by soulmatecest on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. Jared’s had the best stepbrother in the world in Jensen since the age of five — growing up together and more attached than usual brothers would —, only realizing that he’s in love with Jensen by the time he hits thirteen.After five more years of Jared’s impossible crush, he knows his life turns and spins around his brother. Luckily for Jared, he and Jensen have always been closer than other siblings, making his feelings seem a little less hopeless. Or that is until Jensen announces he’s moving to Austin to live with his girlfriend next year, leaving Jared’s perfectly built Jensen-centric world crashing to the ground.That’s when Chad and Sandy decide to convince Jared that moving on and letting go of his feelings are the only way to get through his lost love for Jensen. Yet their plan to get Jared out of his shell and over his stepbrother doesn’t sit well with one person: Jensen himself, who realizes that the more Jared tries to pull away, the more he wants to get him back closer.

I Need you Jensen. by shortness1029 on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. Jared’s mom kicked him out of the house for being gay. He text his step brother to come pick him. Can they start a happy life together.

close as you can (not one inch less) by StripySock on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. Everyone thinks that stepbrothers Jared and Jensen are just really affectionate with each other. The truth is that they get off on hiding in plain sight, pushing the limits of how far they can go in public and not get caught.

It Was Always You (Woke Up Sweating From A Dream) by BronteLover on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. Jared has pined for his younger stepbrother, Jensen, for so long that it has become difficult to remember a time when he wasn't pining. But when Jensen goes into his first rut, Jared can't bring himself not to help. Somehow he just couldn't imagine that it was going to hurt so much when Jensen didn't seem to remember.

And I’m going to sneak a few in here where they are foster brothers or Jensen’s family takes Jared in after tragedy/hardship.

Brand New Start series bygestaltrose on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. Jared Padalecki ends up at the Ackles as a foster kid. His parents died when he was young over the years he lost his brother Jeff to jail and his sister Megan to a family that wanted to adopt her. Her not him. He adapts but finds himself always in trouble. Shifted from foster home to foster home until he’s given one last chance before he’s out of the system and on his own. Can Jared let himself trust this new family? Can he afford not to?

Gone Are the Days by NixBlaque on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. Jensen didn’t know what he was expecting when the Ackles announced that he was going to be getting another foster brother, but it certainly wasn’t Jared – the ex-best friend whose heart he broke two and a half years ago. It soon becomes apparent that Jared has changed more than Jensen ever could have predicted, but the seventeen-year-old is determined to win his best friend back. (no penetrative sex)

The Safety in Lying by lostt1 on LiveJournal. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. Take one spy with amnesia and mix in a few guys with guns, a man named Jensen who has some secrets of his own, and a lot of questions with no answers and what do you get? Jason’s not sure but that’s one answer he hopes to find. Loosely based on The Bourne Identity.

I Can Give You What You Want by Fatebegins on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. Growing up, Jensen doted on his adopted baby brother, but as they got older, Jensen grew insecure and jealous of the affection his parents always denied him but gave Jared so freely. As a result, Jensen began to view Jared as a threat to the company he’s that heir of. (must be logged in to read)

Unexpected by Fatebegins on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. When Jared was abandoned in the woods as a baby, the local werewolf pack found and adopted him after Jensen stumbles upon him. Although Jared wants to fit in, he has always been too scared to be turned as changing into a werewolf is a painful process.But when Jared finds himself attracted to the rising Alpha Jensen, Jared has a choice to make and Jensen is anything but patient. (must be logged in to read)

Harder and Harder to Breathe by peggy_lane on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. Jensen escapes prison and picks up his nineteen-year old stepbrother Jared for a road trip through the end of the world.

#anonymous #fanfic rec #stepbrothers #j2 au #bottom!jared #top!jensen #omega!jared #alpha!jensen #a/b/o dynamics

201 notes · View notes

otome-reviews · 5 years

Text

SLBP April Fool’s Event Review :)

Okay let’s get one thing out of the way: this is obviously the best event SLBP ever has or will release. 😂 When I saw those teasers on Tumblr I thought it was a massive joke, but who knew Voltage would actually give us “routes” for our favorite old men?! Lmao. So yeah, I’m giving this event an overall 10, but some routes were def. better than others imho. My personal ranking, from least to most favorite:

The mysterious Sen no Rikyu seems to know exactly what’s going on in his ES: he and MC have been pulled into the spirit realm, and MC is mistress of the place. Somehow. Demon magistrate doesn’t hold a chance against this guy’s knowledge - or his kissing skills, for that matter. Because the guy kisses MC twice?! On the lips?!? Dammnnnnn boy. Pity MC doesn’t remember a thing when she wakes. Forced amnesia is such a crap copout, imho. And I never did figure out who this Rikyu guy! Is he a ghost? Is he really that old? I don’t see any wrinkles... So many questions, so few answers. ^_^

In beefy, broad-shouldered Katsuie’s fun route, MC’s kiss is able to make Katsuie OP in fights! Useful, because at some point the demon KIDNAPS MC and tries to force a kiss of marriage on her. We already knew the magistrate was a creep, but demon magistrate is like 1000x worse, yikes! 😬 Good thing Old Man Katsuie is there to save the day, eh? :) Overall I thought this route was fun, if super silly! Best quote: “Your Multiplication Jutsu is no match for me!”

Sakai’s hair (or usual lack thereof) becomes a Major Plot Point in his ES, when MC’s kiss lets him temporarily regain the hair he had as a youth! Even the demon magistrate is too distracted to fight properly (“Damn...damn you and your luscious locks!”). 😂 I thought this route was delightfully absurd and ridiculous - exactly what one would expect and hope for from an April Fool’s story. I also enjoyed the new perspective on Sakai’s character - he’s got a secret angry fighter streak?! Lmao. The only thing keeping this from being my favorite story was Ieyasu’s mean appearance at the end! Go away, Ieyasu. ^_^

Ibano’s always been a distractingly handsome grandpa imho, and his ES is delightful! This kind, hot older man quickly realizes MC’s kiss has power when her lips brush his throat by accident (scandalous!). And at the critical moment when the demon magistrate is on the verge of winning, he apologizes and kisses MC full on the lips, activating her dream awakening powers and saving them both! And then they HUG when they’re back in Owari and I developed cavities, because literally everyone in the Date Clan is date-able (ha ha ha get it I’ll show myself out now that was awful) and Gramps is clearly no exception! Easily my favorite route of the lot. <3

What were your rankings? Which old men would successfully steal your heart? I’m super curious - let me know! ;)

#slbp #sen no rikyu #slbp katsuie #slbp sakai #slbp ibano #goddess of the spirit realm #event #review

54 notes · View notes

thefinalcinderella · 6 years

Text

Tsurune Book 2 Chapter 1-Two People, Travelling Together (Part 2)

In this chapter: A bit of Kazemai, a lot of Kirisaki, a lot of exposition.

This part was long.

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Transation Notes

1. Tenugui Shibori=手ぬぐいしぼり (lit. hand towel squeezing). Hannen Hanjaku= 半捻半弱 (lit. half twist, half bind). This refers to the thing where the right hand twists a little inwards, and the left thumb presses into the right side of the bow as much as possible. (probably got this wrong but I can only stomach so much kyudo terminology)

2. Akahon (lit. red book) refers to a set of university entrance exam preparation workbooks published by Kyogakusha. They contain past exams and are extremely popular.

3. Four and a half tatami mats is about 2.73 m × 2.73 m.

4. A nigiri-guchi is the door to a tea hut. It looks more like a window than a door if you look at the images.

5. An andon lamp is one of those traditional paper-enclosed lanterns. See some here

6. Sen no Rikyu was a major figure in the development of the tea ceremony, particularly its simplicity.

7. A repechage is a practice in a competition that allows failed participants to have another chance to move onto the next round.

Previous | Next

The sky in the breaks of the rainy season was blue, and the chirps of little birds could be heard. The exhilaration from placing his hands on the kyudojo's door never disappeared no matter how many times he did it. A different dimension that suddenly appeared in the world of school. Minato liked that.

The Kazemai High School Kyudo Club was working hard at practicing for the regional tournament that was drawing near quickly.

Seiya changed into his hakama and took off his glasses. The hidden mole next to his right eye became exposed.

"I was surprised when you brought Shuu home with you yesterday, Minato. Did he call you after?"

"He said we should practice together once summer vacation starts. Will you come too?"

"Of course I will, but you know what he said when he saw my face? 'Why are you here?' What rudeness towards his former teammate. I'll punish him next time."

"That's because you couldn't stop talking about soccer. Shuu was really hungry, you know. He even fell asleep on the return bus. Didn't he often fall asleep on the bus on the way back from trips in middle school?"

"…He never slept even once when he sat next to me. Probably not just with me, but next to anyone."

"Was that how it was?"

"Shuu's a charismatic guy with a lot of pride. Everyone shrinks when they're in front of him, or rather, they humble themselves, so it might be that he can become plain around you."

"I just thought he was a normal guy except for being really good at kyudo."

"Your sense of normal is paralyzed."

Hearing their conversation from next to them, Ryouhei leaned on Minato as though he was about to ride on his shoulders.

"I wanna try talking to Fujiwara-kun too. He's super cool. I wanna shoot like that too."

"Ryouhei, you're too heavy. Why are all the guys with big bodies who are next to me randomly leaning on me? Alright, you come shoot with us too, Ryouhei."

"Really? Yes! Fujiwara-kun uses a yonsun-nobi bow (233cm) too, right?"

"Yeah, it's rare for a high schooler to be taller than a hundred and eighty centimeters. People with big physiques probably have their own troubles, so Shuu might be able to answer anything we don't know about."

Kaito, changing next to them, turned to them with a sharp gaze.

"You guys, don't get all friendly with the enemy. Don't relax just because Narumiya got a kaichuu at the prefectural finals."

"Even if you call him the enemy, he's still my bow friend, and even you would think that it's educational to watch a skilled person shoot, right, Onogi?"

"If you want a guy who's tall and shoots well, then don't we have a coach named Masa-san here?"

"Masa-san and Shuu shoot differently. You can't know who would suit Ryouhei better."

Kaito and Minato calling each other by their first names was for only a moment of that competition, and they had once again returned to addressing each other by their family names.

There, they heard the sound of "Merha!"

Nanao peered at Kaito's face while a big grin appeared on his face.

"Geez, Kacchan, you're so shy. Just honestly say, 'I'm also interested in Kirisaki's Fujiwara. Why don't you invite me too? Invite me, invite me!'"

"Na-na-o. Don't make stuff up."

Nanao stuck out his tongue.

The five finished preparations and began practicing in the competition format.

Kyudo was done in "close-distance" (kinteki) and "long-distance" (enteki), and what Minato and the others were doing was a close-distance competition. They were competing for the number of arrows that hit the kasumi-mato with diameters of thirty-six centimeters from a distance of twenty-eight meters. The regional tournament would have teams of five and four arrows to each person. They would be shooting a total of twenty arrows within a time limit.

"Zasha" was the case of shooting after kneeling in the kiza position at the "shooting line" (shai), then turning to the wakishoumen, and then standing and doing ashibumi. The case of shooting by doing ashibumi while still standing at the shooting line was called "rissha." The left and right hands were called the "yunde and mete" or the "oshide and katte," and the eight-step process of shooting an arrow was also named. It was called the "Shahou Hassetsu."

The Shahou Hassetsu were as followed.

First, ashibumi: Spreading the feet, and making the correct posture for shooting.

Second, douzukuri: Placing the bow on the left thigh, and placing the right hand on the right hip. At this time, "tsurushirabe" and "noshirabe" are also carried out.

Third, yugamae: Taking the bowstring with the right hand ("torikake"), arranging the left hand ("tenouchi"), and viewing the target ("monomi").

Fourth, uchiokoshi: Raising both hands holding the bow and arrows upwards. There is "shoumen uchiokoshi" and "shamen uchiokoshi."

Fifth, hikiwake: Parting the raised bow evenly to the left and right. There are three ways to do this, one of which is "daisan."

Sixth, kai: The state of completing hikiwake.

Seventh, hanare: Releasing the arrow.

Eighth, zanshin: The position after releasing the arrow.

The first archer—the oomae—Kaito spread his feet widely.

He was holding two arrows, a "hitote." He nocked one of the arrows, and held the other one with the pinky and ring finger of his right hand.

Taking the string with his right hand and arranging his left hand, he then gently raised his two fists up to the same height. He pushed his bow, drew his string, and parted his bow left and right equally, and then made his arrowhead approach the center of the target. In order to not be defeated by the restoring force of the bow, he stretched vertically by stretching his spine and stretched horizontally by tensing his left and right arms. His arrow went towards the target along with a loud tsurune. "Alright!" The girls cheered.

Following Kaito, Ryouhei, Seiya, Nanao and the very last archer, the ochi, Minato each shot an arrow in that order, and the results after finishing with twenty shots were 4:2:3:3:3, a total of fifteen hits.

Tommy-sensei and Masa-san stood before the five.

"Although you are all restless with the gap between the prefectural and regional tournaments is closing, keep this up."

"Yes, sir!"

Tommy-sensei's smile widened at Ryouhei's energetic response.

"Improving your shooting form is not about trying to not think about hitting. In order to make your arrow fly straight, it is less deviating to draw with your whole body rather than the tip of your hand. "

"Ooh, I see."

"The fundamental form of kyudo takes the form of the 'tateyoko juumonji,' which consists of a combination of the vertical axis made up of the feet, hips, backbone, and neck, and the horizontal axes made up of the shoulders, arms, elbows, and hands. I want you to think of the Shahou Hassetsu that explains the method to create the fundamental form, so to speak, as a routine for hitting turned into a law."

"By routine, do you mean like the series of movements a baseball player must always carry out in the batter's box, sir?"

"That's right. Many etiquettes and behaviors may have begun with someone's routine that others copied, made into laws and rules, and spread."

"As expected of Tommy-sensei, he knows everything."

"Oh no, I was actually only speaking irresponsibly."

"Irresponsibly? What do you mean?"

The kyudojo instantly calmed down at Ryouhei's spacey reply.

Tommy-sensei put effort into teaching Ryouhei. Kyudo's close-range competitions had a hitting system where points already gained from previous rounds counted, so a one-hit reversal could not be hoped for. There was no way of victory other than each person making sure to not miss.

Masa-san called Minato to the makiwara equipped with a mirror.

"You were sort of twisting your right elbow a lot today."

"Oh, I was just trying to imitate Shuu's shooting a little."

"'Shuu'?"

"Kirisaki High's Fujiwara Shuu, my former teammate. I met with him unexpectedly at Saionji-sensei's house the other day."

"Do you mean Saionji Kazuyoshi-sensei? Another big name appears. Do you know him well?"

"He's mine and Shuu's first kyudo teacher. Although he is elderly, he also said that if I was able to stand before the targets for club, it would be better to not have two teachers, though I was taught by him until the end of my first year of middle school."

"For five years, he's a legend who's never missed a shot in an official setting such as a competition or a ceremony. Now that you mention it, Fujiwara's shooting form might be similar to Saionji-sensei's. A skilled archer calls it a 'tenugui shibori' or 'hannen hanjaku,' where the left hand rotates clockwise, and the right hand adds a hineri contrarily to that." (1)

"I want to try doing that too. At prefecturals, I was told by a sensei from somewhere to try doing hineri a little bit."

"In your case, your right hand is stronger, and when I look at you from the side, your bow is not straight, but tilted backwards. Also, you're wearing a supporter, but does your left wrist still hurt?"

"I don't know if there's a dull pain, or if it didn't get any worse but not healing at all."

"When you draw a bow, you hurt your left wrist when you bend it. Try watching your zanshin in a mirror. Do you see? Your wrist gets folded at the moment of hanare."

"I didn't notice that at all. Why do I do that?"

"I've told you a million times. When you miss, it's generally your left hand that is weak."

"Do you mean tensing my tenouchi's little finger? I was planning on doing that, though."

"Planning on doing it is no use; you don't do it at all. Don't add more tasks for yourself. Do what I tell you to do first. If you don't fix your habit, the more you shoot, the more you will hurt your wrist."

"Got it."

"Who's your kyudo master now?"

"Huh, …Tommy-sensei and you, Masa-san."

"That's right. Don't add anything extra from anyone else except for me."

What's with that? What's with that?

You didn't have to say it like that.

Recently, Masa-san was harsh. There was a frustration that couldn't be embodied, even though he understood it in his mind. A worthlessness.

Minato rubbed his left hand.

Tap, tap. Multiple matooto resounded.

"Alright!" The reverberating cheers indicated that Kirisaki High School was a powerhouse school.

However, Senichi's heart did not clear up. That was because Manji, who was always behind him, was not there. Manji was at the makiwara more than anyone else, doing nothing but practicing to prolong his kai.

A practice match participated in by the archers was being held on this day, and Kabashima occupied the third archer's position, replacing Manji who had been out of form in the prefectural tournament. After shooting four arrows in two sets, the match ended with thirty-two hits out of a total of forty shots.

Shuu and Senichi set down their bows and sat next to each other. Shuu took off the glove, "yugake," protecting his right hand, exposing from beneath a shitagake (underglove) with a purple pattern dyed onto a white background.

"Shuu, you changed your underglove? That's a nice pattern."

"Yeah, the dragonfly is said to be a winning insect, so it's a design preferred by warriors."

"Where'd you buy it?"

"I got it as a one-month late birthday present."

"Oh?"

The underglove, used for protecting the deerskin yugake from things like sweat, was mainly made of cotton, and there were many who were picky about thickness and shape of the cloth. White was recommended for examinations and the like, but there was an abundance of colours and patterns, and it was also an unseen enjoyment for archers.

On the advisor's signal, they dispersed and it was decided that they would stretch target paper over the frames (matohari). They removed the papers that were full of holes and repapered the frames with new target papers.

The club president, Motomura, spoke.

"After peeling the paper, please clean the frame with a scrubbing brush and water, then dry it."

"Motomura-senpai, Sase-senpai. The third-years should leave already, since we will be doing it afterwards."

"Thank you, Senichi-kun. But please allow me to repaper the targets I use, at least."

"Is that so? Then, please feel free to do it."

The target frames became chipped and cracked when arrows just barely hit the target, and were completely worn down.

While they waited for the washed frames to dry, they prepared the target papers and the under-papers. They cut Kraft paper into circles that were a size bigger than the frames, then made cuts at the edges with scissors. This same treatment of edges was applied to the target papers as well.

Motomura held a brush and coated the back of the papers with glue with practiced movements, and then other people quickly stuck them on the frames. They affixed the under-papers and target papers in that order, then arranged them so that they didn't overlap in order for them to dry. There would be wrinkles on them right after they finished sticking the papers, but after they dried for a while, the papers would automatically stretch and finish as neat-looking targets. The sight of the large number of targets lined up together was quite impressive, and it felt good to look out over the renewed targets.

Senichi, separating from everyone else to wash his hands, whispered to Manji.

"It's so amazing for Motomura-senpai and the others to do matohari, even though they're third-years. And, doesn't Shuu seem kinda down today?"

"That's cuz he lost the prefecturals even though he had by far the greatest number of hits, so it's impossible for him to cheer up right away. Even I, who rarely gets depressed, still can't break free from the hayake damage yet."

"It's not that, he's calmer than usual, or rather, mellower."

"I don't think he changed that much."

"So what was that urgent business of his yesterday?"

"Who knows? He'll tell us if we ask."

"We can't ask now. Aren't you frustrated? Someone who isn't us cheered Shuu up while we were unaware of it."

"Isn't that good? I thought that I haven't heard his voice a lot lately."

"Yeah, that's it. That's what I noticed too. I thought that Shuu seems to give advice to everyone, but he actually only answers questions, and he has never given advice of his own accord. Since no one, including me, asked Shuu questions lately, he doesn't need to talk."

"I feel like Shuu isn't very interested in other people. The only person he pays attention to is Narumiya from Kazemai High…"

Senichi and Manji first knew Shuu at the individual competition of the middle school prefectural tournament.

It was shocking. That there existed a boy the same age as them who was such a skilled archer.

The two boasted of having the highest hitting rates in their club, but the moment they saw Shuu shoot, they prostrated themselves before that overwhelming strength. For that reason, they asked an unreasonable favor of their parents and chose Kirisaki High School instead of a local high school. Unless they overcame Shuu, they were no match for the national finals. They thought that they would get close to him and steal his skills.

However, that intention vanished right after they enrolled.

Shuu was the Young Noble.

Without mentioning his good-looking appearance and a robust physique that surpassed those of others, someone who also had a sharp mind, an ancient and honorable pedigree, and a personality where he didn't self-deprecate as well as act conceited, was faultless and beyond reproach. As they continued to watch Shuu shooting from nearby, they were charmed by him more and more. How could he move his body so precisely? His shots were so unparalleled in their accuracy that one could think that there wasn't even one millimetre of deviation. It was worthy of being called a superhuman feat.

However, with Shuu missing the final shot at the prefectural tournament, they became aware of the pride and the heavy pressure of those who stood at the top. He missed, and yet his face did not crumble. Even now, he couldn't forget those empty eyes in his smiling face.

How embarrassing. The him who only stood next to Shuu and praised him. He was a cheap, insignificant existence.

Shuu was the "solitary" Young Noble.

There was no one here at Kirisaki who Shuu acknowledged, who stood next to him. There were no comrades for him.

"Sen-nii, you worship Shuu too much. Leaving that aside, keep me company for my hayake prevention training."

"Yeah, okay."

Manji wasn't as engrossed in Shuu as Senichi was. The brothers always spent the same amount of vigor and fire, but the time for separation might be approaching.

The two were going on their own paths.

"Manji."

"What is it, Sen-nii?"

"I'll move on from fast-shooting too. I'll definitely turn you back into a regular."

"…Yeah."

"I'll stop worshipping Shuu too."

"Yeah, that's good."

After they finished changing, they left the kyudojo.

There were almost no students left. Senichi and Manji returned to the dorms, but Shuu headed towards the bus stop by himself.

Senichi faced Shuu.

"Shuu, do you want to eat together after?"

"Sorry, my homework is piling up."

"Then, then, we'll see you off at the bus stop."

Senichi continued to talk as he walked.

"Hey, Shuu, do you have a brother?"

"What's with this all of a sudden? I have a sister who's a lot younger than me."

"What's your favorite food?"

"Takoyaki."

"Really? That's a bit surprising."

"To be precise, I like Japanese food in general."

"What about hobbies?"

"Open fires. When I watch a swaying flame, I strangely calm down."

"Calm down…"

He realized that Manji was panicking next to him, saying, "Sen-nii, Sen-nii, what are you doing!?"

This is hopeless. This is like a mixer or a marriage interview.

Senichi pulled himself together, and then revised the content of the conversation.

"Shuu, you could tell me and Manji apart from the very beginning, right? With which part do you usually do that?"

"Which part? I could tell immediately because your colours are different."

"Colours? No way, you can see the colours of people's auras?"

"I mean the personal characteristics, the features of something. The presence that exudes from a person, like facial expressions, mannerisms, thinking, actions, and so on. Well, before colours, you two have completely different faces. Sen looks more mature."

That's right. Shuu had never lumped us together as "the twins."

Even though we're twins, he recognizes us as separate people.

When the bus approached, Shuu turned away from them.

"Shuu. Will you watch my shooting tomorrow?"

"Okay, if you don't mind me doing it."

"I'll watch your shooting too. I'll immediately know the spots where you're different from usual. I watch you shoot every day, at any rate."

"…Yes, that's true."

Shuu turned around and placed his hand on Senichi's shoulder. This was the first time Shuu touched one of his teammates himself.

Shuu, wait for us.

We won't end up as just followers.

Senichi ran to the dorms, with Manji chasing behind him.

Kirisaki High School was not a boarding school, but there were many who lived in the dorms.

The Art Deco-style building was used as a vacation home and was remodelled, becoming a structure that was quite luxurious for a building that was intended for students.

Motomura's and Sase's room was the dorm leader's room, located in a corner of the top floor. The trees and high sky could be seen from the window, and there were not only writing desks and beds in the room, but also a sofa on which one could lie down. Of course, Sase's favourite idol, Noririn, smiled neatly and cleanly from atop his desk.

When Sase returned to his room, he first sat down on the right end of the sofa. That was because there was a window right next to it, and it was the best place for sunlight to shine in during the daytime, and moonlight during the night. For Motomura as well, the figure of his roommate there was strangely comforting.

Motomura took the position of dorm leader in his first year of high school. The dorm leader was chosen each spring from the residents by a majority vote. Usually, it was the oldest third-year who took the position, and was replaced every year, but the dorm leader at the time recommended and approved Motomura on a whim, and it continued on like that without him getting replaced. It seemed to be a very unusual situation.

And, the dorm leader was able to designate their roommate. The one he had always designated was Sase.

When Motomura first entered middle school, he had felt out of place in class. To give an example, he might have felt like a Japanese exchange student at a public school. Among his classmates who had to carefully think about how to treat a boy who was already brimming with refinement at a young age, Sase was the one who talked to him proactively. Sase loved idols, but he himself had idol-like qualities and a personality that was not bashful.

A young family head and a refreshing sportsman (who was an idol otaku on the inside). This slightly strange duo both chose the kyudo club for club activities, became friends, and that was how it was to this day.

Motomura sat next to Sase. He straightened his back and opened his notebook.

"Motomura, when's Kokutai?"

"October."

"It'll be a while, then. Even though you've been doing the qualifiers since January."

"That's right."

"Will you be okay? You have your parent-teacher meeting, so give your chores to me."

"Yes, I would have asked you even if you had not told me to."

Being a third-year in high school also meant preparing for university entrance exams. Many people retired from their clubs, not just the kyudo club after the prefectural tournament in June, went into exam preparation mode. There were not many who still continued their club activities, and they feel an anxiety all the same. The Interscholastic Athletic Meet, also known as the "National Tournament (High School Generals)" was in August, and the National Athletic Meet, also known as "Kokutai," was in October. It was not easy to sustain motivation.

Motomura and Sase were no exception. The two considered public universities and well-known difficult private universities—in other words, going to Tokyo. They had to decide their future course according to their situation from now on. A strong preparedness was needed to balance studying for exams and athletic activities.

Sase was said to be strong when it mattered, and he himself also thought that, but in fact it was different. As long as he was not someone who shot a hundred hits, he would have ups and downs. Sase was able to bring along with him the highest, best positions of those waves to when it mattered, in other words, to important days. Motomura watched Sase and learned to read his own waves and assemble a schedule.

"Motomura, rub my feet."

Sase threw his feet onto the sofa. With a "good grief" look on his face, Motomura pressed his thumb to the arches of his feet.

"Ooh, I'm in heaven. While you're at it, could I have you rub my calves too? Owww, your nails are cutting into me!"

"It's good that Senichi-kun and Manji-kun are working very hard, isn't it. I want to cheer them on."

"Those two are always glued to Fujiwara's sides. The former synchro twins are now the 'symmetrical twins.'"

"Don't you think Fujiwara-kun is such a waste? There should have been an invitation to enter the Kokutai qualifiers for him as well. You can participate Kokutai boys' division from the age of fifteen. They should not have ignored him, who was the champion for the overall individual competitions."

"He's still a first-year, so he doesn't have to rush, right?"

"We don't have a lot of time left. While knowing that we were getting busier and under a lot of pressure, we took on the tournament. I do not want to do things by halves."

"Right."

Sase put his feet back on the floor and patted Motomura's knee. Upon that, it was Motomura's turn to put his feet on the sofa. Massaging each other was a daily routine for the two of them.

Motomura was thinking.

That he might be pretending to devote himself to kyudo.

He would like to delay choosing his future course after high school, and if possible, he did not want to choose. Even though he had managed to discover such a comfortable place, why couldn't it stay like this?

In reality, even though he had lost to the younger Fujiwara for the individual competition, he had felt almost no feelings of frustration. Instead, he had even felt cheerful. He just loved shooting a bow and was indifferent to winning, so the feeling of guilt of whether or not he should be participating in the High School Generals and Kokutai was always in a corner of his mind.

As though he had seen through to Motomura's feelings, Sase stopped his hands.

Beneath the crescent moon, a cat with golden eyes smiled.

"Well then, shall we invite our cute kouhais?"

"We must give them a pep talk, don't we?"

The two brought their faces together and laughed.

Some time later, Shuu was invited to eat dinner at the dorm, and after eating, he, Senichi, and Manji were invited to the room on the dorm's top floor.

Sase spread his arms wide.

"Welcome, to Daigo's & Hiroki's room!"

"Ooh, so cool—. It's got a good view. Wah, there's so much workbooks. Hieeee!"

"You'll do these Akahon when you're graduating." (2)

"No, I'll have to pass on them."

The five freely sat on the floor.

Even though it was after dinner, they arranged the drinks and sweets that they had brought with them and stuffed their mouths with them all at once. Perhaps to be polite, no one sat on the sofa, which had room for three people.

After he satisfied his appetite for a while, Manji looked around the room.

"Motomura-senpai, you said something like how this room is a bit different than the others, but there's nothing really different about it? It just has a wider layout and a sofa."

"Haven't you noticed? There is not enough of what can be said to be a characteristic of a corner room here."

"Not enough?"

Senichi and Manji examined their surroundings once more. They looked under the beds and opened the closets. They were about to put their hands on the drawers, but because it was quite possible that they were going to search the entire room, Sase told them the answer.

"The characteristic of a corner room is having a lot of windows. There are many cases where there are windows not only in one direction, but also on the side. But somehow this room only has a wall there."

"Wall…so there is a dead body buried in it after all…"

Ignoring Senichi and Manji, who were making faces, Motomura and Sase moved the sofa in front of the wall. After they had done that, a small sliding door, big enough to allow one person to go through, appeared at the bottom of the wall.

"Please come in," Sase said, indicating with his palm.

While the twins were deciding who was going to enter first, Shuu got on his knees on the floor, crawled and entered inside. Behind him, Senichi, Manji, Motomura, and Sase followed.

What Shuu saw was a tatami-matted floor, a tokonoma, and mud walls. The size of the room was only about four and a half tatami mats. (3)

"This is…could this be a tea room?"

"Yes. That door was a 'nijiri-guchi.' (4) This dorm was originally used as a vacation home by a British couple, so I think they likely built it by imitation. This tea room is probably the playful spirit and imagination of that couple. Although it was turned into a storeroom, Sase and I moved everything out and tried to restore it."

Regarding Motomura as the host, the five sat.

The flickering light of the andon lamp. (5)

Moonlight poured down from the high window.

"Today, we have something important we want to talk to everyone about, so we invited you here. This summer, I want all the members here to take part in the national tournament."

"…Huh?"

Senichi's and Manji's voices overlapped. The shadows on their faces darkened, and the tatami mats creaked.

"Motomura-senpai, what are you saying? We lost at the prefectural tournament. We lost…"

Manji grit his teeth, and even Shuu was infected by that pain.

It was unnecessary to search for a cause of defeat in kyudo.

They lost because Manji and Shuu missed.

The Kirisaki High School Kyudo Club's "summer" had already ended before they could greet summer.

"The name of the door that we went through, 'nijiri-guchi,' means the shuffling door. Just as that suggests, you cannot enter inside without bending to your knees and shuffling your feet. It is probably the embodiment of Sen no Rikyu's (6) ideology to favor neither those of high social status nor low, but for us, it is the door to another world. Only when you are on your knees and hanging your head can you see through to the other side."

Shuu clenched his hand.

What do our senpais want to say?

No way——.

Senichi, thinking of Manji's and Shuu's positions, raised his voice.

"I'm really sorry, senpais, but we have already moved on. Kirisaki High School will win the kyudo selections in the fall and next year's nationals, and we will report that to you."

"Aaah, so they don't get it."

"It seems so."

Sase and Motomura said, seemingly enjoying themselves.

"It was bad of Sensei to not explain it properly as well, but none of you seemed to have read the tournament main points properly. Kyudo selections in the fall? Next year? So you've set the goal of being national champions a long time ahead. Don't you have to win the regional tournament that's right before your eyes?"

"Of course we want to win. But, even if we win the regional tournament, we can't advance to nationals. Only the schools that won the prefectural tournaments can take part in the national tournament."

"That's true usually. However, this year's Inter-High is a once-a-decade commemoration tournament. In the year of a commemoration tournament, the number of participating schools will be increased, but the condition is 'regional tournament champion school.'"

Someone made a gulping sound.

"If we win the regional tournament, we can go to nationals?"

"——Yes, it's a repechage." (7)

Previous | Next

#tsurune #tsurune translation

133 notes · View notes

tgrailwar-zero · 2 months

Note

Hey Orion! It’s super neat running into you! What’s with the compact form?

ORION: "Guh. 'Compact', they say. That's one way of putting it."

ORION: "Two direct hits! And you have a point! Yeesh, I guess I had it coming... listen, it's a long story, okay?!"

In your time talking, you had realized that KOMA's music had faded and stopped and she had apparently left the premises, the ambient music now being piped in through speakers on the walls. You saw a young woman approach- at least you assumed she was young by her looks. When she spoke, it became a bit confusing.

YOUNG(?) WOMAN: "Good evening. I pray I am not interrupting, but you caught my eye, and I wished to introduce myself."

The woman bowed her head.

RIKYU: "I am Rikyu, a Rogue Servant. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

You recognized the name, RIKYU had been mentioned earlier at the casino.

She had a young face, but her tone and quality of voice creaked with the wear of age. It was odd, perhaps you could describe it as a 'young person speaking as if they were old', or an 'old person with a young voice'. However you wished to twist and tangle it.

Still, what IZOU and DURYODHANA said earlier at the casino seemed to be true- she could be KOMA's sister, twins even. The two women were identical, really the only difference was hair color. KOMA's hair was an inky black, while RIKYU's was a ghostly white. That aside, there was an oddness about her, though it was difficult to put your finger as to 'what'.

ORION scooted to the side, making room for RIKYU to sit.

ORION: "Rikyu here is a merchant in the city. A real good one too, though I hear you've closed up shop recently. Is that true?"

IZOU: "Really? Sucks for the people who wanted to do some last-minute shopping for the Bout."

RIKYU: "I am to compete. T'would be quite scandalous if I were to provide provisions to my competitors, yes? Say a blade broke, or the armor was ill-fitting, revealing a weak point. I would be accused of unfair play, and my reputation as a businessman would be shattered, even if such things were not my fault or intentional. Though I do insist that none of my wares are that flimsy or faulty, mind you."

MUSASHI: "That makes sense. Still, who would have thought we'd bump into this many wandering Servants?"

It was a bit odd. You saw RIKYU shrug, answering casually yet formally.

RIKYU: "Well, 'tis unsurprising you would find those like us here, given our circumstances. However, most Rogue Servants are summoned at the 'Point of Sealing', where the Interlopers were locked away by the Lair Servants."

That wasn't a place marked on your map or any maps that you've seen, probably intentionally.

IZOU: "Guess it serves as a leyline of sorts. Still, like Duryodhana said, Rogue Summonings are real rare and most of them either wander around and fade for a bit, or manage to set up a means of gaining mana."

You watched as RIKYU nodded in quiet agreement.

RIKYU: "The Megalopolis has the most lucrative prospects when compared to the other zones."

ORION: "Which brings the topic back to me! And why I'm not my full, totally hunky self!"

ORION: "Artemis. My, uh… 'other half', let's call her. She tried to summon herself using me as a pseudo Class Container to contain her… 'Divine Spirit'-ness. Thing is, as soon as we manifested, something cut into the summoning and shunted Artemis out of the Solar Cell… and left me here flying solo. Best guess is that Moon Gods don't mix well with the 'Solar Cell'."

ORION: "I do have a bow! Or, well, I did. Issue is- Artemis is the one with my bow, skills, and every other thing that makes 'Orion' a Servant. All I've got is a name, my wits, and my roguish charm."

MUSASHI: "...So many Servants are entering the tournament this year, I'm getting excited just thinking about it!"

RIKYU: "Quite. Rikyu is pleased. I am no fighter, however, Koma asked Rikyu to 'give it a shot'. Hopefully this cycle's bout will prove interesting."

ORION: "Uh, hello? Ladies? Don't just move on from my plight so quickly! Isn't this where one of you says 'oh, poor thing!' and gives me a big, deep hug?"

#thgw story #endless whispers #thgw: chapter 6 #main post

7 notes · View notes

daeva-agas · 6 years

Text

Okay a separate rant so as to not clog up the answer with a wall of text.　

I want to think very highly of Voltage, but it’s still a very bold move to declare “we’ll give you a full on route on whoever wins”. With such short time, I just can’t help but suspect the whole thing is rigged. Once the voting closes, and ballots counted, they either need to find a writer or have to go brief up a writer they already booked. That gives, what... 4-5 months time to research the material and write the story?

As I said, if it’s someone really well-known, it’s all well and good. Just one click, and Wikipedia has everything you’d ever need! Rikyu, Shibata, Nagahide, Doctor Douzan, Oichi, and Tadakatsu among them.

But... if the person is not well-known, the route has to be filled with nothing but fluff... The writers are outsourced. And the amount of research the different writers are willing to put out and incorporate can vary. What if they’re stuck with some person that people knew nothing about? If the writer can’t think up a good plot, it can end up with a very very boring route.

Whenever some new person that I don’t recognize show up in Tenka I go look them up. It’s like... a lot of them are really tough to find info on. YMMV on this, but I personally find fluff-filled routes to be snooze-fests because without historical milestones as reference, the pacing of the plot can be pretty damn awful.

People like Keiji we actually don’t really know much about. However we do have all manners of stories thanks to legends and the hit manga “Hana no Keiji”.

There’s also characters who are made up so weird that even if we do find anything about them in real life it can’t be used. Like Fuuma. Who is... possibly actually a samurai vassal of Hojo who goes by the name Kazama (spelled the same as that Kazama character in Hakuouki). Like, legit samurai with titles and everything. But we can’t use that, can we? Unless we spin some story that he used to be a good, sensible aspiring samurai before he goes insane.

Or what about Kiyohiro? Since the “historical Hanzo” is Hanzo Masanari, can we still use elements from his historical background for Kiyohiro? The dead-loyal Hanzo suits Kiyohiro more than Masanari anyway, but still.

I had a pretty hard time finding even ANY mention of Ibano Hiromasa at first. It got better after a while, and I think there was something about him dying in the same battle where Terumune dies. Which would have been really crappy if that happened in game because then BOTH Shige and Masa will be sad, and it would be so terrible for Koju too.

And speaking of the Katakura, I still cannot find absolutely anything about Shigetsugu other than that he is a real person and was a Shinto priest. That’s it. Maybe it’ll be better if I actually know the right keywords to look for, but yeeahh... not so good last time I checked.

Took me a while to even find what Momochi’s “real name” is, and it was apparently not so bad once you figure it out. Many believed his name to be Momochi Yasumitsu (I can’t believe Shall We Date Ninja Love actually knows this, I’m impressed), and there was something about Momochi Tanba and Momochi Sanadayuu not being actually the same person. Though cool as it may be, there was not much about him personally. Just that he was super important in Iga.

Took a while to find out why Kennyo and the Honganji doesn’t like Nobu either. It’s like, if you just run by Wikipedia all they’ll say is that the Honganji and the Oda are enemies with no explanation why they started fighting. I don’t want him to win and have a route, but you know. If by some God-granted miracle he wins, don’t you sorta need to know why they’re fighting? Or are we just gonna run with some weird fluff plot? I vaguely remember something about a dead brother being mentioned in Nobu’s sequel, which is a load of crock (or maybe poor translation, I don’t know).

#personal

8 notes · View notes

oliwiawidutoresearch · 6 years

Text

Spill Some Tea On Your Keyboard (Metaphorically, Please)

Recently on my travels, I picked up a book titled, “Ichigo Ichie” translated very poetically into Polish.

The book explains many cultural traditions throughout Asia. One which really struck me, was Chanoyu, the Japanese "Way of Tea". This deeply embedded tradition was explained through its genesis at the hands of Sen Rikyu.

When I boil water for my cuppa which I drink 2 sips of before it goes cold and consequently thrown down the sink, I do not consider tradition.

Thankfully Sen Rikyū appreciated the effort which goes into picking, drying and consuming the finest Japanese herbs. To quote Britannica,

“Sen Rikyū redefined the tea ceremony in all its aspects: the rules of procedure, the utensils, the teahouse architecture (of which he designed several styles), and even the tea-garden landscaping.”

As Irish vernacular has it, today “the tea” is “the information”. We Experience Designers, must therefore follow in the footsteps of Rikyū creating the procedure, utensils, and especially the teahouse.

The deeper I dive into User Experience, the more I sense an unsettling utilitarianism. I am plagued by websites such as Booking.com, which force me through time constrained maizes with bright red, scary pop-ups telling me my time is running out, or x place has already sold out.

These websites understand psychology deeply, and are able to make me perform an action exactly as they wish.

The pandemic of Dribbble is another perfect example. The website’s pool of identical wavy vector graphics isn’t produced by a lack of creativity. It is brought on by the utilitarian success of companies which use that exact graphic.

Use wavy vector graphic> sell unnecessary stuff > pay employees> employees happy> employees make nice wavy vector graphic.

Sure, sometimes when we query Google for the next bank holiday, we want a straight answer.

Other times, we need a soul nourishing moment of connection.

That is my aim for Codesseum.

#education

0 notes

andresenbutt40-blog · 6 years

Text

Fast slimming - Easy Ways for Losing Fat Fast Without Dieting!

Lean Supreme Weight loss researchers and medical teams have put Proactol's herbal ingredients into one capsule that can provide you with the maximum results. Before we explain what ingredients are in Proactol, what do these herbs actually offer? But wait, you say -- isn't Acai berry a Forskolin Benefits? Won't taking an Mangosteen product cause me to feel lose more weight and muscle block? The answer is no -- Acai only induces weight-loss in overweight individuals. The thing it does is help the body achieve an equilibrium -- that is, it will help you to reach your ideal weight for your frame. The content you produce if you're skinny, you'll soon pack on more muscle and merely the correct quantity of fat with continued Acai enjoy. Another riskier addition you'll be able to make with regard to your diet will be always to add a What is Forskolin towards juice dieting and exercise plan. Sunshine be dangerous and should be researched effectively. The easiest for you to do is actually a to use the internet obtain the popular supplements, look out consumer submitted reviews of goods to discover how well they work and when there are any undesirable you decide to worry on. Once again, these supplements donrrrt want to be used for an extended period of time; all of them are addictive allow it to have bad effects on your body. It is assumed green tea powder was invented in China in tenth or eleventh 100 years. Through Buddhism it spread to Asia. It came to be called Zen by asia. A sixteenth century tea master (Sen no Rikyu) organize the rules of the renowned tea ceremony. Features workout plans specified that matcha was the only tea to use for this ceremony. Matcha green tea comes from Japan. Xenical and Meridia become the only fat drugs will be approved by the FDA for obese girls. It is not recommended to use for more than two years from day time you instead of. Many website entrepreneurs are missing a trick concerning generating web page visitors. People come to their website, look around and leave, never to go back. So make sure you are offering a FREE email service on your website to catch names. I ordered both products, because there was a enlightening information on the webpage about the ingredients, the direction they worked, the actual they feel. For good measure, I got myself a supply of Krill oil supplements, a little too. After a couple of weeks of the particular supplements as directed, and paying careful attention to what i ate, I noticed that my jeans were getting loose during the waist and hips. Clothes I wore before Received pregnant with my second child fit again. I noticed that some professionals were hopelessly out of fashion. Some of them were even too big! I wondered how long I had really been overweight and out of shape.

0 notes

heartofbasara-blog · 5 years

Note

‘ One grows used to things , even if , sometimes , one should not . ’ (Sen no Rikyu)

Sabisuke gives the other the most blank expression.

“…What do you mean?” he asked, his voice carrying and making it sound like he was yelling.

Taking control, Wabisuke sighs heavily, chastising his other personality for being an idiot like normal. But then he makes eye contact with…Shibata, right? That was his name? He nods.

“There is much truth in that. And what is there to do about it? Humans are doomed to fall down into habit…and then become consume by it.”

#Rikyu: Answers.#Katsuie (geometragic).

0 notes

chanoyu-to-wa · 6 years

Text

Nampō Roku, Book 1 (2): in the Roji, the Host’s Purpose is to Carry Water, and the Guests’ Purpose is to Use that Water for Washing.

2) Whenever anyone visits Sōeki in order to [drink] tea, [he] always carries the water for the chōzu-bachi [手水鉢]¹ by himself -- in a hand-bucket -- and pours it in [after the guests have arrived at the koshi-kake].

When I asked [him] for the reasoning [behind his personal performance of this menial task], Sōeki replied, “in the roji [露地]², the original thing³ that the host was supposed to do was carry water [for the guests to use]; and the original thing that the guests were supposed to do was [to use that water] to perform their washing. This is the cardinal principle upon which the whole concept of the roji and the sōan [草庵]⁴ are founded⁵. In this roji [the person who] calls out, and the [one who] responds⁶, both use the chōzu-bachi to wash away the dust of the world.

“During the cold [season], [the water] is drawn and carried without seeming to begrudge the cold; during the heat [of summer], one [seems to] bring forth a refreshing coolness. Yet these apparently divergent purposes are really directed at the same end: it is most disagreeable if [the guests] do not know when the water was put into [the chōzu-bachi]. For this reason it is indeed best to pour [the water] in freshly, before the guests’ eyes.

"Nevertheless, in cases like that of [Tsuda] Sōkyū's⁷ chōzu-bachi -- which was next to the koshi-kake itself -- [the water] should be poured in just before the guests are expected to arrive⁸.

“But in the more usual case where the chōzu-bachi is within the roji, or below the roof of the genkan [玄關]⁹, only after the guests have entered the koshi-kake [and taken their seats] should the host carry the water out and pour it [into the chōzu-bachi].

“Because [the host should make only one trip when carrying the water], since [the time of] Jōō the mizu-tame [水溜]¹⁰ of the chōzu-bachi has been cut only to such a size that it will more than overflow when [the water contained in] one small hand-bucket [is poured in].” This was his answer.

_________________________

◎ The photo shows a small hand-bucket, of the type used to carry water to the chōzu-bachi (tsukubai).

In this entry Rikyū discusses the importance of when and why the host carries water to the chōzu-bachi with his own hands for the guests to use for washing prior to their entering the tearoom.

¹Chōzu-bachi [手水鉢].

The basin for washing the hands and mouth, located in the inner roji.

Since the Edo period, this low basin is usually known by the (garden designer's slang) expression “tsukubai” [蹲踞].

²Roji [露地].

This kanji-compound is contrary to Rikyū's (and presumably Nambō Sōkei's) usual usage. In their day, the word was always written roji [路地], which simply means a path.

Roji [露地], as written here, did not appear until the Edo period, as part of the philosophization of chanoyu (which occurred as a result of the importation of Korean neo-Confucianist thinking, at the beginning of the Edo period -- which stressed that all aspects of daily life should be explained or interpreted based on precedents taken from the classics). Thus, this was an emendation provided by Tachibana Jitsuzan (who was a child of his day and class) -- perhaps in what he regarded as an attempt to “correct” one of Nambō Sōkei's “mistakes.”

³Hajime no shosa [初の所作].

Hajime no shosa [初の所作] means the original action, or the thing that was done originally.

In the early days of chanoyu, the only reason there was a roji was to give the guests a place where they could go to wash their hands (whether before eating or drinking tea, or after using the restroom) -- since the tearoom itself was simply one room in the residence designated for this purpose, and it was entered through the main entrance to the house.

⁴Sōan [草庵].

This word was not used by Rikyū, or the people of his period. In fact, it seems to have derived from the heavy straw-thatched roofs preferred by Furuta Sōshitsu, and (following Oribe's lead) Sen no Sōtan. Rikyū and the chajin of his generation seem to have preferred the words ko-yashiki [小屋敷]* and chaya [茶屋]†. __________ *Ko-yashiki [小屋敷]: the word yashiki [屋敷] literally means a shed -- that is, a free-standing building, of simple construction, usually located on the far side of the garden from the residence (something like a garden shed or garage).

A ko-yashiki, then, is a small one (usually a room of 2-mats, or 2-mats plus a daime).

†Chaya [茶屋] literally means teahouse.

⁵This statement is based on the Zen concept of egoless give and take. The host gives, the guest receives, and both perform their roles without feelings of ego, of servility or obligation. This is what Rikyū is stressing here.

⁶Toi towaruru hito [問い問ハるゝ人].

Toi [問い] means [the person who] asks, or calls out. Towaruru [問わるゝ]* means [the one who] is accosted, the one who will respond. This is a reference to the Zen practice of calling out and responding.

The words, of course, refer to the host and the guests. ___________ *In the modern language, the word would be towareru [問われる].

⁷Sōkyū [宗及].

This refers to Tsuda Sōkyū [津田宗及; ? ~ 1591], who was also known as Tennōji-ya Sōkyū [天王寺屋宗及].

One of the three great chajin of his generation*, he was Rikyu's great friend, and one of the few among his contemporaries for whom Rikyū had an unqualified admiration. Apparently, in Rikyū's eyes, Sōkyū could do no wrong, since his outstanding taste and sensitivity would naturally prevent him from committing any such fault.

In this case, since the chōzu-bachi was next to the koshi-kake, the guests would be able to notice that the chōzu-bachi and the area around it were still dripping wet as soon as they entered the koshi-kake, indicating that the water had been changed immediately before they arrived at the waiting bench. This would be all that could be expected -- since the fear was that the water had been standing for some time, with birds and falling leaves, and other things of nature falling in and making the water dirty. __________ *Along with Rikyū and Imai Sōkyū (the latter being Rikyū's great nemesis).

⁸The guests' first encounter with the host should be limited to a brief, silent bow. The sound of pouring the water into the chōzu-bachi (which should be audible at the koshi-kake) informs the guests that the host will make his appearance momentarily.

But in the case of Sōkyū's chōzu-bachi, this sound would be meaningless (and unnecessary, since they could see him standing beside them).

Furthermore, it would be difficult for the host to accomplish this change of water in their presence, at such close proximity to the koshi-kake, without accidentally splashing the guests.

⁹Genkan [玄關].

In the context of tea architecture, the genkan [玄關] is a sort of porch created by extending a light roof outward from the façade of the tearoom. The area beneath is paved, with the stepping stones set in mortar. It is here that the sword-rack is located in samurai households, as well as a hanging broom used for sweeping the garden, and the stone-lined chiri-ana [塵穴]*; and it is here, too, that the stepping stones rise up to the guests' entrance.

The roof allows the guests to enter and leave, even in rainy weather, without having to worry about getting wet, or letting water blow into the room. And when it is raining heavily, the chiri-ana is cleaned out and then filled with fresh water, so that the guests can use that to wash their hands and mouths rather than having to walk out into the garden to perform this task.

While Rikyū's tearooms always had a genkan attached to the façade, many of the early rooms preferred by the Sen families did not, and as a result some chajin do not understand exactly what this word means in the context of chanoyu. __________ *Chiri-ana [塵穴] means dust hole, and on ordinary occasions, some fresh clippings and a pair of bamboo gardener's chopsticks are arranged in the chiri-ana.

¹⁰Mizu-tame [水溜].

The word literally means a reservoir. This refers to the bowl-like depression carved into the top of the chōzu-bachi, to hold the water for the guests to use for washing.

4 notes · View notes