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Nampō Roku, Book 5 (27): Arrangement of the Sasa-mimi and a Taikai at the Same Time, Together with One Bowl.

27) Sasa-mimi ・ taikai ni shu ・ ichi wan kazari [サヽ耳・大海二種・一碗飾]¹.

[The writing reads: ni no (二ノ)²; ichi no (一ノ)³; kono chaire nurimono yoshi to Dōchin mōshi-keru nari, taikai in te mo tateru, kō-buri no taikai yoshi (コノ茶入ヌリモノヨシト道陳申ケル也、大海ニテモ立ル、小フリノ大海ヨシ)⁴.]

The kaki-ire [書入]⁵:

① With respect to the sasa-mimi, a small tray should be brought out and [it should be] stood on that⁶. When things are as [shown in the sketch], even though it seems that [the sasa-mimi] is inferior to the lacquered [tea container] that is on the nagabon, this is not so⁷.

As a substitute for the tray, the fukuro is placed down [as a base for the sasa-mimi], so that [the sasa-mimi] can be carefully aligned with the kane⁸. Above all, before long the tray will be brought out, and [the sasa-mimi will be] stood [on it]. This is [the way it is] appreciated⁹.

② In an ordinary temae, when there is no small tray for the sasa-mimi, it must still be handled as a karamono¹⁰. In this case, if there is a nagabon, the sasa-mimi should certainly be handled on the nagabon¹¹.

_________________________

¹Sasa-mimi ・ taikai ni shu ・ ichi wan kazari [サヽ耳・大海二種・一碗飾].

“The sasa-mimi, [and] a taikai, two utensils, displayed [together] with one bowl.”

A sasa-mimi [笹耳] is a rather etiolated container, originally made as a container for thick liquids (such as perfumed hair pomade)*. The continental examples were usually 2-sun 2-bu in diameter at their widest point. The little ears (which in Korean examples were often flattened into shapes resembling the leaves of bamboo-grass, hence the name) were originally used to secure the cap in place by threading a piece of twine through the ears and crossing it over the cap.

The nagabon used for this arrangement is an “ordinary” nagabon†. ___________ *The round swelling at the neck allows such liquids to be poured out without “glugging.”

†The face of the tsune-no-nagabon [常の長盆] measured 1-shaku 3-sun by 8-sun 2-bu; measured across the rim, it was 1-shaku 5-sun 2-bu by 1-shaku 4-bu.

The temae employed during the service of koicha is as described in the post entitled Nampō Roku, Book 5 (12): the Display of Two [Utensils] on the Nagabon. The URL for that post is:

https://chanoyu-to-wa.tumblr.com/post/619937993658073088/namp%C5%8D-roku-book-5-12-the-display-of-two

²Ni no [二ノ].

“Second.”

The sasa-mimi is used to serve usucha* after koicha has been served from the other chaire.

According to Tanaka Senshō, the sasa-mimi was the first tea container to be displayed without its shifuku†. ___________ *This is why it is not tied in its shifuku.

†In the early days, even the tea that would be served as usucha was displayed in a chaire that was tied in its shifuku. This is why Shukō made a short himo for the katatsuki, which were typically used as usucha-ire, while the ko-tsubo, which contained the matcha that would be served as koicha, was tied with a long himo. Only later, when the katatsuki came to be used as a koicha-ire, was the shin-nakatsugi [眞中次] (the corresponding usucha-ire) displayed without a shifuku.

³Ichi no [一ノ].

“First.”

The tea in the chaire that is resting on the nagabon is served first -- as koicha (this is why it is tied in a shifuku).

⁴Kono chaire nurimono yoshi to Dōchin mōshi-keru nari, taikai in te mo tateru, kō-buri no taikai yoshi [コノ茶入ヌリモノヨシト道陳申ケル也、大海ニテモ立ル、小フリノ大海ヨシ].

“Dōchin stated that it is acceptable for this chaire to be a lacquered piece, but a taikai can also be stood [on the nagabon]. A small-sized taikai is better.”

The point is that the tea container that will be used for koicha in this temae be inferior to the sasa-mimi (since it is the featured utensils in this arrangement).

Shukō is said to have been the first person to use a lacquered container (originally, the lacquered hiki-ya [挽家] made as a storage box for a ko-tsubo or katatsuki) as a chaire, though the shin-nakatsugi [眞中次] was specially made as a tea container. Thus, by Dōchin’s day, lacquered chaire were a well-established fact of life for the more wabi-chajin, and thus made a suitable contrast with the imported sasa-mimi.

The taikai was considered the “bridge” between the ko-tsubo and the katatsuki (and, according to the Chanoyu Sanbyak’ka Jō [茶湯三百箇條], it may be used as if it were either -- the tea may be scooped out as when using a katatsuki with a wide mouth, and it may also be pulled out with the side of the chashaku as is done when serving tea from a ko-tsubo with a narrow mouth). While the general taikai that were used on the o-chanoyu were between 2-sun 9-bu and 3-sun 2-bu in diameter, a ko-buri taikai [小振り大海] (a “small taikai”) measured 2-sun 5-bu in diameter (which is the same as a large katatsuki). A taikai of this size would consequently accord with the kane-wari of the tsune-no-nagabon just as the katatsuki did. ___________ *See the post entitled Nampō Roku, Book 5 (12): the Display of Two [Utensils] on the Nagabon. The URL is given above, under footnote 1.

⁵The complete Japanese texts of the two kaki-ire read:

① Sasa-mimi ha, ko-bon hakobite tatsu-beshi, kaku no gotoki nareba, bon naka no nuri-mono yori otori-taru-yō nare domo, sa ni arazu, bon no kawari ni fukuro wo shiki, kane wo yoku kazari, koto ni yagate bon hakobite tatsuru, shōgan ari

[サヽ耳ハ、小盆ハコヒテ立ヘシ、如此ナレハ、盆中ノヌリモノヨリヲトリタルヤウナレトモ、サニアラズ、盆ノ代ニ袋ヲシキ、カネヲヨクカサリ、コトニヤカテ盆ハコヒテ立ル、賞玩アリ].

② Tsune no temae ni sasa-mimi ko-bon nashi ni, karamono-ashirai mo ari, sore-tote mo nagabon naraba, kanarazu nagabon no ue ni te atsukau-beshi

[常ノ手前ニサヽ耳小盆ナシニ、カラ物アシライモアリ、ソレトテモ長盆ナラハ、カナラス長盆ノ上ニテアツカウヘシ].

⁶Sasa-mimi ha, ko-bon hakobite tatsu-beshi [サヽ耳ハ、小盆ハコヒテ立ヘシ].

“With respect to the sasa-mimi, a small tray should be brought out and [it should be] stood [on the tray].”

According to this, the sasa-mimi should never be placed on the mat. It should always be handled on a tray. Because the sasa-mimi was usually 2-sun 2-bu in diameter, the small tray (in Jōō’s day) would have been 8-sun 2-bu across. This is why the sasa-mimi is displayed on top of its shifuku, rather than resting on the tray when it is displayed on the daisu.

⁷Kaku no gotoki nareba, bon naka no nuri-mono yori otori-taru-yō nare domo, sa ni arazu [如此ナレハ、盆中ノヌリモノヨリヲトリタルヤウナレトモ、サニアラズ].

“When things are like this [in other words, as shown in the sketch], while it might seem as if [the sasa-mimi] is inferior to the lacquered [tea container] that is [resting] on the tray, this is not so.”

Otori-taru yō [劣りたるよう]: otoru [ 劣る] means to be inferior (to something else), to compare unfavorably with (something else); otori-taru yo [劣りたるよう] means the case where [the sasa-mimi] seems to be inferior [to the lacquered tea container] -- because while the lacquered tea container is displayed on the nagabon, the sasa-mimi is resting on the ten-ita (with only its shifuku placed beneath it -- which the casual observer might assume is only there so that the sasa-mimi will not scratch the daisu).

Sa ni arazu [然に非ず] means “not so;” “that is not the case.”

⁸Bon no kawari ni fukuro wo shiki, kane wo yoku kazari [盆ノ代ニ袋ヲシキ、カネヲヨクカサリ].

“Instead of the tray, the fukuro is placed down; and [the sasa-mimi] is carefully displayed on the kane.”

In other words, the fukuro is taking the place of the tray. This was probably because, in Jōō’s day, the “small tray” was so large that it would make arranging the sasa-mimi on the ten-ita difficult (in order to center the sasa-mimi on its kane*, the right rim of its tray would be too close to the right edge of the ten-ita†). By eliminating the tray, the proper alignment of the sasa-mimi with its kane can be assured, without any sort of conflict. ___________ *Because of the nagabon, and the fact that the dai-temmoku and natsume (or ko-buri taikai) must both be associated with their kane, the only kane available to the sasa-mimi is the end-most kane on the right.

†In general, objects arranged on the ten-ita must be 2-sun from the edge. There are exceptions (most notably, the habōki and the hishaku), but in the case of most trays, chaire, chawan, and things of that sort, this rule should be observed.

⁹Koto ni yagate bon hakobite tatsuru, shōgan ari [コトニヤカテ盆ハコヒテ立ル、賞玩アリ].

“Before long the tray will be carried out and [the sasa-mimi will be] stood [on it]. This is appreciating [the sasa-mimi].”

Yagate [軈て] means “presently,” “directly,” “before long.”

Standing the sasa-mimi on the tray -- handling it on the tray -- is the way that the host does it honor. This is the meaning of shōgan [賞玩].

¹⁰Tsune no temae ni sasa-mimi ko-bon nashi ni, karamono-ashirai mo ari [常ノ手前ニサヽ耳小盆ナシニ、カラ物アシライモアリ].

“In an ordinary temae when the sasa-mimi does not have a tray, it must still be handled as a karamono.”

“In an ordinary temae” means a temae where only the sasa-mimi is being used to serve tea.

Handling the sasa-mimi on a tray is an element of the karamono-temae. Nevertheless, the tray must be paired to the sasa-mimi, meaning that it must be 3-sun larger than the chaire on all four sides (according to Jōō’s teachings). If the host cannot find a tray that matches the dimensions of the chaire, then it has to be used without a small tray -- if the host wants to use it to serve tea.

Ko-bon nashi [小盆無し] means that a (suitable) small tray does not exist.

Karamono-ashirai mo ari [カラ物あしらいも有り] means that the handling (suitable for) a karamono must still be observed -- even if the host does not have a suitable tray.

¹¹Sore-tote mo nagabon naraba, kanarazu nagabon no ue ni te atsukau-beshi [ソレトテモ長盆ナラハ、カナラス長盆ノ上ニテアツカウヘシ].

“That being the case, if [the host] has a nagabon, absolutely [the sasa-mimi] should be handled upon the nagabon.”

Unlike the small tray (which had to be exactly matched to the chaire), the nagabon was always a standard size. Furthermore, since the time of Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the nagabon had been made in Japan. In Jōō’s day (and before), when the daisu was always used for chanoyu on every occasion, it was usual for people to use this kind of nagabon when serving tea. Consequently, an ordinary nagabon was probably already present in the host’s collection of utensils -- no matter how small his collection may have been.

Therefore, if the host has been unable to find a suitable small tray, he can always display the sasa-mimi on a nagabon (together with the dai-temmoku), and perform the temae as discussed in the post entitled Nampō Roku, Book 5 (14): the Usual Way to Display Three Utensils on the Nagabon -- which discusses these several possibilities.

The URL for that post is:

https://chanoyu-to-wa.tumblr.com/post/620843957941944320/namp%C5%8D-roku-book-5-14-the-usual-way-to-display

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◎ Analysis of the Arrangement.

Shibayama Fugen states that the sasa-mimi should be arranged as a mine-suri [峰摺り] on the end-most kane on the right side of the ten-ita*. The dai-temmoku and ko-buri taikai (or, according to Kitamuki Dōchin, a lacquered container such as a shin-nakatsugi or large natsume†) should overlap their respective kane by one-third, with the nagabon centered beneath them, as usual. Because the temmoku chawan is enclosed in its shifuku at the beginning of the temae, this means that a kae-chawan will have to be used to bring the chakin, chasen, and the chashaku out from the katte‡.

During the service of koicha, the sasa-mimi remains on the ten-ita, with the nagabon oriented so that its right rim right is 6-me from the heri (when a taikai is being used as the koicha-ire), as shown below.

After the service of koicha is finished, the host would return to the katte** to bring out the ko-bon for the sasa-mimi. And, irrespective of how the nagabon was oriented during the service of koicha, during the second part of the temae (when the sasa-mimi is used), the nagabon must be oriented so that it extends toward the left†† -- otherwise there will not be sufficient room for the small tray.

The chaire-bon should be 5-bu (equivalent to 1-me) away from the front of the daisu, and 3-me from the heri‡‡.

While I have shown a round tray in the sketch, a square tray could also be used (and, indeed, would probably have been preferred by Jōō and Rikyū). The orientation of the chaire-bon and the other utensils would remain the same in either case.

One important point that has not been mentioned here is that the host should always prepare two chakin when two different kinds of tea will be served during the same temae. In this case (since only one chawan will be used -- the dai-temmoku), the two chakin should be laid one on top of the other, and then folded together. The doubled thickness helps to prevent the first variety of tea from seeping through so that it contaminates both pieces of cloth***. ___________ *Technically speaking, since the end-most kane is a simple line, an object centered on this kane is, in effect, a mine-suri [峰摺り] -- though the term is correctly used only in relation to the three central kane, since it is only in those cases (because the kane are 3-bu wide, based on the folds of the shiki-shi [敷き紙]) that there is a possibility of an object resting on the kane without its being exactly centered on it. This is why the kaki-ire does not state that the sasa-mimi is displayed as a mine-suri, but rather says that it must be very carefully aligned with the kane (kane wo yoku kazari [カネヲヨクカサリ]).

The system of kane-wari is based on the shiki-shi, but without a knowledge of the shiki-shi (as has been the case with all of the scholars who have produced commentaries on the Nampō Roku), the commentators always have difficulty understanding and expressing these concepts (since they usually are invariably working from Rikyū’s system of kane, where the kane are all reduced to simple lines). The mine-suri exists only in connection with the middle three kane, because only in those cases is there a possibility of visual alignment without the object being absolutely centered on the kane. With respect to the end-most kane, the object is either aligned, or it is not.

†The ko-buri taikai, shin-nakatsugi, and large natsume were all 2-sun 5-bu in diameter (the same as the large katatsuki). Thus, they could be used interchangeably for a temae such as this. When a tea container of this sort is used, it would be appropriate for the nagabon to be oriented toward the left (as shown below), so it is 9-me from the heri. The tea container, then, would be placed directly on the mat, which would emphasize the higher ranking of the sasa-mimi. Because the nagabon can now remain in the same position until the end of the temae, this is probably why Dōchin preferred to use a lacquered container for koicha.

But while Dōchin seems to have favored a lacquered tea container for the koicha service, it appears (from the title of this entry) that the ko-buri taikai was originally the preferred tea container (a taikai -- virtually all of which were imported from the continent -- would have to be handled on the nagabon, meaning that the nagabon would have to extend toward the right during the service of koicha, and then be reoriented toward the left so there would be room for the chaire-bon that would be brought out for the sasa-mimi at the beginning of the service of usucha).

‡For this reason, some scholars suggest that the kae-chawan should be used for the service of usucha (with the nagabon, supporting the dai-temmoku and ko-buri taikai lifted up to the ten-ita during the service of usucha). Kanshū oshō-sama, however, seemed to prefer that the second kind of tea also be served in the temmoku -- because, at least according to the original idea of this kind of service, when a dai-temmoku is used, this indicated that the shōkyaku was a nobleman, and so, even though it is served as usucha, the fact that there is a second variety of tea indicates that the nobleman should be served with the same degree of formality as when he was offered usucha. (And, if the temmoku was something like a yō-hen temmoku [曜變天目], it would seem especially appropriate to do so, since the beautiful iridescent markings are primarily found on the inside of the bowl, and so would have been obscured by the koicha: using the bowl again to serve usucha would allow the guest to appreciate the beauty of this unique kind of bowl fully -- which is something that even a nobleman would be likely to enjoy.)

If, however, the temae is being performed among equals -- as a way to appreciate the utensils -- then the argument could be made that it would be appropriate to use the kae-chawan when serving usucha.

It is in light of these kinds of decisions that it was generally felt that these daisu-temae were best performed (or at least orchestrated) by a mature chajin -- since someone who lacked experience might not consider all of the possibilities.

**He would probably take the taikai back to the katte at this time.

The temae itself would resemble the sa-tsū-bako temae [茶通箱手前], in that the temmoku would have to be rinsed out five times (to remove every trace of the koicha), as Tanaka Senshō points out in his commentary; and while this was taking place, the taikai would probably have been passed around for haiken. According to Rikyū’s writings, at this time the guests would also have eaten a sweet (to clean their palates of the taste of the koicha), and then gone out to rinse their hands and mouths. But since the chawan is a dai-temmoku, and since the host would have to go to the katte to fetch the chaire-bon, the whole procedure would have taken significantly longer than it does in the sa-tsū-bako temae, so the time needed by the host, and by the guests, would have balanced out, meaning that neither would have to wait for the other.

††The nagabon is placed 9-me from the left here. However, when the guests are seated on the host’s right (this is the way the sketches are formatted in the Nampō Roku), there is a half-me to the right of the left heri; and the left rim of the tray also ends in the middle of the me. Thus, visually, there will be a half me, eight full me, and then the half me to the right of the heri, all to the left of the nagabon -- in this kind of setting. (In the original setting, where the guests are seated on the host’s left, the tray is 9 full me from the left heri.)

‡‡When the system of kane-wari based on the shiki-shi is being used. In Rikyū’s system, the chaire-bon should be 4-me from the heri -- and that is how most of the modern schools teach this temae.

***Some early chajin argued that between the two damp chakin, a third, dry, chakin should be inserted, for extra insurance -- though this was more often done when two kinds of koicha would be served during the same temae. It seems that the chakin in the early period were much thinner than nowadays, and so made this kind of precaution necessary.

The “shin-chakin” used by several of the modern schools for their daisu temae (when a dai-temmoku is being used), which is made by doubling the length of the cloth, so that the resulting chakin is a 1-shaku square, was inspired by this practice (since this kind of chakin appeared only after their iemoto began studying the Nampō Roku). In the early days, however, this idea would have been frowned upon (even though the result is actually the same), because it was believed that the fact that the two chakin were separate pieces helped to prevent the moisture contaminated with the taste of the first kind of tea from infiltrating into the second chakin. This is a good example of how chajin think.

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