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Nampō Roku, Book 7 (81): Jōō’s Matsu-no-ki-bon [松ノ木盆].

81) Concerning Jōō’s Matsu-no-ki-bon, [this tray] was suitable for use with the Tsuji-dō chaire¹.

[It] is of a large size².

Rikyū also, on a certain occasion when he was going to open some tea that had been received〚from His Highness,〛used a new Matsu-no-ki-bon that he had [just had] made [for the occasion]³.

[This new tray] was smaller⁴. It was also unpainted⁵.

_________________________

◎ As Tanaka Senshō notes in his commentary, it is important for the reader to understand that there were actually two Matsu-no-ki-bon [松ノ木盆] -- a large one, and a small one (these are shown below). And though the text is short and seems to be clear, the difference between what is said here and the historical record is a little problematic.

The large Matsu-no-ki-bon, which was made by Jōō, measures 8-sun 2-bu square. It was rubbed* (not painted) with honey-colored Shunkei [春慶塗] lacquer. The smaller Matsu-no-ki-bon was made by Rikyū. It measures 6-sun 2-bu square, and was painted (as Tanaka Senshō confirms) with tame-nuri [溜め塗]† (though the bottom of his tray was black) -- this is verified by Rikyū’s kaō [花押] in red lacquer on the bottom.

Jōō’s Matsu-no-ki-bon was made during his middle period, after he began using the fukuro-dana (the finish of this tray is better suited to the mood of the fukuro-dana than would have been one painted with shin-nuri), as a tray for his treasured chaire‡ (the karamono-nasu shown above, while not one that was owned by Jōō, measures 2-sun 2-bu in diameter; and I chose to use this photo because the Jōō-nasu and other of his chare are usually photographed resting on uchi-aka-bon [内赤盆] that were paired with them after Jōō’s death).

Rikyū’s tray, while (according to certain sources, though perhaps the Nampō Roku cannot be read in that way) supposedly made with Jōō’s chaire in mind, was also used to support a chū-natsume (which is also 2-sun 2-bu in diameter) -- when it contained tea that Rikyū had received from Hideyoshi**. This was done to show respect to the tea. This matter is described, albeit briefly, in the entry.

There were also Korean-made trays of approximately this size, made from pine wood and rubbed with lacquer, that appeared in Japan sometime between the middle of the sixteenth†† and the middle of the seventeenth century, and these trays were occasionally used as chaire-bon (Kobori Masakazu, for example, famously paired one of these Korean trays with the ko-Seto Yari-no-saya [槍ノ鞘] chaire). It seems that these imported trays may have become confused with Rikyū’s tray because they, too, were Matsu-no-ki-bon (which simply means trays made of pine wood).

I mention these things here, at the beginning, because it appears that the author of this entry was not at all certain about the Matsu-no-ki-bon, so his description could be confusing to anyone who was not aware of what has been written above.

Shibayama Fugen’s toku-shu shahon generally agrees with text of this entry that is found in the Enkaku-ji manuscript, though his source adds some additional identifying information to the sentence covered in footnote 3, probably in the interest of clarity‡‡. For this reason, I have included the addition in the above translation, albeit enclosed in doubled brackets as has been my practice heretofore.

The editors of the genpon text, however, decided to rewrite the text, and did so to such an extent that it needs to be discussed separately. That version will be covered in an appendix, which the reader will find at the end of this post. __________ *The lacquer is worked into a cloth, and the cloth is used to rub the unpainted tray. This stains and waterproofs the wood, without imparting the glossiness of true lacquerware. This process is either called fuki-urushi [拭き漆], wiped-on lacquer, or suri-urushi [摺り漆], rubbed-on lacquer (the verb suru [摺る] is often translated “printing” because, in the case of traditional Japanese woodblock-prints, the back of the paper is rubbed to insure a good transfer of ink, and the same hand-motion is used when rubbing lacquer onto the tray with a cloth).

†Tame-nuri [溜め塗り] is an indeterminate mixture of black lacquer and Shunkei lacquer -- originally it was simply a mixture of whatever was left over at the end of the day, which the lacquer artist mixed and then painted on cheap bowls and trays intended for household use by the lower classes -- so the color ranged from brown to nearly black (though it usually retained the transparency of Shunkei lacquer).

‡Certain accounts state that the tray was made for the chaire known as the Jōō-nasu [紹鷗茄子]. This chaire measures just under 2-sun 2-bu in diameter.

**In fact, this appears to have usually been the case when Hideyoshi was going to visit Rikyū for chanoyu. Not only would the tea from one of Hideyoshi’s own jars have been of higher quality that that in Rikyū’s cha-tsubo, but Hideyoshi, always afraid of being poisoned by someone associated with the feared Ikkō-ichi-nen-shū [一向一念宗] (as were all chajin at that time, whether Japanese or otherwise -- chanoyu had originated as one of that Amidist sect’s methods of training in samadhi, after all), preferred to be served with tea that had been ground under his own personal supervision and then transported to Rikyū’s residence under guard, tied in Hideyoshi’s own chū-natsume. It may have been on account of these extraordinary precautions that Rikyū chose to handle this natsume of tea in the way that will be discussed in this entry.

††Perhaps Rikyū brought some of them back from the continent when he returned at the end of 1554, while others may have been collected during the invasion of the continent in 1592. And, of course, additional trays of this sort may have been brought to Japan during the seventeenth century, along with so many other things of Korean origin.

‡‡The Enkaku-ji text simply states that the tea was received from a superior, while the toku-shu shahon clarifies the matter with words that mean it was actually received from Hideyoshi himself.

¹Jōō no Matsu-no-ki-bon ha, Tsuji-dō no chaire ni sō-ō-shite mochiirare-shi nari　[紹鷗ノ松ノ木盆ハ、辻堂ノ茶入ニ相應シテ被用シ也].

Jōō no Matsu-no-ki-bon ha [紹鷗の松の木盆は] this is referring to the original Matsu-no-ki-bon, the tray that Jōō created during his middle period -- as a chaire-bon for “his most prized chaire.”

According to scholars writing down through the ages, his most prized chaire are said to have been two nasu-chaire*, both of which were meibutsu pieces.

As mentioned above, this tray measures 8-sun 2-bu square, so the chaire for which it was made would have measured 2-sun 2-bu (according to the way that Jōō calculated the dimensions of his chaire-bon). The shape of the rims is based on the Gassan-nagabon [月山長盆], the tray that was used for gokushin tea†. And finally, concerning the orientation of the tray, while the modern schools seem to prefer that the grain be oriented from side to side, in Jōō’s and Rikyū’s period, at least, trays were usually oriented so that the grain was parallel to the heri of the mats. Tana-mono, on the other hand, were placed so that the grain was oriented from side to side‡.

Tsuji-dō no chaire ni sō-ō-shite mochiirare-shi nari [辻堂の茶入に相應して用いられしなり] means (this tray) is suitable to be used with the Tsuji-dō chaire.

This could be interpreted to mean that this tray was made for this Tsuji-dō chaire, but that way of understanding the text is not necessary. Unfortunately, there is no mention of a Tsuji-dō chaire in any of the historical records from Rikyū’s period** (including places where it should appear, such as in the Yamanoue Sōji ki [山上宗二記]), even though both Shibayama and Tanaka claim that this chaire was Jōō’s special treasure††.

This sentence is the same in Shibayama Fugen’s toku-shu shahon version of the Nampō Roku.

Today, most of the old “higashi-bon” [干菓子盆] actually started life in chanoyu as chaire-bon. They were repurposed as higashi-bon during the Edo period, when the general tea population came to prefer the smaller Rikyu-sized chaire-bon (since then known as ko-bon [小盆])‡‡. __________ *Jōō owned two meibutsu nasu-chaire. The first was called the Tsukumo-nasu [付藻茄子]. This chaire measured 2-sun 4-bu in diameter, and it is said that it had previously been owned by both Yoshimasa and Shukō. This chaire is accompanied by a karamono uchi-aka-bon [唐物内赤盆] that bears Rikyū’s kaō [花押] -- though whether he actually paired this tray with the Tsukumo-nasu, or they came together during the Edo period (when many utensils became mixed up in this way) is not clear.

The second of Jōō’s two nasu chaire is today known either as the Jōō-nasu [紹鷗茄子], or the Matsumoto-nasu [松本茄子]; and since this chaire measures just under 2-sun 2-bu in diameter, it appears that the original Matsu-no-ki-bon could have been made for it. (See, however, the arguments offered in footnote 9 for an alternative theory regarding the chaire for which Jōō created his Matsu-no-ki-bon.)

While this chaire is usually displayed on a very simple uchi-aka-bon (with a black rim), this style of tray does not seem to have been used before the Edo period, so it is likely that the effect this chaire made in Jōō’s tea room was very different from what we see in contemporary photos.

Regarding photos, both of the above chaire appear almost black when examined in the subdued lighting of the cha-seki. The rather dazzling color variations seen in many photos are the result of their being photographed under intense studio lighting (and probably subsequent “photoshopping” as well). In Jōō’s tea room, the effect was most likely similar to what is seen in the photo that was included with the introductory notes at the beginning of this commentary.

†Rikyū, in several of his densho, said that Jōō created the chaire-bon in this way: Jōō took the (Gassan-)nagabon and divided it in half, and used that half tray, which represented the seat of the chaire, as a chaire-bon.

Given the dimensions of the Gassan-nagabon, Jōō’s methods were a little more complicated than simply cutting the tray in half. Dividing the nagabon in half, he used that measurement for the face of the chaire-bon, while the front-to-back measurement of the face of the Gassan bon was used for its outer dimension.

‡Therefore, when the tray was placed on the tana -- as when Jōō’s Matsu-no-ki-bon was arranged on the fukuro-dana -- the grain of the tray did not repeat the grain of the shelf.

**There is a single mention of a “Tsuji-dō” katatsuki [辻堂肩衝] in the Sōtan nikki [宗湛日記], in an entry dated Keichō 4 [慶長四年] (1599), Second Month 28th day [二月廿八日]. This entry describes a gathering hosted by Furuta Sōshitsu (Oribe), who may have been the one who gave it the name Tsuji-dō.

Another mention (in an Edo period catalog of the tea utensils mentioned in the Matsu-ya family’s several tea records) states that Jōō’s katatsuki-chaire (no name is given; and this katatsuki-chaire has not otherwise been identified by scholars) was owned (at some unspecified point in time) by Enjō-bō Sōen, a monk of the Honnō-ji. These apparently random mentions may, in fact, prove very important to identifying the chaire that is critical to this entry. See footnote 9 for a deeper dive into this line of thinking.

††It was because of this argument, which Shibayama and Tanaka were simply repeating in their commentaries, that speculation regarding the identity of the chaire for which this Matsu-no-ki-bon was created turned to the two chaire discussed above.

‡‡Unfortunately, the way to pair the tray with the chaire was forgotten after Rikyū’s death (actually, the machi-shū followers of Imai Sōkyū had never been parties to the secret), so that many chaire and chaire-bon combinations appear rather incongruous today.

²Ō-buri nari　[大ブリ也].

Ō-buri nari [大振りなり] means (Jōō’s Matsu-no-ki-bon) was of the larger size.

³Kyū mo mata aru-toki hai-ryō no o-cha-biraki ni, atarashiki ni Matsu-no-ki-bon koshiraerare-shi nari　[休モ亦アルトキ拜領ノ御茶ビラキニ、新ニ松ノ木盆コシラヘラレシナリ].

Kyū mo mata [休もまた] means

Aru-toki hai-ryō no o-cha-biraki ni [ある時拝領の御茶披き] means on a certain occasion when (Rikyū) was going to open the tea that he had received (from Hideyoshi)....

Atarashii ni Matsu-no-ki-bon koshiraerare-shi nari [新しいに松の木盆拵えられしなり] means he (used) a Matsu-no-ki-bon that had been newly(-made).

This is the only place where the toku-shu shahon text differs from what is found in the Enkaku-ji manuscript: Kyū mo aru-toki denka-yori o-cha natsume ni te hairyō nari, sono o-cha-biraki ni atarashiki Matsu-no-ki-bon koshiraete mochiirare-shi nari [休モ或時殿下ヨリ御茶棗ニテ拜領ナリ、其御茶開ニ新シキ松ノ木盆拵ヘテ被用シナリ]. This means “Rikyū also, on an occasion when he received a natsume of tea from His Highness, when he was going to open the tea he used a new Matsu-no-ki-bon that had (just been) made.”

While this does not really change the meaning, it does clarify that the tea was received from His Highness -- in other words, from Hideyoshi.

⁴Ko-gata nari　[小形也].

Ko-gata nari [小形なり] means (Rikyū’s Matsu-no-ki-bon) is small-sized.

As mentioned in the introductory passage, this tray measures 6-sun 2-bu square.

⁵Kore ha kiji nari　[コレハ木地也].

Kore ha kiji nari [これは木地なり] means this (tray) was kiji [木地], which means “bare wood” -- that is, unpainted*.

In the second kaki-ire that was appended to entry 26 in Book Six, we also read “when [Ri]kyū received a gift of tea [from Hideyoshi], even if [the tea] was only put into a lacquered natsume, depending on the occasion [the natsume might have been rested on] a white-wood tray and placed out as an hitotsu-mono so that it rubbed against its kane†.” The word used here, shira-ki [白木], means the natural color of the wood -- that is, the tray was left in an unpainted state.

That said, in the tea writings from the sixteenth century, kiji not infrequently was used to refer to wooden objects that had been rubbed with lacquer (rather than left completely untreated) -- a technique that is referred to as fuki-urushi [拭き漆], wiped-on lacquer, or suri-urushi [摺り漆], rubbed-on lacquer. So, while according to the historical records Rikyū’s tray was painted with tame-nuri (with the bottom being painted with black lacquer), it is possible that the author of this entry conflated it with this type of tray (since the wood-grain was clearly visible on Rikyū’s Matsu-no-ki-bon, as it would be on a tray that had only been rubbed with lacquer). Furthermore, there were also Korean-made pine wood trays that were rubbed with lacquer in the same way, and these had been used in Japan as chaire-bon since the sixteenth century as well. It is even possible that, since these trays typically measured around 6-sun square, the author might be thinking of one of these trays.

During the first half of the seventeenth century, Kobori Masakazu paired one of these Korean trays‡ with the ko-Seto katatsuki-chaire [古瀬戸肩衝茶入] known as Yari-no-saya [槍ノ鞘], below; and the records simply state that it was paired with a Matsu-no-ki-bon. Since the Yari-no-saya is just over 1-sun 9-bu in diameter, a Korean tray measuring 6-sun square would be a perfect match.

Hideyoshi is also said to have used a kiji tray of this sort** in his 2-mat room††, so possibly the author of this entry confused Hideyoshi’s tray with the Matsu-no-ki-bon that Rikyū used when serving the tea that had been sent to him from Hideyoshi. ___________ *While that kind of argument might have been made with respect to Jōō’s Matsu-no-ki-bon, the same could not really be said about Rikyū’s tray, which was fully lacquered.

This may be indicative of the confusion between Jōō’s tray and Rikyū’s, or the difference in degrees between a tray that was simply rubbed with lacquer versus one that was lacquered with tame-nuri: today, the trays that are being sold as Rikyū Matsu-no-ki-bon are actually copies of Jōō’s tray, while Rikyū’s Matsu-no-ki-bon is virtually unknown.

†Kyū no hai-ryō no o-cha natsume no nurimono iretaru wo sae, toku ni ōjite shira-ki no bon ni hitotsu-mono suri-gane okare-shi nari [休ノ拜領ノ御茶ナツメノヌリ物ニ入タルヲサヘ、時ニ應シテ白木ノ盆ニ一ツ物スリガネヲカレシナリ].

We should notice that the language of this kaki-ire indicates that it was inserted into to Book Six at probably the same time that the present entry was added to the collection of papers in Nambō Sōkei’s wooden chest, suggesting that this entry was intended to elaborate upon the text of that kake-ire (which spatial constraints had forced the person who added it to keep as brief as possible). Note, also, that the kaki-ire from Book Six does not specify what kind of wood was used (while something like paulownia wood could be used with impunity, pine wood could potentially become sticky, if the sap had not completely dried before the wood was worked). While nothing would have prevented Rikyū from using an unpainted tray in this way, the feeling of this episode is closer to the way people were doing things in the Edo period, rather than in his own time.

The quotation was taken from the post entitled Nampō Roku, Book 6 (26.2, 26.3): the Two Kaki-ire [書入]. URL for the post from which the quote was taken is:

https://chanoyu-to-wa.tumblr.com/post/651284610199732224/namp%C5%8D-roku-book-6-262-263-the-two-kaki-ire

As mentioned above, the quote comes from the second kaki-ire -- which is continuing the discussion of mine-zuri [峯刷] placement versus overlapping a kane by one-third. Placing a natsume on an unpainted tray, and then arranging it so that it rests squarely on its kane is a special case that is more or less limited to the small room, and one that, even in that setting, should not be done frequently.

‡Historical revisionists make it a karamono-Matsu-no-ki-bon [唐物松ノ木盆], with the implication being that it was imported from China. But this is a typical Joseon period Korean tray of a sort that the Chinese would never have used.

**Pine wood, on account of the sticky resin, is not especially useful for kiji pieces. That is probably at least part of the reason why Jōō had his Matsu-no-ki-bon rubbed with lacquer -- to guard against the possibility that the tray might become sticky (even if it seemed perfectly dry when first received from the craftsman). Whether Hideyoshi’s tray was made from pine, or from some other wood, is not really clear from the historical sources.

Today, of course, paulownia wood (kiri-kiji [桐木地]) is generally preferred for kiji trays.

††This room has sometimes been confused with Rikyū’s Tai-an [待庵], leading to the modern version of that room (as a 2-mat room, rather than the 3-mat room used as a 2-mat daime, as Rikyū created it) which more-or-less imitates this sketch (in so far as possible without completely removing everything that was built by Rikyū).

The drawing on which all of this confusion was based is actually titled Kampaku-sama o-zashiki [関白様御座敷], which means “the Kampaku’s sitting room” (the writing on the right side of the drawing reads ni-jō-shiki [二帖敷], two-mat room). Hideyoshi was made kampaku in 1585, but the Tai-an was built during the summer of 1582, while Hideyoshi was avenging the death of Nobunaga at the battle of Yamazaki.

In the above drawing, the square space at the bottom of the picture is the enclosed genkan, where the tsukubai would have been installed, along with a bench-like veranda from where the guests would have moved up into the room.

==============================================

❖ Appendix: Tanaka Senshō’s Genpon Version of Entry 81.

81) With respect to the Matsu-no-ki-bon, [on an occasion when] His Highness handed down [a gift of] tea, [Rikyū] received [the tea] in a natsume⁶. At that time a newly-made [Matsu-no-ki-bon] was used -- this is the story that [Ri]kyū told⁷.

This [use of a new tray] was entirely appropriate⁸. Afterward, because it was also well-suited to the Tsuji-dō chaire, he wanted to use it [with the Tsuji-dō chaire], too⁹.

_________________________

⁶Matsu-no-ki-bon ha, denka-yori o-cha kudasareru ni, natsume ni irete hai-ryō nari　[松ノ木盆ハ、殿下ヨリ御茶被下ルニ、ナツメニ入テ拜領也].

Denka-yori o-cha kudasareru ni [殿下より御茶下されるに]: denka [殿下] means (his) highness, and in the late sixteenth century always referred to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, so denka-yori [殿下より] means something (came) from Hideyoshi; o-cha kudasareru [御茶下されるに] means tea* that “came down” from (Hideyoshi) -- the use of the verb kudasareru means that something was given to an inferior from someone occupying a vastly higher status.

Natsume ni irete hairyō nari [ナツメに入れて拜領なり]: natsume ni irete [ナツメに入れて] means (the tea) was put into a natsume; hairyō nari [拜領なり] means when it was received. In other words, the tea was received in a natsume† -- which Rikyū then displayed on his Matsu-no-ki-bon, as a way to honor the tea that had come from Hideyoshi. __________ *The honorific prefix o- [御] was used because the tea in question came from Hideyoshi.

†Some scholars interpret this to mean that the tea was put into the natsume by the host -- the person who had received the tea -- since this has customarily been the practice ever since the tea shops started selling pre-ground matcha in metal cans (apparently this practice began as early as the nineteenth century, or possibly even earlier).

This, however, belies an ignorance of historical precedent: particularly in the case of the chajin connected with Rikyū (which would have included Hideyoshi), the idea was that, after the tea leaves had been ground into matcha, it was essential that the matcha be exposed to the air as little as possible. Thus the matcha was swept from the tea mill (using a feather) and collected directly into the tea container from which it would be served -- a chaire, if it was going to be served during a temae, and a lacquered container when it was either going to be used for ordinary drinking, or when the tea was going to be sent to someone else (when grinding tea for a gathering, the rule was that the chaire should be filled completely -- so there was little empty space into which the volatile components could diffuse, since they would be lost into the air of the room as soon as the container was opened -- and any remaining tea would be put into a lacquered tea container for use as ordinary drinking tea).

Hideyoshi’s lacquer artist, Seiami [盛阿彌; dates unknown], had created what we now call the kiri-ai-guchi [切り合い口] natsume -- this is a natsume with a lid that fit so closely that virtually nothing could escape once it was closed, and it was into this kind of natsume that the tea was put prior to its being dispatched to Rikyū.

Since Jōō‘s time (according to Rikyū, Jōō created the natsume shape based on the shadow cast by a classical katatsuki-chaire), natsume had been made in two sizes. The small size was based on the ko-tsubo chaire [小壺茶入], which are commonly 1-sun 9-bu in diameter (which gave rise to the size of the ko-natsume [小棗, 小ナツメ]); this kind of natsume could hold enough tea to serve two or three guests. Meanwhile, the large natsume (ō-natsume [大棗, 大ナツメ]), which was based on the large katatsuki (these are usually 2-sun 5-bu to 2-sun 7-bu in diameter) held enough tea for five guests (this size natsume was also used when serving usucha to a large group of guests).

The medium-sized natsume (chū-natsume [中棗, 中ナツメ]) ultimately took its measurement from the Kamakura-nasu [鎌倉茄子] chaire, the chaire that was used for the gokushin-temae. The first natsume of this size appears to have been made by Seiami, though whether it was ordered by Rikyū, or by Hideyoshi (after learning the details of the gokushin-temae from Rikyū), is not clear. Nevertheless, when Hideyoshi sent tea to Rikyū (and likewise other people as well), it was always sent in a chū-natsume.

When tea was sent by Hideyoshi, it appears that the natsume was unmarked. When tea was sent on behalf of Hideyoshi (usually in response to an application submitted through one of the sadō [茶頭], tea officials), the natsume was usually inscribed (in red lacquer) with the kaō of the official who filled the container. This is why natsume featuring these red-lacquer kaō began to appear from the 1580s: the kaō was not intended to indicate that the signatory liked or favored the utensil (though this is how it was interpreted in the Edo period), but to certify who had filled the container (perhaps as a way to guarantee that there would not be “any problems” with the tea) -- since the tea had been sent in Hideyoshi’s name, after all.

Finally, as mentioned above, it is important to point out that, in the case of tea sent to Rikyū, this tea was usually intended to be used at a gathering in which Hideyoshi himself would participate -- since having it ground under his own supervision, tied in one of his natsume, and then sent under guard to Rikyū’s residence, was the only way that Hideyoshi could be satisfied that the tea had not been tampered with.

⁷Kono-goro atarashiku koshiraete mochiirare-shi to Kyū monogatari nari　[此頃新ク拵テ被用シト休モノガタリナリ].

Kono-goro [この頃] means at this time (in other words, at the time when Rikyū received the natsume of gift tea from Hideyoshi)....

Atarashiku koshiraete mochiirare-shi [新しく拵えて用いられし] means a new (Matsu-no-ki-bon) was made to be used (for the display of the natsume containing the gift tea)*.

To Kyū monogatari nari [と休物語なり] means and this was Rikyū’s story.

This is basically an elaboration of the information included in footnote 3, above -- to give validity to the story that a new tray had been made by putting the words into Rikyū’s own mouth. __________ *Obviously it would take a certain amount of time for a new tray to be made. But since the point was that the matcha had to be used as soon as possible, even if it had been a gift to the host, the delay that making a new Matsu-no-ki-bon would entail makes this story -- at least if taken literally -- difficult.

In the case of the natsume of matcha that Hideyoshi had caused to be transported to Rikyū’s house, it would have arrived just prior to Hideyoshi’s own arrival, and, of course, a delay caused by making a new tray would be out of the question.

We see here an example of how these stories became more and more elaborate over the course of the Edo period, while also moving farther and farther from the actual truth of the episode on which they were based.

⁸Motto mo no koto nari　[尤ノ事也].

Motto mo no koto [尤ものこと] means that (the providing of a new tray upon which the natsume of gift tea would be handled) was entirely appropriate.

⁹Sono-ato, Tsuji-dō no chaire ni sō-ō tote mochiirare-shi nari　[其後、辻堂ノ茶入ニ相應トテ被用シナリ].

Sono-ato [その後] means after that, sometime later, at a later date.

Tsuji-dō* no chaire ni sō-ō tote mochiirare-shi nari [辻堂の茶入に相應とて用いられしなり] means because it was found to be well-suited to the Tsuji-dō chaire (Rikyū) wanted to use it (with that chaire) as well.

In other words, according to this version of history, pairing this tray with the Tsuji-dō chaire did not occur until some time after the Matsu-no-ki-bon had been made -- that it was not that the Matsu-no-ki-bon was created as a chaire-bon for the Tsuji-dō chaire, but that the Tsuji-dō chaire was only later paired with this tray because it was found to be suitable.

As mentioned above, the Tsuji-dō chaire has not been identified by modern scholars -- even though both Shibayama Fugen and Tanaka Senshō state that it was a greatly treasured piece. Because Shibayama says that this chaire was Jōō’s cherished (hizō [秘藏]), precious object (ki-hin [貴品]), it must have been widely known -- indeed, it must have been a meibutsu-chaire -- yet there is no trace of the name in any of the historical documents dating from his period.

To further complicate matters, it appears that there was also an oki-hanaire and a kōgō that were also called Tsuji-dō -- and often the records from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries do not always specify what sort of utensil is being referred to by the name Tsuji-dō. For example, in the (Tennōji-ya kai-ki [天王寺屋會記],) Sōtatsu hoka-kai-ki [宗達他會記], in the entry for the 17th day of the Eleventh Month of Tenbun 20 [天文廿年] (1551), Sōtatsu (Tennōji-ya Sōkyū’s father) records toko Tsuji-dō, ko-ita ni, miyama-shikihi [床辻堂、小板ニ、みやましきひ]. The nature of this Tsuji-dō is not specified, but since miyama-shikimi [深山樒] is the name of a flower (Japanese skimmia [Skimmia japonica]), and ko-ita [小板] is the earlier name for an usu-ita [薄板], the board (of the sort called yahazu-ita [矢筈板] today) that is placed under a hanaire, we can conclude that this particular Tsuji-dō must have been a(n unidentified) hanaire. Nevertheless, certain scholars still wonder whether it might somehow have been the chaire that was displayed in the tokonoma on this occasion (with one going so far as to explain that the flowers were simply rested on the empty chaire -- without any water inside -- during the shoza; and then it was filled with tea and so used to serve tea during the goza).

That said, there is one mention of a Tsuji-dō katatsuki [辻堂肩衝] in the Sōtan nikki [宗湛日記], the tea diary of Kamiya Sōtan [神屋宗湛; 1551 ~ 1635], in an entry dated Keichō 4 [慶長四年] (1599), Second Month 28th day [二月廿八日], which describes a gathering hosted for three guests (including Sōtan) by Furuta Oribe, probably on behalf of Toyotomi Hideyori [豊臣秀頼; 1593～1615]:

katatsuki ha, Seto nari, kusuri ki ni shite, kudaharu, Tsuji-dō to mōshi nari, fukuro ha donsu, himo/tsukari kuranai nari

[肩衝ハ、セト也、藥黄ニシテ、下ハル、辻堂ト申也、袋ハ緞子、緖ツカリ紅也].

“The katatsuki [was] Seto. The glaze was yellowish[-brown]. [It] was handed down [from Hideyoshi]. It is [called] Tsuji-dō. The fukuro was made of donsu; the himo and stitchings were crimson.”

As this chaire was (according to the Matsu-ya meibutsu-shu [松屋名物集], a sort of catalog of the utensils mentioned in the Matsu-ya kai-ki [松屋會記]) owned by Hideyori (having been part of his father Hideyoshi’s collection), Furuta Sōshitsu was probably acting as the host in his stead, much as had been the practice done under Hideyoshi. It is not clear who gave the chaire the name Tsuji-dō (though it is the kind of name that Oribe often bestowed on tea utensils, so the suggestion for the name may have come from him).

Curiously, there is one meibutsu-chaire that has been associated with a (small) Matsu-no-ki-bon since Rikyū’s period. It is an old Seto chaire, and was part of Hideyoshi’s collection (as were many of Jōō’s other treasures). The tray was apparently provided by Rikyū, who then used it when serving tea to many of Hideyoshi’s guests during his last year of life (as recorded in the Rikyū hyakkai-ki [利休百會記]). In this kaiki, the chaire is simply described as “a katatsuki on a tray,” without any sort of name at all -- yet since it was used when entertaining some of Hideyoshi’s most important guests, it clearly was understood to be a very special chaire.

Today this chaire is known as the Enjō-bō katatsuki [圓乗坊肩衝] -- but this name is historically meaningless, in so far as any association with Jōō is concerned (in fact, the name Enjō-bō, for a katatsuki-chaire, makes its first appearance around 1660, in a book called the Gan-ka meibutsu-ki [玩貨名物記] -- this book is simply a list of the famous tea utensils of the day, with no descriptions at all), because it derives from the name of the monk Enjō-bō Sōen [圓乗坊宗圓; dates unknown], a disciple (as well as a son-in-law) of Rikyū, and the person who salvaged this chaire (as well as the one known as the Honnō-ji bunrin [本能寺文琳]) from the ashes of the Honnō-ji (Sōen was a monk of that temple), after the fire in which Nobunaga died -- meaning that this chaire had likely been one of Nobunaga’s treasures. (Nobunaga was resting in the Honnō-ji temporarily, to purify his mind after several years of conflict, so it likely that he only brought those few tea utensils than truly gave him the most pleasure.)

This chaire had been damaged in the fire, and it was repaired, with lacquer, by Sōen.

Rikyū’s first recorded use of this chaire (at which time he seems to have placed it on his Matsu-no-ki-bon) was on the 18th day of the Eighth Month of Tenshō 18 (1590), which was the second occasion on which Rikyū hosted a chakai in Kyōto after he and Hideyoshi returned from Odawara (suggesting that Hideyoshi sent the chaire to Rikyū as an expression of thanks for his services during the siege of Odawara). He used it for the second time on the 13th day of the Ninth Month, when he served tea to Hideyoshi.

Rikyū was placed under house arrest from the 23rd day of the Ninth Month until the 23rd or 24th day of the Tenth Month (on account of the chakai that he hosted for Kokei Sōchin on the 14th day of the Ninth Month, the morning of the day when Kokei had been ordered to quit Kyōto and go into exile in Kyūshū). The house arrest was lifted around the 24th of the Tenth Month, and he hosted a chakai for two important daimyō from Kyūshū (whose assistance would be crucial to the success of the invasion of the continent), at which he used his own Shiri-bukura chaire (Rikyū seems to have become acquainted with these men during Hideyoshi’s stay in Kyūshū, in 1587, so perhaps he wanted to serve them using his personal tea utensils on this occasion, to encourage a feeling of intimacy).

The Enjō-bō katatsuki was used at gatherings on the 27th of the Tenth Month; the 2nd, 6th, 11th, 19th, 21st, and 22nd of the Eleventh Month; on the 4th, 7th, 11th, 18th, 24th, and 27th of the Twelfth Month of Tenshō 18; on the 26th (when he again used it while serving tea to Hideyoshi) and 27th days of the First Month of Tenshō 19; and Rikyū used this chaire for the last time on the 3rd day of the Intercalated First Month of Tenshō 19.

In all, out of the 92 chakai that are documented in the Rikyū hyakkai-ki [利休百會記], he used the Enjō-bō katatsuki some 20 times, mostly on occasions when he was serving tea to people who were deeply interested in chanoyu.

The Enjō-bō katatsuki was classified as an ō-meibutsu [大名物] by Kobori Masakazu, who considered it to be one of the greatest of the old Seto chaire. In the Taishō mei-ki kan [大正名器鑑], only four chaire are associated with a Matsu-no-ki-bon, and only two of those are katatsuki: this chaire and the one known as the Yari-no-saya [鑓ノ鞘 ]. But while the Yari-no-saya katatsuki measures 1-sun 9-bu in diameter (and so would be too small for both Jōō’s Matsu-no-ki-bon and the Matsu-no-ki-bon that Rikyū used for the chū-natsume), the Enjō-bō katatsuki measures between 2-sun 2-bu and 2-sun 2.3-bu in diameter, which is the perfect size to be used on both Jōō‘s and Rikyū’s Matsu-no-ki-bon.

It is important to note that once the name Enjō-bō katatsuki starts to appear in the records, the Tsuji-dō name disappears. As for the seeming confusion over the names, this would not be the first chaire to be misidentified in the Nampō Roku -- nor in other documents from the Edo period†.

About all of this, Tanaka Senshō wrote:

I-jō no genpon de miru to, Matsu-no-ki-bon ha Rikyū ga kononda bon de aru. Sore ha, denka-yori o-cha wo chōdai-shita-toki, natsume ni irete itadaita. Sono natsume wo atsukau tame ni, Matsu-no-ki-bon wo seisaku-shite, bon-date ni shita. Izure natsume no koto-yue, shōshō ō-buri no bon wo tsukutta de arau. Shikaru ni, sono-ato, Tsuji-dō no chaire ga, chōdo sono ōki-sa ga tekitō de aru tote, sono Tsuji-dō no chaire wo mo, kono Matsu-no-ki-bon de atsukauta.

Kaku kaisu-beki de, honbun de yomu to, Jōō no Matsu-no-ki-bon to iu ga ari, kore ha Tsuji-dō no chaire ga sō-ō-suru tote shiyō-serareta ga, kono bon ha zuibun ōkii. Shikaru ni, denka-yori hairyō no chaire-biraki ni, sara ni, Matsu-no-ki-bon wo koshiraerareta. Kore ha ko-gata de kiji de aru to. Kore ha hatashite izure no setsu wo shinzu-beki ka.

Yo ha, genpon no natsume to iu ni omoki wo oki, ō-gata no Matsu-no-ki-bon wo seisaku-shita ga, chōdo, sono-ato, Tsuji-dō no ō-chaire ni sō-ō-suru tote, sono Matsu-no-ki-bon wo ri-yō-serareta to kai-suru no ga seikai de ha nai ka to omou. Matsu-no-ki-bon ni dai-shō aru ha, yo mo jikken-shite shitte-iru. Shunkei-nuri no hon-ji ha ō-gata de ari. Nezu bijutsu-kan ni te mita no ha, ko-gata de, nuri mo kuroku, kiji to ha ienu-hodo de aru. Kono kata ga furui to omou.

[以上の原本で見ると、松木盆は利休が好んだ盆である。夫は、殿下より御茶を頂載した時、棗に入れて頂いた。其棗を扱ふ為めに、松木盆を製作して、盆点にした。何れ棗の事故、少々大振りの盆を作ったであらう。然るに、其後、辻堂の茶入が、丁度其大さが適当であるとて、其辻堂の茶入をも、此松木盆で扱ふた。

[斯く解す可きで、本文で読むと、紹鷗の松木盆と云ふがあり、是は辻堂の茶入が相応するとて使用せられたが、此盆は随分大きい。然るに、殿下より拝領の茶入披きに、更に、松ノ木盆を拵へられた。是は小形で木地であると。これは果して何れの説を信ずべきか。

[予は、原本の棗と云ふに重きを置き、大形の松木盆を製作したが、丁度、其後、辻堂の大茶入に相応するとて、其松の木盆を利用せられたと解するのが正解では無いかと思ふ。松の木盆に大小あるは、予も実見して知って居る。春慶塗の本地は大形であり、根津美術館にて見たのは、小形で、塗りも黒く、木地とは云えぬ程である。此方が古いと思ふ].

“Looking at the genpon text above, the Matsu-no-ki-bon was Rikyū’s favorite tray. So, when His Highness gave [Rikyū] tea, he received it in a natsume. When dealing with that natsume, [Rikyū] made a Matsu-no-ki-bon and used it [to perform] bon-date [with the natsume]. [The tea container] was always a natsume, so under these circumstances, a slightly larger tray would have had to be made [in order to accommodate the natsume‡]. However, later on, he decided that the Tsuji-dō chaire was just the right size; so when using this Tsuji-dō chaire, too, it was also handled on this Matsu-no-ki-bon.

“In order to resolve this conundrum, after reading the original text, [I] obtained [a copy of] what is referred to as Jōō’s Matsu-no-ki-bon, on the grounds that the Tsuji-dō chaire would be suitable for use on it. But this tray [proved to be] too big**. Consequently, when the chaire that had been received from His Highness was going to be used, it would follow that a [new] Matsu-no-ki-bon would have had to have been made. This one, then, was smaller, and made from unpainted wood. Therefore -- as [I] was afraid might be the case [given so many different stories] -- which of these should we believe?

“As for me, [I think] we should place greater stock in the [story of the] natsume in the genpon [text]. So, after making a large-sized Matsu-no-ki-bon, I found that it was suitable for the large Tsuji-dō chaire††, so [I] concluded that might this not have been the one [referred to in the story]? I know for certain that there are both a large and a small Matsu-no-ki-bon. The one originally finished with Shunkei-nuri is the large one; while the one I saw at the Nezu Museum was smaller in size and had darker lacquer, so it could hardly have been called kiji. I think this [smaller] one is the older.”

I decided to include Tanaka’s remarks here not because they will help the reader understand this matter more clearly, but because they are illustrative of the general confusion that has surrounded the two versions of the Matsu-no-ki-bon since the Edo period; and, in light of the that period’s teachings regarding the way that things should contrast and so forth -- none of which is anything more than nonsensical obfuscation, intended to mask the ignorance of the masters regarding the reasons why things are as they are (with Rikyū’s death, the teachings on kane-wari and the reason why things were given the sizes that they were, all of these teachings were lost as the tea world shifted allegiance to the machi-shū followers of Imai Sōkyū and Furuta Oribe) -- it is hardly surprising that confusion still reigns supreme in the world of tea to this day. __________ *A tsuji-dō [辻堂] is a small structure (the floor of which might be no more than a meter square), sometimes little more than four wooden pillars supporting a modest roof, in which an image of the Buddha (for example, the Buddha Jizō [地藏], the protector of travelers, is common; other times their contents may be associated with Shintō beliefs) has been enshrined

When enclosed by walls (and a pair of hinged doors in front), the proportions and profile are often strikingly similar to that of the Enjō-bō katatsuki [圓乗坊肩衝], so it is completely believable that the name could have been given to this chaire at some time before, or after, the catastrophe at the Honnō-ji.

†Though it is an old Seto katatsuki -- and one of exceptional quality -- it appears that no information about this chaire from its previous life survived the fire at the Honnō-ji -- including the name by which it was known theretofore. Even the matter of its having been owned and treasured by Nobunaga has been called into question by some scholars (though, since Nobunaga is known to have died during chanoyu, and it was found in the ruins of the shoin where the service of tea was taking place, there is no other logical reason why the chaire would have been found where it was unless it was being used during that service -- the conventions of that time, which date back at least as early as Yoshimasa, would have had the bunrin-chaire used for koicha, and the katatsuki used as the container for usucha), since there is literally nothing in the historical record from before the fire.

‡Why the tray would have needed to be large is not clear. The chū-natsume measures 2-sun 2-bu in diameter, and Rikyū’s Matsu-no-ki-bon measures 6-sun 2-bu square. Thus, the tray is exactly 2-sun larger than the natsume on all four sides. This accords with Rikyū’s idea, since it allowed the chawan to be placed beside the bon-natsume just as if the tray did not exist.

In other words, Rikyū could perform the temae with the minimum number of concessions and modifications (to the tray) as possible -- because Rikyū preferred to always perform the temae in the same way. (This idea came from his having been initiated into chanoyu through gokushin tea, since in that style of tea the temae is always the same. It was a feature of the machi-shū style of tea, the kind of tea that Jōō formalized during his middle period, and which was carried on by Imai Sōkyū and his machi-shū followers, that each special variety of utensil should require a different kind of temae. This approach persists in modern-day chanoyu.)

**Tanaka, who had only been exposed to Sen family conventions, did not understand that Jōō's tray was supposed to be 3-sun larger on all four sides than the chaire that was placed on it. Thus, though Jōō's Matsu-no-ki-bon measures 8-sun 2-bu square, it was intended to be used with a chaire that was 2-sun 2-bu in diameter. While this would have seemed excessive to anyone who had only seen the small chaire-bon used by the Sen family, it also indicates that Tanaka was not really sensitive to the demands of the bon-date temae. While it is possible to place the chakin on the smaller trays (we must remember that the Sen family had no rules regarding how the size of the chaire should relate to that of the tray, so they usually used a ko-bon [小盆] that was 6-sun across irrespective of the size of the chaire that was going to be placed on it), the chakin tends to be squeezed into one corner, wedged in between (and in danger of touching) the chaire. And while Rikyū’s way of pairing a chaire with a ko-bon did provide just enough room, Jōō's tray has so much room that the chakin can be placed on it easily -- far enough from both the corner and the chaire that there is no danger. This was because Jōō took the nagabon that was used with the daisu as his guide in this matter.

††Tanaka is relying on the conventions of his time, which said that a large chaire should be placed on a large tray, and a small chaire on a small tray. Of course, this shows his ignorance of the way that Jōō matched his trays to his chaire; but that could not be helped, since he was living in an environment that already was intent on discouraging questions. However, since the school that he founded supposedly teaches the gokushin-temae -- where a 2-sun 2-bu chaire (originally, the Kamakura-nasu [鎌倉茄子]) uses the Gassan-nagabon as its chaire-bon during the temae (which tray measures 1-shaku 3-sun 2-bu by 9-sun 2-bu across the rims) -- it is difficult to understand how he came to this conclusion. In fact, whether Jōō created the large Matsu-no-ki-bon for the Jōō-nasu or the Enjō-bō katatsuki (= Tsuji-dō katatsuki), since both of these chaire were essentially 2-sun 2-bu in diameter, the resulting tray would have had to be the same size as what we see now...and neither of these chaire can be described as “large.”

==============================================

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meikostan · 10 months

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youtube

わんわんお！ - Bumpy Urushi - 08/04/2009 Warning for minor blood and non-graphic gun violence near the end of the video

My translation under the cut

わんわんお！　わんわんお！　わんわんお！　（わんわんおー）わんわんお！わんわんお！わんわんお！（ふふふ）わんわんお！　わんわんお！　わんわんお！　（わんわん　おーっ！）わんわんお！わんわんお！わんわんお！（もっふもふ）

Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! (Woof-woof oh!) Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! (Hehehe) Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! (Woof-woof ohh!!) Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! (So fluffy)

ROUND 1 - （がんばりまーす！）いつも一緒に（トゥットゥルットゥー）おしりフリフリ（ピッピピプー）いつもの道を（トゥットゥルットゥー）散歩に行くよ（ピッピ　プププ）

ROUND 1 - (I'll do my best!) Always together (tu-tturu-tu-~) Waggling our butts (pi-ppipi-puu~) On our usual route (tu-tturu-tu-~) We're taking a walk (pippi-pupupu~)

でもね　山田さんちの　おおきいワンコがわんわんわんわん吠えるからそこをね　クリアできたら　二人でねもふ！もふ！もふもふもふもふもふもふ！（いっくよー！)

But, y'know, the big doggy at the Yamadas' house is barking so, so, so, so much So once we clear that place, the two of us together Fluffy! Fluffy! Fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy! (Here we go!)

ROUND 2 - （がんばりまーす！）いつも一緒に（トゥットゥルットゥー）散歩に行くよ（ピッピピプー）誰に会うかな（トゥットゥルットゥー）今日もワクテカ（ピッピ　プププ）

ROUND 2 - (I'll do my best!) Always together, (tu-tturu-tu-~) We go on our walk (pi-ppi-pu-~) I wonder who we'll meet (tu-tturu-tu-~) Another day of eager excitement/wktk* (pippi-pupupu~)

でもね　鈴木さんちの　マサルくんが B B弾で　ぱんぱんぱんぱん打つからそこをね　クリアできたらねてか　クリアできなーい！助けて！わんわんお！

But, y'know, at the Suzukis' house, Masaru-kun Is shooting at us with BB bullets so, so, so, so much So once we clear that place... Or rather, we CAN'T! Help me! Woof-woof oh!

ぺろ！ぺろ！ぺろぺろぺろぺろぺろぺろ… （ああ…そんなにされたら…）（変身しちゃーう！）（へんしーん！）

Lick! Lick! Lick lick lick lick lick lick... (Ah... when I'm licked that much...) (I end up transforming!) (Transformatioooon!)

わんわんお！わんわんお！わんわんお！（わんわんパーンチ！）わんわんお！わんわんお！わんわんお！（わんわんキーック！）わんわんお！わんわんお！わんわんお！（やったー！）わんわんお！わんわんお！わんわんお！（みんな一緒に！）

Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! (Woof-woof puuunch!) Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! (Woof-woof kiiick!) Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! (Hooray!) Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! (Everyone together!)

わんわんお！わんわんお！わんわんお！（わんわんおーっ！）わんわんお！わんわんお！わんわんお！（ふふふ）わんわんお！わんわんお！わんわんお！（わんわんおっ！おっ！）わんわんお！わんわんお！わんわんお！（だーいすき！）

Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! (Woof-woof ohh!!) Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! (Hehehe) Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! (Woofwoof ohh! ohh!!) Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! Woof-woof oh! (Looove you!)

T/N

Wktk (ワクテカ) - Abbreviation/net slang for ワクワクテカテカ, meaning "excitement for something that is going to happen." So, I translated it as "eager excitement".

#vocaloid #megpoid gumi #translations #this appeared in my recommended page and i thought it was very cute and needed to be shared #Youtube

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fmp2emilycywinski · 1 year

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Valko’s Shadow Wolf Inspiration

Ranga Tempest

When designing Valko’s wolf form and coloured him recently, I have just realized that I haven't looked at wolves in stories, anime, etc, that are similar to Valko’s wolf form.

First, we have “That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime” is a Japanese cartoon (anime). I have mentioned this anime before because I used some of the world-building in this show as inspiration. But another thing I used as inspiration from this show is the shadow wolf character called Ranga Tempest.

He is a dire wolf, but when the main character tamed him, the wolf evolved into a Tempest Wolf. The wolf now can change his size from small, to absolutely ginormous! I'm pretty sure that he also has the power to hide within the main character's shadow and can teleport to him whenever through there.

This wolf gave me a lot of inspiration for Valko since they have similar designs and abilities.

Here is the wiki I used to help with information and research, you can check it out in case you want to read more:

Jet / Urushi

This wolf character is from an anime (Japanese cartoon) called “Reincarnated as a Sword”. In the manga this wolf character's name is “Urushi” but sadly when the anime was made and the English version was released, his name got changed to “Jet”. Which is kind of understandable I guess, “Jet” is way easier to pronounce for English speakers than “Urushi”. I mean we pronounce a lot of Japanese names which is why they usually stay the English version, but because of hard it is on the tongue, I understand why they changed it. Could you imagine some English speaker trying to yell out “Urushi” in the middle of battle, it just wouldn't sound right...

Jet is an Onyx Wolf at first but once he was named by the main character, he evolved into a Darkness Wolf.

I'm not sure about his powers yet since he was only recently introduced in the anime, and sadly I haven't red the manga so I just don't know much about him, apart from his apreance.

He has jet-black fur...get it....Jet...............whatever...

And cool wiser looking at things, along with some white fur. He is also huge, like really big which must be so cool use imagine how fluffy he is! It would be so fun to pet him.

The wiki I used for research, does have his skills and stats written down, I believe they got this information from the manga so we don't know how much would carry over to the most recent anime. You can check them out if you'd like:

#research

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depressedhatakekakashi · 3 years

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SantaKashi

Pairing: Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai

Words: 1022

For: @godtierwallflower I know we don't talk a lot, but you put so much love into Kakagai and you're the reason I found this fandom again and fell in love with this pairing, so have a lil something <3 I hope you enjoy

Pakkun the old man sleigh dog

Grumbling and growing all night

If you ever did see him

You would probably say he’s cute

“You had better say I’m cute,” the pug huffed, squirming a little when Gai placed the little vest Kakashi had worked so hard on making over his body. “Is this really necessary? Can’t we just wear our regular outfits?”

“You have to look the part,” Gai defended himself, chuckling when he heard Kakashi swearing in the other room. No doubt struggling with his own outfit. “Your job is to make the kids at the orphanage smile and feel the ‘magic of christmas’. You can’t do that if you look like Summoning animals.”

“We are summoning animals,” Akino spoke up, scratching his neck where the fur collar of his vest sat. “this is itchy, Gai.”

Adorable. All of the hounds looked the part of sleigh dogs with their matching red vests and special Christmas Hatai-ate “It’s only for one night,” he reminded them. “And there will be treats waiting for you here when you’re done.”

“Hey,” Shiba nudged him with his head. “I was liking the song. Is there more?”

Right. The song.

All of the other sleigh dogs

They’ll follow him anywhere

Listening to his every order

Making sure the toys are safe

“There’s not that many,” Bisuke noted, examining the bag of gifts that Kakashi had left in the living room with them and yelping when Bull placed a protective paw over the bags opening. “I wasn’t going to open them!”

Finishing with the vest, Gai picked up the little headband he had made. With reindeer antlers on top to pull the whole look together. “I’m not wearing those,” Pakkun grumbled, though he didn’t show any signs of making a run for it. “I refuse.”

“Everyone else is wearing them.”

“Ya, and they’re fun,” To prove his point, Shiba shook his head and laughed when the bells on his antlers rang. “See?”

“I- fine,” slumping into Gai’s lap, Pakkun almost sounded like he was whimpering when the headband was carefully fitted onto his small head. “I had better be getting all of the treats after this.”

“I made special ones, just for today,” Gai promised. A nice blend of the hound’s favourite foods, all shaped into little turtle biscuits that they would get as soon as they got home. He even had a special gift for Kakashi, though that was more personal. “But I’m sure the kid’s smiles when they see you will be a treat of its own.”

When there are no more houses to go

He’ll curl up on Santa’s lap

Begging for head pats and treats

That’s his favourite Christmas gift.

“I would never beg.” Pakkun protested.

“You wouldn’t have to beg,” Bisuke fell over laughing. “Kakashi loves you more than anyone. You’re his favourite.”

“Kakashi doesn’t have a favourite,” placing his paws on Gai’s leg, Pakkun prepared to lung at Bisuke, only to have the Shinobi place a hand on his back to stop him. “Hey!”

“Play fight after the orphanage,” Gai insisted. “Kakashi and I worked hard on these outfits. You can ruin them later.”

With a huff, the pug settled back into his spot. “Kakashi doesn’t have favourites.” he insisted with a grumble, resting his head on Gai’s leg.

“Kakashi definitely has favourites,” A smile tugged at Gai’s lips. No matter how much Pakkun or even Kakashi denied it, the truth was obvious. Pakkun was the one Kakashi summoned the most. The one always sitting on his shoulder and getting the majority of his attention. “That doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you all.”

“Of course not,” Bisuke stuck his tongue out at Pakkun, grunting when Shiba placed a paw over his mouth. “We would never doubt that. He’s part of the pack after all.”

“Song!” Guruko hoped around Uhei excitedly. “Finish the song, Gai!”

“We all want to hear about ‘Pakkun the sleigh dog,” Urushi snickered. “Finish the song.”

Suddenly the room filled with a chant. Seven out of eight of the hounds called for him to continue the little song he had made up while dressing them.

“Come on,” A foot nudged his leg, dragging his attention to the man now standing at his side dressed in that signature red and white outfit that everyone associated with Santa Clause. “You heard them, finish the song, Mr. Clause.”

With his little red sleigh dog vest

Everyone will know his job.

A stylish Hitai-ate around his neck

With the Henohenomohiji.

“Well, you can’t have the hounds without the Henohenomohiji,” Kakashi defended himself when the hounds started to laugh. “How else would anyone know they’re my summons?”

“Most summons have more than one summoner, you know,” Gai chuckled, picking up the Hitai-ate in question and tying it around Pakkun’s neck in place of his regular one. “The fact that they even let you put your claim on them like that-”

“Oh you do not get to speak about ‘putting my claim on them’,” Leaning down, Kakashi flicked him in the forehead. “Ningame has an orange leg warmer. Everyone knows he’s your summon.”

“Well, That’s still less personal than literally putting my name on him,” it really wasn’t though. The only other person who wore Orange leg warmers was Lee, and he couldn’t summon the Tortoises. “Well?” Lifting Pakkun up in front of him, he presented him to Kakashi like a gift.

“Perfect,” gathering the pug into his arms, Kakashi smiled. “They all look perfect. Thank you, Gai.”

“Anything for SantaKashi,” his words are rewarded with an eye roll. That had never been one of Kakashi’s top nicknames, but Gai liked it so he kept using it every year. Whenever Kakashi was wearing that outfit. “Don’t overdo it tonight. You don’t have to stay longer than Kabuto asked.”

“Well, we’ll see,” Pakkun grumbled something about ‘big softie’ under his breath while Kakashi hugged him close to his body. “I won’t stay out too late though, I promise. I still want to spend the night with you.”

A night full of cuddles, bad Christmas songs, and stories about the kids at the orphanage.

“I can’t wait.”

#Kakagai #12 days of shipmas #I loved writing this one cuz the hounds get the spotlight a bit lol #just in time for the start of Kakagai week #as i planned #XD #KakaGai Week 2021 #KakaGai Week #It's not following the prompt #that fic comes later #but still

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pfreadsandwrites · 3 years

Text

九つの命/9 Lives Translation

Hi!! So, @foxy-and-tales asked me to tell her what was going on in the comic mentioned in this post. After skimming through it, I thought it'd be good practice - and it'd be easier to answer her question - if I just went through it and told her what it all meant. I realised by that point I was doing a translation, and since I was going to the trouble anyway, I thought I'd post it publicly.

So, the full comic is here. It's basically a comic that has 7 little stories about Kakashi's ninja hounds and their lives with Kakashi. It's an adorable, heartfelt story and I absolutely love the personalities that the artist gave all the ninja hounds and the depictions of their relationships with Kakashi.

My translation will be this post, follow it as a script. I don't have the skill or knowledge to edit and typeset and change the images myself - and I wouldn't do that anyway, as it would involve reposting the art and changing it without the artist's consent. But I do think that not referring to the pictures as you're reading through the script really harms how sweet this story is, so if you can go through the comic slowly whilst referring to my (amateur) translation of it, I hope you can get a glimpse of that!

WARNINGS: There is a depiction of an already dead dog in part 4 😢, and some (human!) male partial nudity in part 6 (😉)

Tagging: @scaredlittlefoxy @lemony-snickers @backalleykat @whatshernameis @gwedosuns @topsyturvy-dream @ice-icebaby @cosmiclattes

This is also the artist’s note that follows after the comic, that I’m putting here:

(Artist’s note translation)

"This is a story about the daily life of Kakashi and the eight ninken.

The ninja dogs’ personalities etc mightn’t be faithful to the source material.

The dogs live free range in Kakashi’s house.

There is an illustration of a dog dying, though it isn’t any of the ninken. Please take note.

You don’t have to read it, but below this are the dogs’ personalities:

Shiba: Friendly and sensitive

Biscuit: Childish and Selfish

Akino: Calm and cool demeanour

Bull: Timid and Quiet

Urushi: Ladykiller. A little bit dim. (Note: Himbo!)

Guruko: Annoyingly helpful and naggy

Uhei: Pure-hearted and cheerful

Pakkun: Same as in the series"

Some notes and then onwards into the translation under the cut:

Please take heed before continuing:

I’m not a professional translator, in fact I’ve done very little of this, so there’s some guesswork and liberties taken, and I don't claim that that there’ll be no mistakes.

I’ve separated it out by sections and pages, so you should be able to follow the story from following the speech bubbles (right to left) and referencing the lines here by speaker

Each space between a line denotes that it’s the next speech bubble

A new line but no change in speaker will denote that it’s the same character talking, but in the next panel or speech bubble

Italics means the character is thinking or flashbacks. I'll try and make this obvious as I go but the artwork should make that clear too.

Brackets are my additions, or me translating things like signs etc, or brackets will have smaller background dialogue not in speech bubbles. I'll try to make this clear as I go.

Stuff surrounded by * denotes actions or onomatopoeic actions/words in panels

Ask me if there’s any parts that confuse you about the story!! The way I’ve done this isn’t easy to follow but it's the best my dumb brain could come up with

TRANSLATION:

Title page

(p.1)

ここのつのいのち

9 Lives

(p.2)

1. ‘I won’t tell anyone’

(SFX: dogs playing and wagging tails)

Kakashi: Hm? You’re not gonna play, Shiba?

Shiba: …No. …Hey, Kakashi’

Kakashi: Hm? What?’

Shiba: There’s a girl I like’

Kakashi: Ohhh… I won’t tell anybody.

I won’t tell ~ I won’t tell ~

(p. 3)

Shiba: She’s really cute…

Kakashi: That’s great ~

Shiba: But I haven’t even spoken to her once

Kakashi: You should go for it ~

(SFX: *happy dog panting*)

Shiba: I’ll come back as soon as I’ve talked to her!’

Kakashi: Yep!

Shiba: I’ll be right back, definitely!

Kakashi: Ok, ok (lit. Yes yes)

(p.4)

Shiba: She’s already got someone (lit. she’s already in a couple/has a mate)

Kakashi: I see…

Shiba: She said her mate hurt his leg and can’t walk so he's staying at home…

(p.5)

Kakashi: Shiba, you know.. have feet that can walk anywhere…

So maybe you’ll meet an amazing girl again, won’t you?

(*dog cries*)

Kakashi: ...I won’t tell anyone. (*Comforting doggy*)

I won’t say anything. I won’t say anything.

(Kakashi: Aw, Shiba is pretty sweet to me, huh?)

2. Biscuit’s Sausage (note: I know his name is technically Bisuke in Japanese, but Biscuit is his dub name and it’s too adorable so that’s what I’m going with here! Also suits the personality he has in this story. What a biscuithead this boy is)

(p.6)

Biscuit: -You’re so sneaky, Kakashi! I wanted to eat sausages!

*crying dog noises*

(Uhei: Sorry, Kakashi…

Guruko: I told you!!)

Kakashi: You know if you eat sausages, Biscuit, your tummy will get sick, right? I’m boiling cod for you right now

(*tantrum noises, pounding feet and barking*)

Biscuit: *angry puppy noises* I hate fish, you idiot! I said I want to eat sausages! Sausages! Sausages!

Kakashi: *sternly* Biscuit

Biscuit: *whimper*

(p.7)

Biscuit: Kakashi, you IDIOT!

(2. Biscuit’s Sausage)

Biscuit: *sniff*

(Sign says Konoha Pet Food)

Biscuit: This is the store that sells the dog food Kakashi buys! Wow, maybe they have sausages here too!

(p.8)

Biscuit: I wonder if I'll be able to eat as much as I want… *gulp*

But if I did that, Kakashi would get in trouble

No, maybe…

*heart pounding*

Kakashi kept it (this) a secret just from me, because I'll get sick...

(Apron says Konoha Pet Food)

Shop Lady: *shuffles*

Biscuit: I didn't do anything yet!!! * heart pounding*

Shop Lady: Oh my… you really just talked!

Shop lady: You’re Kakashi’s pup, aren’t you?

(p.9)

Shop lady: Kakashi got you to come here, huh?

(Shop lady: you’re a good boy!)

Bisuke: Oh, no-

Shop lady: Though, he shouldn't have made you come pick it up without contacting us, huh? Here, sausages!

Biscuit: Sausages?!

Shop lady: There’s a pup among you guys that can’t have normal sausages, right?

It was a request from Kakashi.

He said he wanted me to make some especially for the puppy who can’t handle meat.

(p.10)

Shop lady: Well, here you go!! You’ll tell Kakashi we’re sorry for making him wait, won’t you?

Biscuit: Oh, um… But I don’t have any money…

Shop lady: It’s fine, because it’s Kakashi!

Whenever he has free time, he comes to pay.

I have a deal with him, you see. And he can't get the food if he's not here...

Next time, come together with Kakashi, okay?

(p. 11)

Kakashi: *casually picks up Bisuke* Thank you! This is for you ~

Shop lady: Thank you, come again!

Biscuit: Kakashi…

Kakashi: Hm?

Biscuit: Sorry…

Kakashi: Yeah…

I’m sorry too. I gave everyone else sausages while keeping it a secret from you.

I thought you’d definitely want some if you saw…

(Kakashi: But I got caught.)

(p. 12)

Kakashi: But…. Everyone’ll want some if they see this, too.

How about stopping by the park and eating it there?

We’ll keep it a secret from everyone 😊

Bisuke: *happy face licking and barking* When we get home, I’ll eat the cod too!!

Kakashi: Uhh… Well, Uhei and Guruko already ate it…

Bisuke: WHAT?!!!

(Flashback, Uhei and Guruko saying ‘Cod! Me too!! Me too! I want to eat some too!’)

3. Kakashi’s smile

(p. 13)

*paws thudding on ground/running away*

Kakashi: …Got you.

Akino: Ack!

It’s always only me that you brush so roughly, Kakashi!

Kakashi: It can’t be helped, can it? You have the thickest fur, Akino

*brushing softly* It’ll be over soon, it’ll be over soon…

Other doggies: That seems nice to me, Akino…

Kakashi: Hey, it’s falling out, it’s falling out ~

Akino: !!!

Kakashi: Look, it’s a mini Akino!! So much fur…

Akino: That’s too much hair off the bottom, Kakashi! Wha…

(p. 14)

*Kakashi continuing to laugh at his mini Akino*

Akino: There are times now where Kakashi summons us, even if he doesn’t have any business for us to take care of…

(Back then) he never ever summoned us outside of missions…

(p. 15)

Akino: He was doing all kinds of things, but he was the kind of person who never had a smile on his face…

Kakashi: If I had more time, I could make an even hairier one, you know

(Other dogs: *laughing* Akino: That’s a lie!)

Akino: Kakashi…. You're having fun?

Kakashi: *genuine smile* Yep, I am!

Akino: *smile* If you feel like it, you can keep going…

Kakashi: Oh?

(Later, Akino notices Kakashi has put sunglasses on the mini Akino)

4. Timid Bull (CW Animal Death)

(p. 16)

Bull: I’m the last ninja hound that came to Kakashi’s home.

Before that, I was living in a training centre for ninja hounds.

(4. Timid Bull)

The dogs I lived together with there… were all adopted when they were puppies.

But I still lived at the training centre, even as I became fully grown.

Ninja Hey, that dog looks tough, doesn’t he?

Centre manager: Yes, but… he’s not all that suited for battling…

Despite how he looks, he’s actually a timid dog.

Bull: I… I’m scared of insects. I’m scared of noises.

I’m scared of blood.

Centre manager: Because he can understand the stories of troubled humans, you see…

Bull: I’m scared of anything other than myself.

(p. 17)

Bull: Nobody would want a dog like me, right?

Kakashi: I found a good boy ~

Bull: *panicking* There’s no manager here!

Kakashi: Hello ~

Bull: …Hello… *heart pounding*

Kakashi: Ah, one that talks, huh…

Would you like to become one of my pups?

(p. 18)

Bull: Me…? Me, really? Quit it… That’s enough joking around.

Kakashi: What do you mean?

Bull: No-one wants me (😢)

Kakashi: No-one?

I want you, though.

Bull: What kind of a strange person would want me, I thought

(p. 19)

Bull: There were lots of dogs at Kakashi’s house

(Happy barking doggy noises)

Uhei: Woah, you’re huge! But among these guys, I have the fastest legs, you know!!!

Guruko: And I have the best nose!!

Biscuit: And I’m whiny!! (Note: lit. ‘I’m selfish!’)

Shiba: I have the sharpest bite!

Pakkun: I am the wisest. (Note: Pakkun I think uses Kansai-dialect Japanese lol so he sounds kinda... distinct. This is hard to convey for me lol)

Urushi: I’m popular with the ladies ;)

(Akino: I’m the fluffiest!)

Bull: I was so confused

You… you’re not scared of me?

I’m huge, and I have a scary face… So no one comes near me.

They all said they weren’t scared.

The reason, they said together, was…

(p. 20)

‘Because Kakashi brought you, Bull!’

Everyone was totally relaxed, as if they had no worries at all.

They all clung to me as if it was completely natural to do so.

I realised that there’d always be someone beside me.

(p. 21)

*sounds of paws scuffling against ground in first two panels*

*jumping to the ground noise in third panel*

Kakashi: …Bull, this way is a dead end.

Bull: …Sorry.

I couldn’t go back to where you were, and I thought so, but -

(p.22)

Bull: *looking at dog* He asked me to stay by his side.

…He was an enemy, but he was already dying.

That’s why, Kakashi….

Kakashi: …Yep.

Let’s give him a send-off together.

(Note: this was a tricky one because Kakashi says 送る, which means send, and is used with mail etc, but can mean to say farewells to the deceased, which is why Bull comments on it on the next page)

(p. 23)

Bull: He wanted to say ‘I want to bury him’

But Kakashi said ‘send-off’.

Lightly, as if his life force was still there

There… there are a lot of things that scare me.

When I was waiting for this dog, I was scared.

But I couldn’t refuse his request.

(p. 24)

Bull: …I’m spineless.

Kakashi: Everyone else has lots of things they’re scared of, you know.

That’s why they all stay by your side, Bull.

If you’re there, everything will be alright. That’s how everyone feels.

If you’re close by, everyone’s able to feel safe.

(p. 25)

Kakashi: ….This puppy, too.

Dying dog: …Please…

Bull: That dog…

Dying dog: Stay with me, until the end…

Kakashi: Because you stayed with him, Bull, he felt at peace, didn’t he?

Bull: I don’t think that dog was happy…

…Kakashi.

He was very thin, and he also smelt like he was sick

To protect themselves, his owner didn’t treasure this [this dog’s] life.

Kakashi, I…

Somehow, I..

I’m very…

(p. 26)

Bull: I wanted to cry out as loud as I could..

Kakashi: Yeah… (I’m not sure who’s saying this line)

Bull: For feeling guilty towards that dog, and for knowing Kakashi…

For my life being here now.

For my life, I wanted to cry it out until the blood came out of my throat.

(p. 27)

Bull: That dog…

I wonder, was that dog ever able to feel like this, even once?

(Flashback) Doggies: Because Kakashi brought you, Bull!

Uhei: Hey!!! Bull!!

Shiba: You’re late!!

I was worried, you know!

Guruko: (to others) Hey, Bull came back!!

Bull: I’m Bull. The dog that Kakashi found.

5. Urushi’s scales

(p.28)

Urushi: I think I’m good looking

(5. Urushi’s scales)

Girl pups: Ahh~ Urushi…~

Urushi: I’m popular with the ladies

(note: he uses メス, which means bitch in the literal sense - a female dog - and all the puppers use it to refer to human women too. So I just left it as ladies, as I don't think the pups mean it to be crass, they just use dog language and apply it to humans as well as themselves)

Sometimes I’m told ‘it’s probably because you’re one of Kakashi’s ninken’, but…

(Background lettering over the other dogs says ‘Unstylish/Uncool/Lame’)

But my other friends aren’t all that popular, really.

Still, I think it’s because I really am good-looking after all.

(Choruses of ‘Urushi~’, ‘Ahh…; and ‘Let’s play together, Urushi)

Urushi: Hehehe…

Being good-looking is a great thing.

Guruko: Hey, Kakashi!

(p. 29)

Guruko: You got hit by a girl again, didn’t you?!

Kakashi: *laughing* No…

Akino: Why were you hit by a girl? Do girls not like you?

Uhei: It looks like it hurts…

Kakashi: Nooo ~

Shiba: You’re so strong, Kakashi, why were you hit?

Biscuit: You couldn’t avoid it?

Guruko: *Steam from nostrils* I’ll fight her for you!

Kakashi: It’s fine, it’s fine ~

What are you saying?

(p. 30.)

Urushi: Kakashi said ‘I took responsibility’.

Sometimes humans say things I don’t understand…

Girl dog: Urushi… pair up with me.

Urushi: If Kakashi’s saying it, it must be important…

Be… Because I’m one of Kakashi’s ninken?

Girl dog: It has nothing to do with that. I like you, Urushi

Urushi: Wow… *heart pounding*

Girl dog: Pair up with me, and…

I want you to leave the ninken. (Lit. Stop being a ninken)

(p. 31)

Girl dog: I love you, Urushi, but what if, on a mission, you…

I can’t stand the thought of that!

Leave the ninken, and… always stay in the village with me?

Urushi: This girl’s a beauty, and has a kind personality…

I think that I might want to be with her…

Should I leave the ninken?

(p. 32)

Urushi: *perplexed*

Kakashi, Bull and Biscuit: *zzz, sleeping sounds*

Urushi: If I said I wanted to leave the ninken…

Kakashi: (in Urushi’s imagination) If that’s what you want, Urushi

It’s fine with me! (Background: It would be a shame, though…)

Urushi: I feel like Kakashi would say something like that…

Do I want to do that…? Not really, but… *sigh*

Hey, Pakkun.

(p. 33)

Pakkun: Something bothering you?

Urushi: Yeah, there is

I have to decide between two things, but it’s difficult…

I want both of them, but I can’t have them.

Pakkun: … Is it a girl problem?

Urushi: Yep ~

Pakkun: That’s just like you, Urushi. (Pakkun’s imagination shows two girl pups arguing:

Urushi!! Which one will you choose, me or her?! *indignant barking*)

When making a decision about something, one needs to think about what’s most.

...important to oneself.

Let’s say you balance both sides on your scales…

Urushi: My scales?

Pakkun: For example….

(p. 34)

It’s not the physical weight, but the weight of what you think is precious and important. It’s the weight of those feelings.

If you think about which is heavier, you’ll find the answer.

Kakashi: You guys are having a kinda complicated conversation, huh…?

Pakkun: Oh, Kakashi, you woke up, did you?

Urushi: *heart pounding*

Kakashi: My scales lean towards sleep, you know..

Let’s eat soon, okay? Please…

Urushi: Kakashi…. Are you happy that I’m here?

(p. 35)

Kakashi: Hm? Yeah, I’m happy!

Urushi, of course I’m happy ~

(Note: the word Kakashi uses is 嬉しい, which is ‘ureshii’ so Kakashi is making a pun with Urushi’s name here.)

Urushi: *blush* Okay!

Pakkun: What we were just talking about… Don’t talk about it in front of Shiba.

Urushi: Huh? Why?

Pakkun: Seems like he recently had his heart broken…

(p. 36)

Urushi: The thing that’s most important and precious to me… isn’t you.

That’s why I can’t be with you.

I can’t be with you, but… you’re a beautiful and amazing lady.

So, let’s meet again one day ~

Biscuit: Kakashi! Kakashiiiii! It’s awful!!

(p. 37)

(*throbbing pain*)

Biscuit: Urushi’s hurt!!

(*dogs barking*)

Guruko: Let’s go fight them!! *steam from nostrils*

Shiba: No way, is it a girl? Kakashi, you better tell him off!!!

Kakashi: Did you get into a fight with a dog from the village?

Urushi: No, it’s not that…

I took responsibility.

I’ve got a manly mark on my face, heh~

Shiba: You better tell him off!! *bark*

Pakkun: That’s it…

6. Kakashi’s Helper Team!

(p. 38)

Kakashi: I’m home~!!!

Guruko: ?!!! Kakashi, you stink!!

Kakashi: *sweetly smiling* Oh, stop it…

I saw Asuma after a long time, and we talked and ended up getting some drinks… It was nice to see him… *flops down on floor*

Guruko: Take a bath!!!

Don’t go to sleep!!

(*soundly sleeping*)

(p. 39.)

Guruko: Uhei! Uheiii!

Uhei: What is it?

Guruko: Let’s clean up Kakashi!

(6. Kakashi’s Helper Team!)

Uhei: Ehh… But if he wakes up, he’ll take a bath himself, won’t he?

(SFX: Heave-ho! Heave-ho!)

Guruko: We can’t leave Kakashi as he is when he’s this stinky! It’s fine, take it off!

Uhei: Uh, this is stuck half way, I can’t take it off

Guruko: Because you haven’t taken off his leg bandages!

(p. 40)

Guruko: Damn, this is stuck half way *pulling*

Uhei: Isn’t that because you haven’t taken off his headband?!

Guruko: This is enough, let’s carry him to the bath like this!

(*dragging noises*)

Uhei: Won’t his clothes get wet?

Guruko: It’s fine, because we’re going to wash them anyway!

Uhei: It’s amazing… Kakashi still hasn’t woken up!

Guruko: Okay, let’s wash him!

Uhei: Isn’t that… the shampoo that we use?

Guruko: It’s totally safe!!

If it’s fine for us to use, it’ll be fine for Kakashi too, right?

Uhei: I guess…

(p. 41)

Uhei: We can wash his body, but what about his clothes?

(SFX: *scrub scrub*)

Guruko: If we wash them together, it’ll be fine! Hey, pour some hot water over here ~

Uhei: Okay!

(SFX: *splash*)

Kakashi: *suddenly yelling* I’m gonna die!!

Guruko: *screaming*

Kakashi: Even with my face covered, if you pour hot water on me, I can’t breathe, you know!! You really can’t do that.

Guruko: You woke up…

(SFX: *heart pounding*)

Uhei: You really scared me…

(p. 42)

Kakashi: You’d started something, and I wondered how far you’d carry on… Ah, I’m drenched.

Guruko: Ah, I’m sorry, Kakashi!!

Kakashi: Well, anyway.. you guys ended up cleaning yourselves pretty good too. You’re all drenched, too.

Guruko: Then I’ll go get some towels!!

Uhei: Kakashi, Kakashi

Guruko acts the way he does, but he really loves looking after you!

Kakashi: I know.

Biscuit: I want to have a bath with Kakashi too ~

Guruko: That’s not it! It’s just all slippery (note: not accurate, but the gist is that Biscuit misunderstands and Guruko puts him straight)

7. I’ll always love you

(p. 43)

(Flashback)

Sakumo: Pakkun…

Pakkun…

I have a favour to ask.

(Present)

Pakkun…

(SFX: Snoring)

Kakashi: Pakkun..

(SFX: Gasp)

Pakkun: Huh?

Kakashi: It’s time to eat.

(p. 44)

Pakkun: Alright.

(Other dogs: Food~ Food ~

Kakashi: Yes ~ Yes ~)

(Flashback)

Sakumo: Pakkun…

Pakkun….

Pakkun..

(p. 45)

Pakkun: Kakashi?

Kakashi: Hm?

Pakkun: For the mission report before… You didn't need me, did you?

Why did you bring me?

Other dogs: We want to come too!!

Kakashi: It’s just Pakkun for today

Kakashi: Hmm…

Hey, let’s relax here for a little while.

Pakkun: What’s this…

Kakashi: Come on…

Well…

(p. 46)

Kakashi: I want to talk about Dad.

…No. Maybe it’s a confession?

Talking about Dad…. Felt like something we couldn’t even broach. Ever.

I think you felt this way too, right, Pakkun?

I couldn’t tell you earlier that ‘it’s all right now’. Even though it was.

It was just a matter of timing, I guess…

Pakkun: But I wasn’t waiting for you to say that… Even if you’d have said it earlier, that’d have been good, but..

Why, out of the blue like this?

A change like that… Just like…

Just like…

(p. 47)

(Flashback)

Sakumo: I have a favour.

(Present)

Kakashi: The day Dad died…

Ever since then, for a long time, now… I became strange.

I’ve been nothing but trouble for you.

Pakkun: Kakashi-

Kakashi: Even though… you were hurting over Dad not being here too.

(p. 48)

Kakashi: Dad was your first master, right?

You really were precious to him.

….The other day, when you were having a nap, I woke you up, didn’t I?

It might have been because of the food, but your nose was twitching.

At first, I thought you were growling.

When I woke you up, you had a really startled expression when you looked at me.

I understood right away.

You were thinking about Dad, right?

(p. 49)

Kakashi: You were having a dream about Dad that time, right?

Thank you for always being considerate towards me…

But it’s alright now.

From now on, I want you to tell me…

The things about Dad that only you know.

(p. 50)

Pakkun: Sakumo…

(Sakumo: Pakkun…)

Pakkun: …really was a loving, kind man.

Kind, and…

(Sakumo: Pakkun…)

Pakkun: Kind, and…

…Kakashi.

I’ll tell you about Sakumo.

The things I’ve always wanted to tell you

I’ll tell you now.

Kakashi: Okay.

(p. 51)

Kakashi: Thank you for telling me about Dad, Pakkun.

Pakkun: …Don’t you dare die.

(Pakkun…)

I’ve had enough now.

Yeah. Enough.

(p. 52)

(Sakumo: I’m asking.…)

Pakkun: Sakumo…

The two of you are exactly alike.

Kakashi: Oh, really?

Pakkun: Everything’s alright now.

(p. 53)

“Kakashi!”

(p. 54)

(No text)

(p. 55)

Kakashi!

(p. 56)

Kakashi

(Note: I think the favour Sakumo asked of Pakkun was to take care of and be mindful of Kakashi always. This isn't outright stated)

#naruto #kakashi #kakashi hatake #hatake kakashi #pftranslates #fan comic #translation #fan translation

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dilly-oh · 4 years

Text

Red Hoodie of Fate

The blaring of the fire alarm woke Kakashi from a particularly good dream about tacos. He bolted upright, cracked his forehead on the coffee table, swore horrifically, and stumbled to his feet, blearily remembering falling asleep on the couch several hours ago. He must have rolled off at some point, maybe when he’d been sprinkling some cheese on those delicious tacos- no, stop. Food later. Fire now.

Thank God the dogs were at Yamato’s for the night, otherwise he might never have gotten out of the apartment. Bisuke was scared of loud noises and liable to hide in the deepest, darkest corner of the flat, while Bull would refuse to budge after laying down for anything less than the apocalypse. Pakkun probably would have just puked in anxiety and made matters worse, while Uhei, Akino, and Guruko would have simply started howling along with the siren. Urushi and Shiba were the only ones who’d have listened, and that was only if he had treats, which he no longer kept in his pockets after an unfortunate incident he didn’t care to repeat. He made a face as he recalled the taste.

Pulling on a pair of sneakers and a frayed red hoodie from the floor, Kakashi stuffed his keys and phone into his pockets before throwing open the door and lurching out into the hallway. He couldn’t see any flames or smoke, but he wasn’t going to sit around and wait to see if this was legit.

Maybe it was the brat from downstairs, playing pranks again. Kakashi had caught him stuffing a cat into someone’s mailbox the other day, so he definitely wouldn’t put it past the little punk. It had better not be those two idiots down the hall smoking weed again. Doors opened all along the hallway as tenants began pouring from their own apartments, hurrying down the hall and clogging the stairs like sleepy zombies. Kakashi shuffled along with them, letting the river of half-awake people drag him down several flights and out the front doors.

Kakashi milled around the parking lot with the chattering crowd, shivering at the cool night breeze and stuffing his hands into the hoodie’s front pockets. With nothing better to do than stand around awkwardly waiting for the fire-trucks, he glanced about, studying his neighbors one by one.

There was the brat, tousle-haired and sleepy-eyed, clinging to his mother’s long red braid, still half asleep. Near him was the emo kid who never brushed his hair and wore nothing but black – Kakashi was tempted to ask which make-up tutorial he used for his smoky eye. The two pot-heads were in the back, leaning against each other, dozing in place. There were more - the old man who wrote dirty novels and sometimes asked Kakashi for his expert opinion, the married couple from the floor above, and-

There was a man standing in the middle of the parking lot in nothing but a towel. Kakashi did a double-take before it processed.

He was dripping wet, water dribbling down his shoulders and pooling around his bare feet onto the pavement. Beads of moisture slowly made their way down the curve of his pectorals, glistening in the divots of his collarbone. Goosebumps had broken out over his tanned skin, pebbling his nipples, his long dark hair plastered to his neck and shoulders. He looked like some ancient Selkie come to seduce men to their watery graves, or a primordial God of the sea preparing to smite some mortals. And hopefully date him, dear God please.

Who the hell was that? Kakashi stared in shock, struggling to place him. He’d memorized every face in the building, and he certainly didn’t remember this Adonis, which was quite impossible. He had a whole grading system for every male in the building, and this knock-out would be graduating top of the class, Magna Cum Laud. Then the man turned his head and the light from the streetlamps hit just right, highlighting the faint slashing scar over the bridge of his nose-

Wait. Holy shit. Kakashi recognized him now, but could barely believe it. That was UMINO? Umino Iruka, the stuffy teacher’s aide who had just moved in next door like a month ago? The nerd whose idea of a good time was binge-watching a season of the Great British Bakeoff? Kakashi had given him a barely passing C+, having to dock points for the arsenal of pens in his shirt pocket and that one time he saw him wearing socks with sandals.

Damn. He’d totally misjudged him. This man was a BABE. The white towel only heightened his natural tan, accentuating the deep V of his hip-bones while the shadows played across his toned stomach. He looked…

He looked cold.

Umino stood stiffly upright, head high and without shame. In fact, he glared about, arms crossed, seemingly challenging anyone to make a comment or dare laugh. But Kakashi saw the goose-bumps on his skin, the subtle shiver of his shoulders. Summer had passed and, while winter was still a ways off, fall had begun muscling its way in. Kakashi wasn’t sure the clenched jaw was from irritation or to keep his teeth from chattering.

Kakashi gathered his courage and walked over.

“Hi,” he began, and almost stopped when Umino glared at him, eyes dark and daring. “Umino, right? Hatake Kakashi, from next door.” Umino studied him for a moment, then gave a sharp nod of acknowledgement. “Uh…want my jacket?”

“No, thank you, I’m fine,” Umino bit out with a tight smile, pushing some wet strands of hair out of his face.

Someone wolf-whistled. Probably the old man.

Umino slowly went red, the flush starting in his cheeks, then traveling down his neck to bloom halfway down his chest.

“…Yes, please,” he said quietly, gripping his towel in a white-knuckled hand. Kakashi fought back a chuckle and yanked the hoodie off over his head, inadvertently pulling up his shirt as he did so. Blinded as he was, he missed the flicker of Umino’s eyes over his exposed abdomen and prominent hipbones, the flush darkening a degree. Finally free, Kakashi gave the hoodie a shake and held it out, grinning sheepishly.

“Smells a bit like dog. Sorry.”

“S’fine,” Umino muttered, quickly taking it and pulling it on. It was a little too big for him but did the job, covering that delicious expanse of tanned skin and muscle. Kakashi stepped back and studied him for a moment, his mouth going dry.

Shit. It didn’t help at all. If anything, it made it worse.

Umino was now wearing his hoodie, which draped over his body but only made it to mid-thigh. The result was even more alluring and provocative than him standing there in a towel. Kakashi cleared his throat and snapped his eyes away, praying for a fire-truck to come peeling around the corner and hose him down so he could cool the fuck off.

“…You have a dog?”

“Huh?” Kakashi’s eyes snapped away from Iruka’s meaty thighs as he realized the owner of said thighs had just asked a question. “Oh! Yes. Dog. Or, rather, dog-zuh. Plural.”

“Plural?” Iruka frowned in confusion. “How many are we talking-”

“Eight.”

“EIGHT?!”

“Yup.”

“You have eight dogs.”

“Yup.”

“How did you even sneak that by the super?”

“Oh, she thinks I only have four. I have a friend who keeps a couple at his place. I just rotate them out.”

Umino laughed. It was a nice sound, even when he snorted a little at the end.

“So, what do you do?” Umino asked. “Other than harbor illegal animals, that is.”

“I work at the gym down the street,” Kakashi said, jerking his head. “I’m a fitness trainer.”

“Well, that would explain your abs...sssolutely horrible fashion sense. What are those track pants from, the 80’s?” Umino cleared his throat suddenly and jammed his hands into the hoodie’s pockets, frowned, then pulled out a crumpled wad of receipts for fast-food takeout. He stared accusingly at Kakashi for a long, quiet moment.

“…I’m allowed a cheat day,” Kakashi said.

“These are all from the same HOUR-”

“Gai bet me I couldn’t eat it all. I had to defend my honor.”

“Did you throw it all up afterward?”

“…I can neither confirm nor deny that. I can, however, confirm that I won the bet.” Kakashi winked cheekily, and Umino rolled his eyes.

“Do you…enjoy your job?” he asked, stuffing the receipts back into the pockets.

“It’s not bad. I mean, it could be worse, I could teach brats all day.” Kakashi shrugged. “What do you do?”

“I teach brats all day.”

…Dammit.

Umino’s grin was mischievous, though, and there was no hostility in his tone, so there must have been no offense taken.

“How’s that go?” Kakashi asked, genuinely curious.

“About as horrible as you’d think. I have them just when puberty rears its ugly head and turns them into angst-ridden monsters. My classroom in a cesspool of hormones and crying.”

Kakashi laughed aloud. Umino wasn’t anything like he’d thought. Both inside and out. It was incredibly refreshing, not to mention incredibly attractive.

Which is why he was quite disappointed when the first fire-trucks started to pull into the parking lot. He’d rather the whole apartment complex burn down if it meant he could stand out here, chatting with the hot teacher all night.

The fire, just a microwavable popcorn-bag gone wrong, was put out in minutes, the complex deemed safe by the groggy super, a busty older woman who was either hung over or still drunk at this unholy hour. Tenants began milling back inside, clogging the entrance in their desire to return to bed. Kakashi lingered in the back of the crowd with Umino, reluctant to part ways.

“Well, I suppose I should thank you for your hospitality,” Umino said lightly, reaching up to grasp the hoodie’s zipper. “You can have this back n-”

“Keep it,” Kakashi said quickly. Perhaps too quickly, going by the surprise on Umino’s face. “I mean…just for now. Till you. You know. Get inside and get dressed. You don’t wanna catch a cold.” He cleared his throat awkwardly, feeling his ears get hot.

“Oh…alright.” Umino's hand lowered and he gave him a shy smile, plucking at the loose red threads hanging from the sleeves, winding one around his pinky absently. “Thank you.” The quiet words warmed Kakashi, a delicate shiver traveling up his spine. Kakashi mumbled a response, then doubled over as the hyperactive blonde kid suddenly bowled right into him.

“Watch it, old man!” the brat shouted, dodging away.

“I’m not even thirty!” Kakashi barked after him, offended. “Friggin’ kid. Can you believe-” He turned to Umino and blinked.

He was gone.

---

A knock on the door woke Kakashi right as he was taking another big, crunchy bite of taco. He bolted upright, cracked the back of his head on the coffee table, swore horrifically at himself for not getting in the damn bed this time, and stumbled to his feet. Making a mental reminder to just go and eat some fucking tacos already, he lurched towards the door, tripping over the rug and falling against it with a loud thud. He fought with the handle for a moment before finally yanking it open, squinting at the light stabbing into his eyes from the hallway.

Umino stood there, not hot as hell towel-Umino, but pressed khakis and crisp button-up, array of pens and hair in a severe ponytail Umino, fully dressed and ready for the day. Kakashi, rather than feeling a twinge of disappointment, was surprised to find the man just as alluring covered from head-to-toe as he was three-fourths-naked.

“Good morning,” Umino said, horribly chipper considering the abominable hour.

“Mornin’. What’re you doing here so early?” Kakashi mumbled, rubbing his face. Umino stared at him.

“It’s 9 a.m.”

“Holy shit. Really?” Kakashi squinted down at his watch. “I thought 9 a.m. was a myth.” Umino’s mouth fell open. “You still haven’t answered my question, though.”

“Oh. Right. Um. Your hoodie. I have it,” Umino said quickly, tripping over the words. He was flustered and twitchy with nerves. If Kakashi were a predator, this was when he’d pounce. “I, um, washed it. For you. Here.” He thrust the jacket out, perfectly folded and smelling of lavender. Kakashi was impressed.

“What, did you wash it twice?” he asked, taking it in his hands and marveling at how soft it felt. The rich red color was much more vibrant, almost seeming to glow.

“Three times,” Umino replied flatly. “Then Febreeze.”

“Umino-”

“Iruka.”

Kakashi blinked, looking up to meet the other man’s gaze.

“You can call me Iruka,” he said, sincere.

“…Alright. I’m Kakashi.” Kakashi stuck out his hand, tucking the hoodie under his other arm. Iruka’s shake was firm, his hands surprisingly soft. He must moisturize or something classy like that.

“I want to thank you for helping me out last night,” Iruka went on, two spots of color appearing high on his cheeks. “I was in a rather…awkward predicament and even after I snapped at you, you still helped me despite my rudeness. I…really appreciate it.”

“No problem,” Kakashi replied easily, scratching the back of his head. Oh God, his hair must be a nightmare- no, wait. It always was. Nevermind then. “Any time.”

“So, um.” Iruka shuffled his feet a little, clearing his throat. There was that predatory instinct, niggling Kakashi to jump on him and go for the jugular. “I was wondering how to thank you, and I thought I could, maybe…make you dinner?” he finished weakly, glancing up at Kakashi from beneath thick lashes, then looking away again, suddenly shy. “I’m pretty good in the kitchen, so, if there’s anything you’d like…”

“Tacos,” Kakashi said instantly.

“…Oh.” Iruka deflated, a flicker of disappointment crossing his face. “Tacos. Really? I was hoping for something a bit more…challenging. Something that would allow me to show off my culinary skills a bit. But, I mean, if that’s what you want-”

“I like miso soup,” Kakashi said after a moment. “With eggplant.” Screw tacos. He could have tacos any day of the week. He’d take a bowl of cold cereal if it meant getting to spend the evening with this full-course meal.

Iruka lit up, his smile warm and inviting.

“Miso soup it is, then. I’ll have it done by tonight and bring it over. Does that sound alright?”

“Sure.” Kakashi waved as Iruka walked off down the hall, then slipped back inside and closed the door. He brought the hoodie up to his nose and inhaled the comforting scent of lavender, thinking how differently last night would have gone had he not grabbed the hoodie. What he would have missed out on. Fate, it seemed, really did exist.

Hopefully he’d be seeing more of Iruka…in more ways than one.

-End-

Months ago, I was chosen as a pinch-hitter for the Kakairuzine (I would step in if someone had to leave), so I completed two fics just in case they were needed. Since it wasn’t, I’m posting it here. Enjoy!

#kakairu #kakairu fanfic #hatake kakashi #umino iruka #red thread of fate #I know I wrote a Victuuri fic with a similar story but I just really like the trope #sue me #fanfic #red string of fate #iruka in a towel how can it go wrong

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adifferentworldfromyesterdays · 3 years

Text

TW: Gaslighting (just incase)

I’m going to talk about “Mother Knows Best” 母親はあなたの味方 hahaoya ha anata no mikata* in one post (bc ik how it can get uncomfortable to talk about) feat. cultural differences.

*mikata means ally, but when translating I’m using surrounding context which is why it’s not outright translated to “ally”.

Unless marked otherwise, MG for Gothel and R for Rapunzel, it is Gothel.

MG: You want to go outside? Ugh, why, Rapunzel! -> 外に出たいって言うの？はぁ、やめてラプンツェル soto ni detaitte iu no? haa*, yamete rapuntsueru -> You’re saying you want to go out? Why, stop (this nonsense) Rapunzel.

* はぁ is technically a sigh in this case, but it can be as an alternative expression for “what?” and others depending on translative context.

Look at you, as fragile as a flower -> あなたったら本当お花みたい anatattara honto ohana* mitai -> You’re really like a flower

*adding お o to some words makes it sound higher than it should be. Here it works because -> Sundrop is the flower of higher status in this case.

Still a little sapling, just a sprout -> そう、とてもかよわいの sou, totemo kayowai no -> Indeed, like something that is very fragile

You know why we stay up in this tower -> ねぇ、わかるでしょなぜ外に出さないか nee wakaru desho naze soto ni dasanai ka -> You know exactly why you can’t go out

R: I know but- -> 分かるけど wakaru kedo -> same

It’s to keep you safe and sound, dear -> それはね、あなたを守ためなのよ sore ha ne anata wo mamoru tame nano yo -> It’s to protect you, is the reason why,

Guess I always knew this day was coming -> ええ、そうね　いつかあなたがこの塔を ee, sou ne, itsuka anata ga kono tou wo -> Well, I suppose, that you and this tower;

Knew that soon you'd want to leave the nest -> 出てゆく日が来るよね dete yuku hi ga kuru yo ne -> the day you’d want to leave it would arrive

R: But- ->でも demo -> same

Soon, but not yet -> まだよ　mada yo -> Not yet

Shh! Trust me, pet -> 信じて shinjite -> But trust me that

Mother knows best -> あなたのためよ anata no tame yo -> This is for your sake/safety

Mother knows best -> 信じなさい shinjinasai -> Trust my words,

Listen to your mother -> お母様を okaasama wo -> When Mother tells you

It's a scary world out there -> 外は危ない soto ha abunai -> The outside is a dangerous world/place Mother knows best -> 信じなさい　shinjinasai -> Trust my words,

One way or another -> 危険なものが kikenna mono ga -> There are scary things

Something will go wrong, I swear -> ウヨウヨしてる urouro shiteru -> Crawling about out there Ruffian, thugs -> 強盗　ギャング goutou gyanngu -> Robberies, gangs,

Poison ivy, quicksand -> ウルシに　台風 urushi ni taifuu -> lacquer trees** and typhoons

Cannibals and snakes -> 食中毒 shyokuchuudou -> food poisoning

The plague! -> オバケ obake -> And ghosts

R: No! -> 嘘 uso -> No way

MG: Yes! -> 本当よ honto yo -> It’s true

R: But -> でも demo -> same

Also large bugs -> 毒虫や dokumushi* ya -> Poisonous bugs and

Men with pointy teeth -> 牙のある男 kiba no aru otoko -> Men with fangs

And stop, no more, you'll just upset me! -> おお怖いわ、心配なの oo kowai wa, shinpai nano -> All so scary, that they make me worry/worried.

*In English we see “Ruffian, thugs, poison ivy, quicksand, cannibals, snakes, the plague, large bugs and men with pointy teeth”, but some don’t translate well to Asian audiences, hence the changes to “Thefts/robberies, gangs(thugs), typhoons, food poisoning, lacquer plants, ghosts, and poisonous bugs***.

**I had to google this but, lacquer trees are called Urushi in Japanese and are used for Urushioil + its found in poison ivy.

***Bug catching was (and possibly still is?) a popular past time in Japan. Which is also how Pokemon came to be iirc.

Mother's right here -> ここにいれば koko ni ireba -> If you stay here

Mother will protect you -> 守ってあげる mamotte ageru -> I’ll be here to protect you

Darling, here's what I suggest -> 何があろうと nani ga arou to -> No matter what may happen

Skip the drama -> すべて subete -> Everything (is),

Stay with Mama -> わかるのよ wakaru no yo -> As you should know,

Mother knows best -> 母親は hahaoya ha -> As your Mother says. Mother knows best -> あなたはね anata ha ne -> You, see you,

Take it from your mumsy -> まだ赤ちゃん mada akachan -> are still but a baby

On your own, you won't survive -> 大人じゃないんだからね otona jyanain dakara ne -> Not at all an adult

Sloppy, under-dressed -> 泣き虫　裸足 nakimushi hadashi -> a crybaby, barefoot

Immature, clumsy -> 幼稚でドジ youji de doji -> childish and clumsy

Please, they'll eat you up alive! -> 餌食になるわ ejiki ni naru wa -> You’ll only become their prey Gullible, naive -> 世間知らず seiken shirazu -> No experience whatsoever,

Positively grubby -> すぐ騙される sugu damasareru -> easily deceivable,

Ditzy and a bit, well, hmm vague -> 常識なんか、（うーん）ゼロ jyoushiki nanka, (uun) zero -> and knowledge is, well, a zero at most.

Plus, I believe -> そう　おまけに sou omake ni -> Plus, furthermore,

Gettin' kinda chubby -> ぽちゃぽちゃしてる pochapocha shiteru -> You seem to be putting on,

I'm just saying 'cause I wuv you! -> 言うことを聞くのよ iu koto wo kiku no yo -> So just listen to what I tell you,

Mother understands -> わかってね wakatte ne -> I want you to understand,

Mother's here to help you -> 母親はいつでも hahaoya* ha itsudemo -> that Mother’s always here

All I have is one request -> あなたの味方 anata no mikata -> as someone you can trust MG: Rapunzel? -> ラプンツェル rapuntsueeru -> same R: Yes? -> 何？nani -> What? MG: Don't ever ask to leave this tower again -> 塔の外に出たいなんでも言わないで、二��と tou no soto ni detai nandemo iwanaide, nidouto -> I don’t want to say that you want to leave the tower ever again. R: Yes, Mother. -> はい　お母様 hai okaasama* -> same

* Hahaoya and okaasama are on the same level of formality for mother but the difference here is hahaoya is usually used when talking about one’s mother. But hahaoya can also mean parent and usually goes into 父親　chichioya and collectively 両親 ryoushin. MG: I love you very much, dear. -> あなたのこと、大好きなんだから anata no koto, daisuki nanda kara -> You know how much I love you R: I love you more. -> 私も大好き watashi mo daisuki -> I love you too MG: I love you most -> 誰よりも一番好きよ dare yori mo ichiban suki yo -> I love you more than anyone in the world Don't forget it -> 信じて shinjite -> So believe me

You'll regret it -> すべては subete ha -> when (I say) everything

Mother knows best! -> あなたのためよ anata no tame yo -> was/is for your sake

This is for fun so in no way are my translations “official”.

#mother knows best #tangled #en -> jp #jp -> en #Transliteration post #Translation post

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thatsneakymedic · 11 months

Text

October Writing Challenge Day 17 Nosebleed

What started off as an immature argument and verbal bullying became an all out brawl and Kabuto was on the losing end with the older kid stomping his hip till Urushi managed to step in and not only separate the two kids from fighting. But Urushi also wiped the floor with the other boy by not only landing a few hits on their face, but also by clotheslining him into the mud since the other kid was a known troublemaker and this wasn't his first fight with them.

"You alright Kabuto?" Urushi asked as he rubs his knuckles since he did smack the other kid just enough for them to stop going after Kabuto and they ran away and started crying in an hysterical exaggerated manner. Hoping that his tears and screams would fool the adults into thinking that it was Kabuto and Urushi who were the instigators and not him.

"I'm fine, but what about them? They're not hurt too badly right? Why are they screaming so loud like that?" Kabuto replied even though he's still on the floor, holding not only his left hip that got stomped, but his nose hurt like hell too. He could feel his nose stinging and something warm dripping down from his face that he assumed was sweat.

"You're more worried about them than yourself?! They were beating the crap outta you if it weren't for me stepping in! They're always starting fights with the girls and younger and disabled kids! Mother and the adults already know about their bad attitude so no matter how much they cry or scream. They know that he probably did something to deserve it. I just wish that someone would just adopt him and get him out of here." Urushi huffed as he helps Kabuto up from the dirty ground that was partially muddy.

He shakes his head at the sight of Kabuto's stretched and dirty clothes with now blood is staining the white parts of the robe. It's already hard enough for the kids to get new clothes from the donations and now this kid is getting Kabuto's clothes all torn up and dirty on purpose?

"Urushi... my nose hurts..." Kabuto whined as he touched his nose and his eyes widened at the sight of a lot of blood on his hand while he looks back at Urushi, his eyes full of fear. "Urushi, I'm bleeding so much. What do I do?! Should I go to the hospital?!"

Urushi looked a bit uncomfortable, but he didn't want to scare Kabuto even more by freaking out. So he rips at the clean part of Kabuto's sleeve and he puts it over Kabuto's bloodied nose, "That's why I'm saying to not feel sorry for them. They pretty much messed you up. He can complain and whine all he wants, but when the adults see you, they'll know exactly who it is that started the fight. Don't worry about it. Let's have mother take a look at you and we'll see if you do. But if you do end up being taken to the hospital, I'll make sure that he also bleeds from his nose too!"

Urushi then thinks as he has Kabuto around his arm as he takes him inside, "By the way, why did you guys started fighting in the first place? I know that he has been saying mean stuff to you to begin with, I'm just wondering what happened."

Kabuto's head lowered in shame, "... He said that my name was stupid and was perfect for a "stupid retard" who forgot his real name and he called Mother Nonou a "nagging whore" for always telling him what to do. It was only when he called Mother that... is when I threw the box of toys at him and then he chased me outside and... you know the rest."

Urushi raised his eyebrow and then he snorted till he started to laugh, "He was trying to egg you on to fight him to get you in trouble! And you ARE stupid enough to fall for it!"

The boy lets his head hang as he knew that Urushi had a point, till his brother then rubs the top of his head, "But I get it, he ran his mouth too much and words do hurt after awhile. Still, you should be smart next time and probably stay near the adults so that he won't come after you anymore... or not. Since he likes to try to kiss up to them while hurting or pinching you when they look away..."

"How about this? I teach you a few things about self defense so that the next time he messes with you or anyone else. The both of us can protect the kids together." Urushi then offers his fist for Kabuto to bump it, and Kabuto's eyes look up to them while his voice is muffled underneath the cloth, "You really think so? I'm not as strong as you."

"I don't see why not? Between you and I, they'll more likely come after you than me. Since you're quite... "small" and wimpy looking. So if I teach you a few things, no one would mess with you anymore. But we should always tell the adults first, since we should resort to fighting as a last resort if you know what I mean." He still has his fist bump up and after thinking about it. Kabuto bumps their hand with his own fist.

"Good! After we take a look at that nose and see if you're okay, we can start training and see what fighting "style" would be perfect for you!" Urushi shook at him and he grins as they both head inside while Kabuto still clenches onto his nose painfully.

@lunyraartistry

#october writing challenge #yesterday's prompt #okay #now I need to get to todays

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apothecarywormcrud · 4 years

Note

*drags over chair* omg please yell about kabuto i'm so here for this 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, and 10.

@fireemlmblem u gave the same numbers so this ask’s doing double-duty

1) What’s a Hot Take you have about your f/o?

hes one of th best naruto villains actually madara uchiha eat my fucking ass.

also when he was messing around w. those lil pebbles while doing War Strategy i think he should have eaten one

2) On what do you disagree with other fans of your f/o?

this would suggest that i regularly interact with people who like kabuto, which i don’t, because i don’t fucking trust them (short of like, maybe three people). i know shipping him w/ snakebert is a big thing and i’m mostly ambivalent about it. like on the one hand yes it is an absolutely fascinating relationship dynamic and i have friends who’ve written some good fucking fics but also like. i think he should be able to live a life free of that influence. i want him to have nice things (while on parole and doing community service).

5) What’s the dumbest thing you’ve heard about your f/o, either on the internet or irl?

i don’t particularly care for depictions that reduce him to “orochimaru’s simp.” he’s multi-dimensional you bastards but ofc when ppl are in it for the Hot Yaois none of that actually matters.

7) Did your f/o deserve better?

boy FUCKING howdy do i have some opinions about this one. so obviously there’s a lotta naruto characters who got shafted out of a proper end to their character arcs (hi neji), but kabuto’s makes me particularly angry because not only are his issues therapy-no-jutsu’ed out of existence, but he doesn’t even get proper closure after the fact. you can’t give us some dramatic fuckin spiel about how a jutsu is gnna force a character into an endless loop until they confront their personal issues and come to terms with the thing keeping them trapped in a destructive cycle and then NOT SHOW SAID CHARACTER CONFRONTING THEIR ISSUES. if you’re gonna show us the tragic backstory that explains why kabuto is the way he is, why can’t we also be shown him coming to terms with that? (i’ll tell you why, it’s because war-era shippuden is an uchiha wankfest and god forbid we devote any time to anyone not directly involved in them).

to add insult to injury, orochimaru gets resurrected, which means that even if kabuto supposedly confronted his issues, he’s still in a position to very easily be yanked right back into the codependant relationship he was involved in before. for all intents and purposes, he has learned nothing and is right back at square one. i hate this song.

i do kinda like that in boruto he winds up as orphanage caretaker on parole w/ urushi, bc there’s something very narratively tidy about “orphan taken advantage of by the system returns to take care of other orphans and ensure they don’t turn out the same way he did,” but it really gets my goat that we know absolutely nothing about how he would up there, and also like, you’d think he’d have a couple objections about orochimaru being allowed to run rampant through the village? but like, i get it, nobody gives a fuck about kabuto so let’s just throw in a brief cameo and then forget he ever existed. it’s fine. i’m fine. also every day i am thinking about how i wish he’d gotten to interact more with sai bc they were both forced by ROOT to kill people they cared about and it hurts me that neither of them ever really got the vengeance on the system that they deserved (to say nothing of the fact that as far as we know, said system continued to exist even after naruto became hokage despite one of the series’ original guiding points being that Using People As Weapons Is Bad.)

8) Do you even like the source your f/o comes from or do you only watch it for them & nothing else?

naruto sucks but i like it and i love all my funky lil ninja kids. i’d be lying if i said i wasn’t marginally more interested in episodes w/ kabuto in than all the other ones, though.

10) How did you feel when you realized “oh of course i had to like That Character”?

i felt absolutely nothing because this is just the way i always am. i see the most pedantic and insufferable little bastard imaginable and i go thats my boyfriend.

#helmet idiot #ass memes #character hate #idk abt that one but its just in case bc i CANNOT ABIDE BY UCHIHA NONSENSE #tekkai

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shikastemari · 6 years

Text

babysitter - s&k&s.

characters kakashi, sasuke, sakura, sarada

request

word count 1,281

when it happens sarada is 3 here

warnings none

a/n i just loveeeeee requests like this one. sorry it took so long tho.

MASTERLIST

“Shut up.”

Sasuke shot his former sensei a deadly glare, before returning his eyes to his three year old daughter crying in front of him. The poor guy had tried everything to make her stop sobbing, as it was heartbreaking for himself, but nothing worked on Sarada.

“I didn’t say anything.” Kakashi shrugged from the couch, his eyes glued to one of the infamous books he always read. Sasuke thought about saying something like ‘why don’t you stop reading those and actually get yourself a woman’, but the sound of his daughter cry prevented him of opening his mouth.

“You don’t have to. It’s always written on your eyes.” Sasuke hissed. He kneeled next to the girl, pulling her to a hug. “Stop crying baby girl. What dad can do to make you stop?”

The girl on his arms peered up at him with her big onyx eyes that looked exactly like his. For a moment, she ceased her sobs, pouting. “I want mama.” She answered, her tiny hands grabbing his shirt.

“Mama’s working, Sarada. You have to spend the day with dad and uncle Kakashi.” He tried to reasoned with her, but it just ended up making more tears roll down her chubby cheek.

“I can’t wait to tell Sakura what a great job you did.” Kakashi spilled from the couch, amusement laced on his tone.

“Why are you here, anyway?” The anger on Sasuke’s tone just helped to make Sarada cry a bit harder.

“You’ve been gone for a long time, buddy, so basically your wife sent me to help you.” Kakashi closed his book, placing it next to him. “Sasuke, you have no idea how to take care of a child.”

“I told you I don’t need your help.” Sasuke wiped Sarada’s tears with his thumb, but the girl was still pouting.

“I want mama!” She narrowed her eyes, crossing her little arms on her chest and then looking away.

“Poor Sakura. I swear, sometime it feels like you did her all by yourself. Pretty sure you did mitosis.” Kakashi stood up, walking straight to their direction. He kneeled next to him, so he could be closer to the little girl. “Hey Sarada, I have something to tell you.”

The little girl’s eyes widened in curiosity and she glanced over Kakashi’s face. “Are you taking off your mask?”

Sasuke put a hand on his mouth, pretending to cough as he muffled his giggle. Kakashi was right. The girl was entirely his.

“No. It’s a bigger secret. A Hokage secret.”

That got the little girl attention, and frankly, Sasuke’s too. “Oh yeah, you are the Hokage. Why are you still here? Don’t you have a job to do?”

Kakashi glared at him before returning his eyes to the little girl. Her own were sparkling after hearing the word Hokage, and Sasuke felt a little jealous over the way the girl was looking at his former sensei so… admiredly.

“I will show you my most powerful jutsu.” Kakashi poked her nose and she drove her hands to it, smiling in anticipation.

“I wanna see!!” Sarada exclaimed, but Sasuke frowned.

“Are you sure it’s safe to show her the chidori inside this house? Sakura will kill me if I destroy it.” Sasuke gulped.

Kakashi ran his hand over his face. “You’re supposed to be the smart one. I swear Naruto is way better than you with kids.”

Sasuke grimaced.

Kakashi bit his finger and passed his blood onto the floor. Seconds later, the house was filled by different sized dogs. Sasuke recognized Pakkun quickly.

“Oh well. You certainly are that arrogant little boy, aren’t you?” The dog deadpanned. “Kakashi, why did you- SARADA-CHAN!” Pakkun exclaimed as he saw the little girl standing in front of Sasuke. He ran towards her, the others dogs following him closely.

Sarada was already running at their direction, her tiny arms open to hug the brown dog on the lead. Pakkun licked her face, making her giggle. It was such a cute sound that it almost made Sasuke’s heart melt into a poodle.

Honestly, Sasuke felt a little bad for not being able to keep his daughter from crying for such a long time. It was obvious to him that she was more used to be around Sakura, since he was constantly at his missions, but he couldn’t help but feel a little hurt too.

“Don’t martyrize yourself for it. It’s your first time taking care of her without Sakura. It’s supposed to be hard.” Kakashi put his hand on his former pupil’s shoulder and squeezed it in solidarity. “You should’ve seen the first time Sakura asked me to take care of her. She cried over two hours before I thought about the Kuchiyose no jutsu. Pakkun and the other ninken love her since.”

Sasuke sighed, looking at his daughter again, lost in the middle of the animals as she laughed hard. “Thank you.”

“In case you didn’t know by now, it’s my job to take care of the team 7, no matter how big you three think you are now. That also means I need to take care of the little ones too.” Kakashi glanced over Sarada direction, where the girl was pulling Urushi’s tail and it pretended to be mad, trying playfully to bite her, which only made her laugh more.

Sarada started running around the room, all of them following her. Ninken were pretty fast, so Sasuke thought it was really interesting how their pace was slow to let her have some advantage. Suddenly, she stormed at his direction and used his dad arms as a shield. “Tell them I’m not here, papa.”

Sasuke glanced down, the corner of his lips lifting up, and then turned his gaze to the animals in front of him. “Sorry guys, Sarada isn’t here.”

The dogs feigned some whine and gasps. Sasuke felt Sarada’s little body shaking as she giggled, hiding her face on his shirt.

“I think I’ll get going. You seem to have everything under control here.” Kakashi stood up, already walking towards the couch to grab his book.

“Wait, now?” Sasuke questioned in surprise.

“Yeah. They’re staying for a while, don’t worry. You got this.” Kakashi reassured him, his eyes squinted and Sasuke knew he was smiling.

Before Kakashi could close the door to Sasuke’s house, the raven haired guy called for his former sensei once again. “Thank you.”

Kakashi just nodded and left.

Sakura felt like a tractor ran over her. It’d been ages since the last time she’d such a hard shift. She could still hear the sirens from the ambulances taking people there. The pinkette closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It’s over. I’m finally home.

As soon as Sasuke heard the key noise, he knew he’d be doomed. He was warming some milk for Sarada, as he heard his wife scream out his name.

Two seconds later, a fuming Sakura appeared on the door, her eyes widened in shock and her hands clenched into fists. Sasuke even noticed the how white her knuckles were.

“Why our three year old daughter is playing with snakes in the middle of our living room?” Every word coming out of her mouth was dripping with dangerous.

Sasuke shrugged, avoiding smile while his wife was that mad. “She was crying.”

“And then, snakes? Seriously?”

Sasuke shrugged one more time. He knew he’d heard about it for weeks but he was fine with it. Nothing else matter except for the fact he managed to take care of their daughter for a whole day and she was still alive and happy, and that, folks, was what Sasuke would like to call as a win.

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myaekingheart · 6 years

Text

18. Man’s Best Friend

read the scarecrow and the bell on ao3

index | from the beginning | < previous | next >

“Kakashi? I’d like to have a talk with you” Sakumo called from the doorway. Kakashi turned to look upon his father, laying in the grass beside his giggling next door neighbor.

“Aw, ‘Kashi, do you really have to go so soon? It feels like we only just started!” Rei complained. Kakashi sat up and patted her gently on the head.

“I’ll try to come back later. This sounds important” he replied, then stood and ran off toward his father. The young girl watched him depart longingly, rolling onto her stomach and resting her chin in her hands. She hoped he’d keep his word.

Sakumo guided his son inside and closed the door slowly, inviting Kakashi to side across from him. This all seemed so formal, and for a moment Kakashi feared he was in trouble. The White Fang could sense his son’s apprehension, however, and bid him a kind, reassuring smile. “I’d like to talk to you about something, Kakashi. If that’s alright.”

“What is all of this about?” he asked his father.

“You’ve been progressing spendidly, and I’m very proud. You’ll be a fine shinobi in no time. I’m going on a very important mission in a week, and I’ve been thinking a lot about how you’ll be on your own the whole time” Sakumo explained.

“I won’t be on my own. I have Rei and Mr. and Mrs. Natsuki” Kakashi explained. So far, whenever Sakumo had gone on missions, he often entrusted Kakashi to the neighbors. Yuruganai Natuski was an old friend from all the way back in the academy and although he had given up becoming a shinobi long ago, they still remained close.

Sakumo nodded slowly, then sighed. “I know, but I want to make sure you can take care of yourself, as well. Mr. and Mrs. Natsuki will not always be there for you.” The thought of something happening to them made Kakashi uneasy. They had always been there, he didn’t know life without them right next door. And then there was Rei…

“So what does that mean?” Kakashi asked.

“It means I think it’s time I entrusted you with something very important” Sakumo explained. He then stood, bit the tip of his thumb, and in a puff of smoke summoned a large white wolf dog. “This is Tsuyoi, my ninken. She has been my summon since I was a young boy. Tsuyoi is the chief of a clan of ninja hounds who recently took in a group of orphaned puppies. I would like you to make a contract with them and train them as your summons.”

Kakashi blinked a few times, trying to comprehend everything that his father had just told him. He had never seen his father in battle, and therefore had never met Tsuyoi before but he could tell she was strong and powerful and capable. He imagined a litter of puppies just like her that would someday grow into beautiful white hounds with sharp teeth and rough barks. His own ninken.

He approached Tsuyoi carefully, extending a hand for her to sniff. She did so gladly, then nuzzled the young boy’s cheek to show she approved of him. “I expected nothing less from Sakumo’s son” a woman’s voice then spoke. Kakashi recoiled and blinked.

“Did that dog just talk?” he asked. Sakumo chuckled and nodded.

“Yes, she did. All of the ninken in Tsuyoi’s clan can speak” Sakumo replied. “Of course, much like human babies, I don’t expect the puppies to know how to speak yet but that’s just something you’ll have to teach them, as well.”

Kakashi’s head was reeling. This was unbelievable. He excitedly asked how to start the contract process and where the puppies were, he was so desperate to meet them. Sakumo pressed his palm to the floor yet and again and immediately they appeared in another cloud of smoke. However, the novelty suddenly vanished when Kakashi laid eyes on them. “These are the dogs?” he asked. “I thought they were going to be white wolf dogs like Tsuyoi?”

“You don’t want them now?” Sakumo asked. Kakashi knelt down to inspect the pups, mismatched and squirmy and small. The tiniest, a wrinkly little pug, squirmed between the others whimpering and yawning. Then, rolling over onto his back with his tongue lopping out of the side of his mouth, he blinked and looked up at Kakashi with his big, brown eyes. In that moment, something in the young boy shifted. He reached down and scratched behind the dog’s ear with his index finger, and the dog began cycling his little back leg in glee.

Kakashi laughed softly at the pup, murmuring “You’re such a little Pakkun.”

“Hmm? What was that?” Sakumo asked.

“It sounds like he’s already thought of a name” Tsuyoi replied.

“What? No…I was just…well, maybe…” Kakashi stammered. These dogs had enchanted him quicker than he expected them to. They all began waking up from their sleepy states, sniffing and licking at Kakashi’s fingers and leaping up into his lap. Eventually, they knocked him over and began licking his face. The young boy erupted in a fit of laughter.

“I’d say this is a done deal” Sakumo replied to Tsuyoi. The wolf dog nodded with a proud smile. Sakumo and Tsuyoi walked Kakashi through the contracting process and then by sunset, the dogs were his. He laid awake that night smiling to himself, every puppy piled onto his bed, and tried to brainstorm names for each of them. So far, the only one he was sure of was Pakkun. He looked over at the little pug curled up on his pillow and scratched his head affectionately. These dogs weren’t nearly what he expected but they were still good. He could learn to love them, not fully aware yet that he already did.

Rei peered over the fence of her front yard as Kakashi strolled down the lane after school. She balled up a piece of scrap paper from a drawing she didn’t like and tossed it at him, hitting him right on the forehead.

“What the heck was that for?” he shouted to Rei.

“Where did you go last night? You said you’d come back and you didn’t!” she shouted back.

“Is that what this is about?” he called back to her. She gave a strong, definitive nod, preparing another paper ball. “I had something important to take care of!” he called back.

“You just didn’t want to spend time with me, that’s it!” she refuted. “You don’t like me anymore, ‘Kashi!”

“Rei, that makes no sense!” Kakashi argued. The little girl wasn’t buying it, however. Jutting her bottom lip out, she launched her second paper ball toward her friend but instead of hitting his forehead again, this time a tiny tan dog leapt out from nowhere and caught it in his mouth. Rei yelped, fumbled with the gate, and then chased after the dog shouting.

“You come back here, you dumb dog! That’s mine!” she shouted.

“Hey, don’t call him dumb!” Kakashi shouted, running after her. The other ninken followed suit. “He’s my dog!”

Rei skidded to a stop and looked at him skeptically, her eyes then falling on the other dogs nearby. “What do you mean he’s your dog?”

“All of them are my dogs” Kakashi explained. “They’re my new summoning animals. My dad gave them to me last night. He said he was going on a big mission soon and didn’t want to leave me home alone, so he gave me these.” As he spoke, the tan dog trotted up beside Rei, nudged her hand, then dropped the paper ball at her feet, mushy with slobber. She stuck her tongue out and fought the urge to gag.

“But you’re not alone, ‘Kashi, you have me and my mommy and daddy” she explained. “What do you need all these dogs for?”

“They’re not just for when my dad’s gone, Rei. I’m going to train them to fight with me in battle” he explained. “They’re not just pets, they’re ninja hounds.”

Rei crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, not wanting to look the puppies in the eye. She knew exactly what happened around puppies: they steal your heart in five seconds, flat. “That’s still not a good enough excuse for leaving me, ‘Kashi.”

Kakashi sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Rei. Do you forgive me?”

Rei pouted and contemplated his question. “You’ve gotta make it up to me, first.”

“What? How?” Kakashi asked.

The redhead paused a moment before a sly grin spread across her face. “Let me name one of your doggies.” She thought it was a fair request. After all, they were the reason he abandoned her the night before. She deserved a hand in naming at least one of them. And truthfully, though he didn’t want to admit it, Kakashi had a really hard time thinking of good names for all the rest anyway. The only one he could think of so far was Bull for the black bulldog, even though he wasn’t sure he liked it much. He wasn’t sure if it was too stupid and obvious.

“Alright, which one do you want to name?” Kakashi asked.

“Well, which one doesn’t have a name yet?” Rei countered.

Kakashi paused a moment, then replied. “All but two.” He pointed to the pug and the bulldog, announcing their names accordingly.

“You’re terrible at this, Kakashi” Rei replied. “How could you possibly let these other doggies run around nameless? You’re gonna be terrible when you have kids!”

“Ew…” the young boy muttered. He watched as Rei knelt down and surveyed her choices. She turned first to a scruffy brown dog with sharp teeth and angry eyes. Without an ounce of fear, she lifted his upper lip up to get a better look at his fangs, and then nodded confidently. “This one is Urushi.”

“Where did you get a name like that from?”

“Because his teeth are shiny and protective, like lacquer!” Rei explained, then with a proud grin said “That’s a word I found in one of Daddy’s books. It’s a smart word.”

“Okay, Urushi it is. Now what about the others?” Kakashi asked. One by one, she inspected and assigned names to each of the puppies in the clan. The gray one with the mohawk she named Shiba because she thought he looked like a shiba inu, the golden tan and white one with beady eyes she named Akino because his fur reminded her of autumn, Uhei for the greyhound because in that moment he had trotted to the edge of the lake and began sniffing the sweet flag that grew there, and Guruko for the long-whiskered dog because he was the first to lick her which made him sweet like honey. The last one, who by this point was in her lap licking her face wildly, she named Bisuke because she thought naming a dog after a biscuit was a good idea. Of all the dogs Kakashi had acquired, she was certain that this one had to be her favorite, and he seemed to like her a lot, too.

Kakashi smiled at the two of them as he sat down beside Rei with the other dogs. She grinned at him proudly, saying “You’re welcome. Now these little doggies won’t have to run around without a single clue who they are!”

Kakashi had to admit, he thought her justifications for many of the names was rather clever and cute. She certainly came up with ideas he never would’ve expected, but he liked them just the same. They seemed to just fit. Now it was just a matter of raising them and training them to become the shinobi they were capable of becoming. A butterfly flitted past the group and Bull immediately leapt up and ran after it, panting with great determination. This was going to be a lot of work, but Kakashi was committed now. These were his dogs, they were his responsibility. He was going to love them and take care of them and train them to become the most loyal and skilled ninja hounds there ever were.

#i haven't updated my fanfic on here in a really long time whoops #i'm like three chapters behind on tumblr #kakashi hatake #rei natsuki #the scarecrow and the bell #naruto #naruto oc #fanfiction #ramblings

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chanoyu-to-wa · 6 years

Text

Nampō Roku, Book 1 (17): the Utensils for the Small Room.

17) With respect to the utensils for the small room, it is better if everything is [somewhat] lacking¹. There are people who detest things that are even slightly damaged², [but] this [kind of attitude] is completely unacceptable.

In the case of newly-fired [pieces of pottery] and objects of that sort³, if they have developed cracks⁴, they are difficult to use⁵. But things like imported chaire and other “proper” utensils⁶, when they have been repaired with lacquer⁷, can still be used in the future.

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Besides this, when [we] speak of the way to combine the utensils⁸: a recently fired chawan [used together with] an imported chaire -- [you] must know how to do [things] like this⁹.

In Shukō's period, even though the things [used for chanoyu] were still splendid¹⁰ at that time, he put his treasured ido-chawan¹¹ into a fukuro, handling it just like a temmoku¹²; and [he] initiated the practice of always bringing out a natsume¹³, or a recently-made chaire, together with it¹⁴.

_________________________

◎ The chawan known as the Kanamori ido [金森井戸本] and the Honnō-ji bunrin [本能寺文琳] chaire. Two examples of damaged utensils that continued to be used for chanoyu in the small room after they were repaired with lacquer.

¹Yorozu-koto taranu ga yoshi [よろず事たらぬがよし].

The auxiliary verb taru [たる] means “is enough;” “is sufficient.” Taranu [たらぬ], then, means “not enough;” “insufficient.”

²Sonji [損し].

Sonji [損じ] means injured, damaged, cracked, defective.

³Ima-yaki nado [今やきなど].

Ima-yaki [今燒] means pottery that has been fired recently. Nado [など] means “(and) things of that sort.”

Recently made things are “difficult to use” if they have become damaged (through misuse -- whether because of carelessness or otherwise) because they can easily be replaced: so using them seems inauspicious (or niggardly).

⁴Ware-hibi kitaru ha [われひゞきたるハ].

Ware-hibi [割れ罅] means to crack or split through use (it does not refer to the natural crackles that are present in certain glazes).

Kitaru [來る] means to develop, be due to (literally, “to come,” “to arrive”). In other words, damage that has come about after the piece was in the host's possession, due to improper handling (whether accidental or through negligence is not important).

⁵Mochii-gatashi [用ひがたし].

Mochii-gatashi [用い難し] means something is difficult to use, difficult to make use of.

⁶Kara-no-chaire nado-yō no shikarubeki-dōgu ha [唐の茶入などやうのしかるべき道具ハ].

Kara-no-chaire [唐の茶入] means a chaire that was imported from the continent (kara [唐] means Tang China, though none of the chaire were made before the Southern Sung period, and most long afterward; the word kara, though more commonly when it was written phonetically, was also used to mean Korea in pre-modern times).

Shikarubeki-dōgu [然るべき道具]: shikarubeki [然るべき] means proper, appropriate.

This refers to objects that were “real” utensils, on account of their pedigree and history of transmission*. Comprehending this statement on a “gut level” depends on an attitude that we -- surrounded by imitations (while the originals are almost unknown, and certainly unapproachable; not a part of our reality or experience) -- are not really able to assume. ___________ *In contrast to things that the host found (or made) by himself.

⁷Urushi-tsugi shite [うるしつぎしても].

Urushi-tsugi [漆繼ぎ] means something like “repaired with lacquer.” Urushi-tsugi suru [漆継ぎする] means “to stick something together with lacquer.”

In the period when Nambō Sōkei wrote down these entries, there was no such thing as kin-tsugi [金継ぎ], where the lacquer-repair is sprinkled with gold powder as it is drying. In his time, the person undertaking the repair work usually tried very hard to approximate the original color of the piece as closely as possible, so that the damage would be (almost) undetectable. Which did not mean that people tried to pass such things off as being in perfect condition: famous utensils were known, as was any damage that befell them; the purpose was to make them usable again, with as little distraction* and as possible.

Between Sōkei's day and the appearance of kin-tsugi in the Edo period, there was a time when such repair work was done in a more perfunctory manner, using ordinary black lacquer. Here the idea was simply to mend the damage, without bothering to try to obscure it, let alone enhance it (by adding gold). This was the most wabi sort of repair†. ___________ *People worried that the piece would come apart while they were using it, which unsettled the guests as well as the host. This is why the effort was made to efface the damage to the extent that it did not catch the attention of the conscious mind.

†The vertical cracks on the front side of the Kanamori ido (shown above, in the text of the entry) were repaired in this way.

This is possible to do because lacquer -- unlike most paints -- does not change its volume (through evaporation of the solvent) as it dries. Thus the dried lacquer occupies precisely the same area as it did when it was wet, and it is this that allows it to form a water-tight seal.

⁸Dōgu no tori-awase to mōsu ha [道具ノ取合ト申スハ].

Tori-awase [取り合わせ] means the way to combine the utensils together to produce a pleasing effect.

The sudden shift from using hiragana to using katakana for the remainder of this entry (which is why I inserted the dashed line, to separate the text of the first part of this entry from this) suggests that this was originally a separate topic that Jitsuzan either conflated with the text (on using damaged and repaired utensils) that went before, or that was inserted into this place (by someone else), with the intention of introducing certain ideas that seem to be foreign to the period in which Nambō Sōkei wrote these memoranda -- but closely connected with early Edo sensibilities (or, perhaps, attitudes that chajin were being advised to adopt during that period). The rule that is being laid out -- and, even more, the example that is used to illustrate that rule -- is an oddity, a non sequitur not only to what has gone before (in this entry), but also to the kinds of teachings expounded more generally in the Nampō Roku.

⁹Gotoshi kokoroe-beshi [如此心得べし].

Gotoshi [如此 = 如し] means like, as if, the same as, in the same way.

Kokoroe [心得] means to know, understand. -Beshi [べし] means should (do something).

Prior to Rikyū, people involved with chanoyu tended to feel that all of the utensils used during a given chakai should be of similar quality (all costly antiques, or all new), and that the host should always make an effort to use the best utensils that he could afford*. (And many modern schools also hold this to be true even today -- a legacy of the damnatio memoriae that was imposed on Rikyū following his seppuku.) People of means amassed a modest collection of expensive utensils†, while the hermits and recluses who pursued chanoyu as a method of Zen training used worthless things that they discovered here and there.

But what this passage is advocating is that the host not be afraid to combine a newly made piece with an estimable and renowned utensil -- not to contrast their values, but because they combine in a pleasing way that is appropriate to the setting and circumstances of the gathering. In other words, be content and use the things you own, rather than covet objects that are beyond your means. ___________ *Since only one representative example of each of the necessary utensils was all that was required.

†Because the “goal” was always to use the finest utensils that the host could afford, people tended to continually upgrade their collection, replacing their former treasures with new ones (while passing on the old pieces to other people whose collections were yet at a lower level).

A comment should be made regarding Ashikaga Yoshimasa and his huge collection of cha-dōgu. Prior to the destruction of his storehouse -- which was apparently a political statement, rather than one motivated by avarice -- Yoshimasa had access to a great collection of largely imported pieces of art. However, these were not his personal possessions. Rather, the collection represented the tribute that had been paid to the Ashikaga family over the years (though this “tribute” was called by different names, depending on the circumstances under which the object had been gifted to the government), and he had access to it simply because he was the shōgun (and then the de facto regent during the rule of his immature successor). The dōbō [同朋], who appear to have been descended from functionaries in the Koryeo court, were employed primarily to sort through the contents of the official storehouses, appraising the worth (or lack whereof) of each object stored (since there appear to have been almost as many worthless pieces in storage as there were authentic treasures). Noticing that certain of these objects were suitable for use in chanoyu, these things were brought to Yoshimasa’s attention because he had shown an interest in chanoyu, and the dōbō Nōami then instructed Yoshimasa in their use.

Thus, in a sense, this was all an experiment in seeing how many variations on the theme of chanoyu were possible with the objects found in the storehouses, rather than an exercise in collecting and flaunting his wealth.

¹⁰Imada mono-goto kekkai ari-shida ni [イマダ物ゴト結構ニアリシダニ].

Imada [未だ] means as yet, still, only.

Mono-goto [物事] means things, everything (i.e., the arrangements and the utensils employed for chanoyu).

Kekkō [結構] means splendid, nice, wonderful, excellent.

¹¹Hizō no ido-chawan [秘蔵ノ井土茶盌].

Hizō [秘蔵] means to treasure, prize, cherish.

Ido-chawan [井土茶盌] is usually written ido-chawan [井戸茶碗] today.

While it is true that Shukō owned an ido chawan (the bowl that is now known as the Tsutsu-i-zutsu [筒井筒]), there appears to be a distinctly Edo period flavor to this story -- since Shukō most probably used his ido-chawan as a kae-chawan, as was the convention at that time*.

It is extremely difficult to sort out the stories related to these early chajin, if only because of the deliberate distortions and conflations inflicted on history by Kanamori Sōwa. It appears, however, that Shukō arrived in Japan as a refugee, and he may have had very few utensils during the first years of his life in Japan -- and likely used whatever he could at that time. But there was obviously something special about this man, suggesting that he had already established a reputation as a master of chanoyu while still on the continent, and over time, as his finances (and social position) improved, he began to acquire utensils that were more and more suitable.

Ido-chawan -- bowls with a high foot -- were (originally) made to be used (in Korea) by the lower classes, when making offerings to the dead, or during the indigenous Ancestor Worship ceremonies. So placing such a bowl in a cloth bag† and handling it formally on such an occasion certainly would have been appropriate (even if it would also indicate -- if the ido-chawan was truly the only bowl that he used -- that Shukō was of a somewhat lower social class than is generally assumed). But it is the apparent surprise over this kind of handling -- which clearly originated in the mind of an Edo period commentator who was ignorant of these foreign customs -- that smacks strongly of anachronism‡.

The same can be said of the statement (see the next footnote) that Shukō regularly used a natsume with this chawan -- which also illuminates a distinctly Edo period sort of sensibility**. This all, in turn, suggests that at least part of this section of the entry is likely spurious, perhaps added (as an illustration or encouragement?) by someone intent on making a certain kind of statement, or establishing a precedent for a certain kind of behavior. It is possible that Jitsuzan did this, though it is more likely that this material was added by the same person who inserted the Kanamori Sōwa version of chanoyu history into the third entry. ___________ *The kae-chawan was not usually used to serve tea. The exception to this rule, however, being when a nobleman-guest was accompanied by attendants, and he asked the host to serve them tea as well. In the early days, since tea was exceptionally rare and precious (so the host would usually grind only enough to serve the single guest -- this is why the tiny ko-tsubo chaire were preferred as the tea containers at that time), “serving them tea” usually meant that the tea remaining in the chawan after the nobleman had drunk (the cha-no-ato [茶の跡]) was diluted with some more hot water, and this koicha-hot water mixture was then poured into the kae-chawan, and offered to the attendants (who shared the bowl of usucha by passing the kae-chawan around among themselves).

It seems that the occasion when Shukō offered the guests tea in his ido-chawan took place shortly after his arrival in Japan, apparently while performing a memorial service for his teacher -- who had either been killed during the persecution of the Amidaists in Korea beginning in the second half of the fifteenth century (which precipitated Shukō’s own exodus from his homeland), or perhaps had lost his life during the dangerous voyage of escape to the Korean expatriate communities (Sakai and Hakata) in Japan.

In fact, if Shukō owned both a temmoku-chawan and an ido-chawan on the occasion of that famous memorial service (as seems likely -- if he truly did not have a temmoku, then it is difficult to imagine that he would have gained the respect of his contemporaries for his practice of chanoyu), it is probable that he prepared the tea and made the offering using his temmoku-chawan. And then, after taking the temmoku down from the altar, a little hot water would have been added to the temmoku and the koicha-hot water mix was then poured into the ido-chawan, and the ido-chawan containing something resembling thin usucha was then passed around for the (two or three) guests, as well as the host, to share. This is how the nobleman-shōkyaku’s attendants were usually served -- and doing so on this occasion would mean that the deceased master was the true guest, while all those present were merely his attendants (an especially apt way of viewing things: in a similar vein, passing the chawan around after making the offering, so that each person present could drink a little of the tea -- as a sort of way to come into communion with the deceased -- would have been similar to the practice of drinking of some of the shira-zake [白酒] that has been offered to the family’s Ancestral Spirits, a custom that persists in modern-day Korea).

†In the early days, utensils did not have boxes (a few of the early karamono chaire had ivory or lacquered wooden hikiya [挽家], but this was by and large the exception rather than the rule). Boxes first appeared in the late sixteenth or early seventeenth centuries, for chaire (the earliest examples suggest that these boxes were originally made as hitotsu-iri sa-tsū-bako [一入茶通箱], boxes for a single container of gift tea; and, when the boxes were of high quality, they were later reused by the host as storage containers for his own chaire).

Traditionally, treasured utensils were provided with cloth bags, to keep them reasonably dust free when not in use. This practice began to fall out of favor during Rikyū’s period of influence, since he disliked displaying anything but the chaire in its bag (considering that the old cloth bags made the chawan dirty, from accumulated dust that fell into the bowl prior to the bag’s being removed at the beginning of the temae). Thus, when speaking of Shukō’s period, it is hardly surprising (and certainly not exceptional) that his ido-chawan was provided with a cloth bag -- even if this struck the Edo period reader as being unusual.

‡If Shukō used his ido-chawan to prepare tea (because he did not own a temmoku-chawan at that time), it was most likely done only until he had the means to acquire a temmoku, since he is eventually recorded as having served tea to other people using a temmoku-chawan on a dai on ordinary occasions. (This temmoku-chawan is often shown resting on a Chinese tsui-koku temmoku-dai [堆黒天目臺] in modern publications, but this is anachronistic since this temmoku-dai seems to have come to Japan in the Edo period. Shukō would have used a plain black Chinese dai, most likely one of the 36 meibutsu kazu-no-dai [数の臺], though the specific dai has apparently not been identified by scholars.)

It should be pointed out that, following the dissolution of the Koryeo court, chanoyu began to spread out among the different ranks of Korean society, and it was at this time that the foundations for the different kinds of practice (including the thread that we would identify as wabi no chanoyu -- which rejected the use of the temmoku in favor of locally made bowls that were not placed on a dai) began to appear.

What we can say with reasonable confidence is that Shukō lived in Japan for between 30 and 40 years, following his arrival from the continent (which seems to have been during the 1460s), and that he practiced chanoyu for that whole time; that he owned both a temmoku chawan and an ido-chawan (both of which are shown above), as well as a second large chawan (known as the Shukō chawan -- it was destroyed in the fire that consumed the Honno-ji following Nobunaga’s seppuku); and that, according to the story (which has been circulated since the early sixteenth century -- and possibly even earlier, during Shukō’s own lifetime), on one occasion he passed around the ido-chawan for the guests to share (which was significant since it was the actual guests who drank from the bowl, not their lower-ranked attendants). How these points have been interpreted after the fact, then, depends on who is doing the interpreting -- and his reasons for wanting to do so.

◎ Above is a photograph of Uesugi Kenshin’s [上杉謙信; 1530 ~ 1578] collection of tea utensils, which he kept in the lacquered box shown behind the other pieces. Kenshin was a daimyō, and one of Jōō’s chief disciples. He also seems to have been a follower of the Ikkō Shū [一向宗], the Amidaist Sect of Buddhism closely connected with the early chajin (and from the teachings of which much of the early philosophy of chanoyu was derived). Kenshin retired around 1553, and spent the remainder of his life practicing chanoyu and writing a commentary on Jōō’s Chanoyu Sanbyak’ka Jō [茶湯三百箇條] (the Three Hundred Lines of Chanoyu). What is important about this photo is that, with the exception of his kama and mizusashi, it shows the entire utensil collection of a man seriously devoted to the practice of chanoyu in the middle of the sixteenth century. The reader is asked to take note of the two ordinary chawan (both of Seto ware, the smaller one brown, and the other white), and how shallow they are. Thus Jōō spoke of the ido-chawan as being “deep” in his collection of the Hundred Poems of Chanoyu. (The objects shown in front of the carrying box are, from left to right, a smaller brown Seto chawan [瀬戸天目茶碗] -- “Seto temmoku” referring to the glaze, not the shape or how the chawan was used --, a chasen [茶筅], an ivory chashaku [象牙茶杓], a Seto kake-hanaire [瀬戸掛花入], a larger white Seto chawan [白瀬戸茶碗], a Chinese yu-teki temmoku [油滴天目], a shin-nakatsugi [眞中次], a bronze oki-hanaire [唐金置き花入], a maki-e temmoku-dai [蒔絵天目臺] -- probably of Japanese make --, and the cloth bag for the nakatsugi.)

**This section of this entry clearly deals with the idea of tori-awase, but the concept of tori-awase (as the word is used here) did not begin to appear until near the end of Rikyū’s lifetime (specifically, after he entered Hideyoshi’s household), as a consequence of the concatenation of the very recent idea (originated, many say, by Furuta Sōshitsu) of producing utensils specifically for use in chanoyu, coupled with Rikyū’s sudden access to Hideyoshi’s large collection of tea utensils (which he was encouraged by Hideyoshi to use for various -- often political -- reasons: this is why I included the photo of Uesugi Kenshin’s collection of tea utensils above, since these are the things that he used every time he served tea, with the use of the temmoku being linked to the rank of the guests, while the two ordinary bowls allowed him to employ kasane-chawan if there were many people to serve). Only then, when a large number of things of different types suddenly were available to the host at the same time, and (outside of Rikyū’s personal situation) for a reasonable cost (pieces of pottery were generally sold based on size at this time, and since most tea things are small, their prices -- at the outset -- were very low), could people begin to acquire several examples of each of the required utensils, and so begin to pick and choose -- and then devise “rules” governing what was suitable on different occasions, according to the weather and the guests being entertained.

In Shukō’s day, people assembled a single set of utensils, which contained one of each of the necessary things, so the idea of “tori-awase” (if they even used a name for the concept) could only guided their purchases; it was not a thought process that was employed when deciding which utensils to use when serving tea to people on any given occasion (if you have only one of each of the necessary utensils, then that is what you use). And this remained the usual state of things well into the sixteenth century.

When Shukō used a shin-nakatsugi or a recently-made chaire -- or a large karamono katatsuki or a precious ko-tsubo -- he did so because those were the only utensils he owned at that time. And as his finances improved (and as more and more of his contemporaries died without leaving heirs who were interested in practicing chanoyu, resulting in their collection of utensils being put up for sale), he was able to acquire successively better things. But as these new utensils entered his collection, the old things were given away or sold, rather than hoarded.

¹²Temmoku dōzen ni ashiwaruru ni ha [天目同前ニアシラハルヽニハ].

There is an odd feeling in the narrative here. Ido-chawan were certainly “inferior” to the temmoku bowls, but they were really not competitors for the same purpose in the system. Originally, while the temmoku (as “small chawan”) were used to prepare and serve the tea, the ido bowls were used as kae-chawan (the “large” chawan in which the chakin and chasen were carried into the room, and in which the chasen was cleaned at the end of the temae). Their functions were not interchangeable*.

Asserting that Shukō handled his the ido-chawan like a temmoku seems to be a misunderstanding of what Shukō actually did -- as discussed in sub-note “*” under the previous footnote.

Sometime between Shukō’s death and Jōō’s period a sort of wabi transformation did begin to occur†, where the pieces that had been neglected (for example, the bowls that had been used as kae-chawan) began to be used as main utensils, while the subsidiary positions were filled by newly-made pieces. But it is very unlikely that the change occurred any earlier than the early to middle sixteenth century. ___________ *Even when, as occasionally happened, the ido-chawan was used to serve tea, it was tea that was to be offered to the nobleman-guest’s attendants that was put into the ido-chawan -- people whose rank put them below consideration of the use of a temmoku -- never to the nobleman himself.

†Perhaps as the disparate threads of gokushin practice and wabi no chanoyu began to sort themselves out.

¹³Kanarazu natsume ・ ima-yaki nado no chaire [カナラズナツメ・今燒ナドノ茶入].

Kanarazu [必ず] means constantly, always.

However, there are several major difficulties with the narrative here:

- the natsume is said to have been created by Jōō (Rikyū states this several times in his writings), while Shukō is credited with creating the shin-nakatsugi, thus Shuko could not have used a natsume (Jōō was born the year that Shukō died); and,

- there were no such things as “ima-yaki chaire” -- in the sense of the word as it was used by Rikyū and Sōkei -- in Shukō’s day.

During Shukō’s lifetime (he died in 1502), chaire were not being made commercially -- there were no tea utensil shops in the marketplace comparable to what we know today (these kinds of firms came into existence in the Edo period). Potters traditionally focused on making things used in daily life, and starting to make pieces specifically for use in chanoyu (that were sold in the pottery market) only during the last couple of decades of Rikyū’s lifetime.

In the fifteenth century, if someone wanted to buy a newly made chaire, it had to be specially ordered from the potter (usually through direct consultation with the potter, with the purchaser explaining the details of the size and shape of the piece that he wanted); and while the cost might not have been very high (since the prices seem to have been based on the amount of space that each pot took up in the kiln), getting one required considerable effort (and probably a wait of up to a year or more, since most kilns were only fired at certain times of the year). People used contemporary chaire not because they were inexpensive alternatives to the imported pieces, but because that was all they could get (since trade with the continent had come to a stop in the fifteenth century, and most of the expatriate chajin -- who constituted the vast majority of practitioners in that period -- had escaped from the continent without the luxury of bringing their utensil collection, or their money, with them). Because these chaire were ordered by experienced chajin, the early Japanese-made pieces were similar enough with the continental originals that they were considered to be essentially their equals (such made-on-demand chaire had first appeared in Korea early in the fifteenth century) -- according to Rikyū -- and were to be handled in the same manner. Thus the condescension toward locally produced pieces expressed in this entry is anachronistic.

In Rikyū’s day, newly fired chawan were viewed in something resembling this manner because they were made to order, and easy to obtain (some of this has to do with the fact that when chawan became dirty, they were replaced: this had been the practice since antiquity, and the reason why chawan were always inferior to chaire -- which, like the cha-tsubo, were considered to improve the longer they were used). But newly made chaire were still acceptable, and perfectly suitable for use in chanoyu, though they were not held in the esteem accorded the earlier pieces (whether imported from the continent or made in Japan).

Using natsume as a general word for all lacquered tea containers (assuming that whomever wrote this knew that Shukō was actually associated with the shin-nakatsugi, rather than the natsume) was another convention that arose during the Edo period.

¹⁴Dasare-shi to nari [出サレシトナリ].

Dasare-suru [出されする] means to bring something out (for the first time), to start doing something.

In other words, while his contemporaries were still restricting themselves to elegant arrangements, Shukō started doing things differently -- by using distinctly wabi utensils during his service of tea.

The way this is written suggests a total ignorance with the actual historical development of wabi-no-chanoyu, and it is hard to accept that Nambō Sōkei would have been guilty of such anachronistic sentiments.

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