Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 2, No. 10 -- February 2004

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Seasonal notes: February
-- Tea Tidbits: From the Namporoku (1)



*****

Class schedule:

Classes will be held as usual throughout the month of February. If
you're coming to class and weren't there to put your name on the sign-up
sheet, please contact either Taeko-sensei or Morgan beforehand to let
her know you're coming.


*****

Seasonal notes: February

Believe it or not, February is the beginning of spring in the tea
calendar -- looking forward to the coming warmth rather than the actual
achieving of it. In tea, there are two ways to go: embracing the cold
and the snow outside, or using images of spring to remind your guests
that it's just around the corner.

If you go the cold route, the imagery is not quite the depths of winter
that you had in December and January; rather, it's the image of cold
that lingers despite the growing warmth. Buds or blossoms encased in ice
or peeking out of the snow are a great poetic image to play around with,
as is thin ice that's on the verge of melting or a thin dusting of snow
that will melt in the bright sun.

If you choose to embrace spring, you have almost no choice but to in
some way incorporate the ultimate Japanese harbinger of spring -- the
plum blossom. Between sweets, scrolls, and poetic names for every tea
utensil conceivable, if you haven't incorporated plums into your tea by
the end of February, you just aren't trying. Birds are also a classic
sign of spring, especially the pheasant (kiji) and bush warbler
(uguisu). Spring mists are also a good image to play around with,
especially mountains partially obscured by mist, which is a very
traditional poetic image.

If you'd rather put the season out of your mind, however, there are a
couple of good options. For example, Setsubun (celebrated on the 3rd or
4th of February) was traditionally the turning point from winter to
spring, and it was celebrated with a ceremony at the Imperial Palace
when a man in a four-eyed mask chased red and green demons. Later the
custom was transformed into scattering beans and saying, "Devils out,
good fortune in." It's also customary for people to sleep with a picture
of a treasure boat under their pillows, and any of these images could be
used in scrolls or as poetic names or utensils.

On the first Horse Day in February there's a festival held at the shrine
of the fox diety, Inari. For that time you could use images of gods, or
balls, or, of course, foxes or horses.

Rikyu-ki, the memorial tea for the anniversary of Rikyu's death, is
technically February 28, although it's usually celebrated sometime in March.


Flowers for the season:

Any kind of tree or flower that blooms early in the spring is
appropriate for this time of year (even if you have to cheat a little by
bringing the cutting inside to make it bloom). Plum, obviously, is at
the top of the list, but willow and quince are also good traditional
choices. If you have any camellias blooming, those are also excellent
choices.

Some others include:

Geishun-ka -- Winter Jasmine (jasminum nudiflorum)
Niwatoko -- Japanese Elderberry (sambucus sieboldiana)
Yama-ai -- Mercury (mercurialis leiocarpa)
Mushi-kari -- Viburnum (viburnum furcatum)


*****

Tea tidbits: From the Namporoku (1)

*The Nampouroku is a detailed description of Rikyu's way of tea written
by a monk named Nambo Sokei, one of his students. Although the
authenticity of the traditions recorded there have been questioned --
the earliest copy of the manuscript dates to a hundred years after
Rikyu's death -- it remains one of the most influential documents in the
tea world. *

Memoranda of the Words of Rikyu

1. Once, when Rikyu had been speaking of chanoyu at Shuun-an, I asked,
"You often remark that, although chanoyu has its roots in [the formal
tea employing] the daisu, when considering the deepest attainment of its
spirit, nothing surpasses the informal tea held in a small room. Why
should this be so?
Rikyu responded: "Chanoyu of the small room is above all a mattero f
performing practice and attaining realization in accord with the
Buddhist path. To delight in the refined splendor of a dwelling or the
taste of delicacies belongs to worldly life. There is shelter enough
when the roof does not leak, food enough when it staves off hunger. This
is the Buddhist teaching and the fundamental meaning of chanoyu. We draw
water, gather firewood, boil the water, and make tea. We then offer it
to the Buddha, serve it to others, and drink ourselves. We arrange
flowers and burn incense. In all of this, we model ourselves after the
acts of the Buddha and the past masters. Beyond this, you must come to
your own understanding.

2. Whenever I go to have tea with Rikyu, he unfailingly brings water to
fill the stone basin (chozubachi) in a bucket and pours it himself. I
once asked the significance of this. He replied. "In the roji, the
host's first act is to bring water; the guests' first act is to use this
water to rinse their hands. This is the very foundation underlying the
use of the roji and thatched hut. It is precisely so that the person who
calls and the person called on can together wash off the stains of
worldly dust in the roji that the stone basin is placed there. In the
depths of the cold season, one draws and carries the water without
aversion to the chill; in summer heat, one does so imparting a crisp
feeling of coolness. In either case, providing this water is an act of
attentiveness to the guests.
"It is unpleasant to use the water if one has no idea when the basin was
filled. You should pour the water in before the eyes of the guests so
that is has a genuinely refreshing air. If, however, the stone basin is
next to the waiting bench, like Sogyu's, determine an appropriate time
before the guests arrive to fill the basin. When it is within the roji
or at the eaves of the entrance [to the tearoom] as is most common, the
host should bring and pour in the water after the guests have seated
themselves at the waiting bench. That is why, since the time of Joo, it
has been considered best to have the basin cut just so large that it
overflows freely with the water of one small handbucket."

3. Rikyu related the following account: "Among Juko's disciples were two
named Sochin and Sogo; it was under them that Joo studied and practiced
tea. As for my own teachers, Joo was not the only one. Noami had a page
named Ukyo. In the prime of life, he received instruction in tea from
Noami, and later, renouncing the world, resided in Sakai, where he was
known by the name of Kukai. In the same area there was a recluse named
Dochin. The two of them would often engage in genial conversation, and
it is said that Kukai transmitted the way of tea in detail to Dochin.
Further, since Dochin and Joo were particularly close friends, they
would occasionally discuss tea together.
"From the age of seventeen, when I was still called Yoshiro, I devoted
myself wholeheartedly to tea, training under Dochin. It was through
Dochin's introduction that I became a student of Joo. The tea of the
daisu and shoin room I learned for the most part from Dochin. Matters of
the small room were wholly my own invention, with detailes settled in
consultation with Joo."
The founder of Shuun-an, Gio, first practiced Zen under Master Ikkyu.
After a time, their relationship grew troubled, but through the
mediation of others he resumed his practice under Ikkyu's guidance.
Though he had been known as Shuun-an at the time, Ikkyu instructed him
to change his name, so he called himself Nambo. Later, he built this
hermitage and was known as Shuun-an, Nambo, and Gio as well. Since he
was on familiar terms with Joo, the frequently enjoyed talking of tea
together. As the second-generation resident monk, I take the name Nambo,
a recluse who practices tea only! How laughable!

***

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I just got a letter from the security department letting us know that
there's going to be a change to traffic patterns as of December 29.

The City of Philadelphia is making 20th street (the street that runs
down the big hill between Olney and Belmont) a one-way street going
northbound, which is uphill. There will no longer be parking allowed on
the southbound side, which is the side with the tennis courts.

This won't affect our parking situation or the entrance to the tea
house, which is on Belmont Ave. It'll only affect you if you come from
the north and make that turn from Olney Ave. onto 20th St. If you do,
and you need alternate directions to get to the tea house, just e-mail
me and I'll send those to you. I'll also be making the appropriate
changes to the directions on our Web site.

Sorry for the inconvience, but hopefully it won't cause too many
problems. Thanks, and take care!

Best,
Morgan

Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 2, No. 9 -- January 2004

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule (including Hatsugama!)
-- Seasonal notes: January
-- Tea Tidbits: The Year of the Monkey

*****

Hatsugama will be held Sunday, January 11 at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. (two
sittings). If you would like to come and haven't signed up yet, please
call or e-mail Morgan with your preference of time as soon as possible!

Regular classes will begin January 17 at the normal times. If you're
planning to come, please let Taeko-sensei or Morgan know. Mariko-sensei
is still not able to sit because of her back injury, but is working hard
at getting better!

*****

Seasonal notes: January

It's no surprise that the theme of this month is the New Year, and all
the celebrations that implies. Think bright, happy designs, especially
ones that revolve around the changing of the year, long life, good
fortune, and so on. No skimping on the formality -- New Year's
celebrations are no time for wabi. Writing done on or around the New
Year, including letters written then, are great for scrolls. Good images
to use are pines, cranes, fresh bamboo, plum blossoms, water buckets
(symbolizing drawing fresh water) whatever the current zodiac year is,
Mt. Fuji, or clouds/mist. Pottery items made with "ears" (little jugs on
either side) are considered representative of good fortune and are good
to use around this time. Willow branches, symbolizing merriment, are
hung in the tokonoma for New Year's celebrations.

However, we're also entering the coldest months of the year, so it's a
great opportunity to use items that suggest warmth, like Korean salt
pottery and tsutsu (tube-shaped) chawans. It's also prime time for
evening teas that encourage your guests to linger rather than go out
into the cold.

On the 10th day of January is the celebration of Ebisu, the god of
wealth. Those gatherings especially should emphasize good fortune, with
anything symbolic of Ebisu, wealth in the form of giving charity, or
rice-bags.

Around the 20th of January is Dai-kan, thought to be the coldest time of
the year. What better time to get inside and enjoy a nice, warm bowl of tea?


Flowers for the Season:

The flower of the moment is, of course, the camellia (tsubaki). You
might also be able to find some early-blooming plum blossoms or other
spring flowers, and even the buds from these plants would make a good
reminder that warmer weather is just around the corner.

Some traditional Japanese flowers are:
Ha-botan -- Wild cabbage (Brassica oleracea)
Uguisu-kagura -- Slenderstalk honeysuckle (Lonicera gracilipes)
Mizuki -- Giant Dogwood (Cornus controversa)
Sanshuyu -- Japanese Cornel Dogwood (Cornus officinalis)
Mansaku -- Japanese Witchhazel (Hamamelis japonica)
Yukiwari-so -- Sharp-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica acuta)
Iwa-kagami -- Fringe Bell (Shortia soldanelloides)
Yuki-yanagi -- Baby's Breath Spiraea (Spiraea thunbergii)


*****

Tea tidbits: 2004 -- The Year of the Monkey

In the oldest of Chinese texts, the monkey was considered a rough, crude
animal, sometimes a sinister figure that kidnapped young women. This low
opinion of monkeys changed, however, when the character of the Monkey
King Wu-kung was introduced to popular Chinese literature. This beloved
companion of a Buddhist monk was wise, optimistic, and although he could
be rash, he never gave up. This view of monkeys became attached to the
Year of the Monkey and the people born then.

The Year of the Monkey is considered a time for new ventures, new
innovations, and solutions to old problems. Monkeys are especially
associated with financial prosperity and promotions at work. For anyone
willing to take a chance, this year promises the ability to take a great
leap forward.

People born in the Year of the Monkey (anyone who will be a multiple of
12 this year) are thought to be intelligent, creative, excellent
problem-solvers, good at finances, and generally fun and easy to get
along with. However, they're also thought to be very impatient, and can
be opportunistic or quick to take advantage of others.


*****

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at http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/uls-news

You can also find back issues there.

Hello there! The Urasenke La Salle Hatsugama (New Year's tea)
celebration will be Sunday, January 11th. The time hasn't been
determined, but there will most likely be two sittings, one in the late
morning and one in the early afternoon.

If you would like to come, please let me know (you can just reply to
this e-mail or e-mail mleebeard@...), and indicate if you have
a preference for a particular time/sitting. It looks like we'll have
room for guests if you'd like to bring someone, but please let us know
as soon as possible so we can get an accurate head count.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a great New Year, and I
look forward to seeing you again in the tea room soon!

Best,
Morgan

Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 2, No. 8 -- December 2003

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Local Events
-- Seasonal notes: December
-- Tea Tidbits: The Roots of Tea -- Tea Gambling

*****

The last class before winter break will be December 13 (and we will have
class on December 6).

If you are planning to come to class and haven't signed up, please let
Taeko-sensei or Morgan know that you're coming.


*****

Local Events:

The Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia holds "conversation
clubs" on the first Tuesday and third Thursday of every month, where
Japanese and English speakers can come together and practice their
conversational skills. For more information, call (215) 790-3810 or
e-mail jasgp@....

And whatever holiday events you may be attending, have a wonderful time!

*****

Seasonal notes: December

Seasonally, no surprise, the big themes for the month are snow and ice,
and how nice it is to be inside where you don't have to deal with them.
One of the popular types of gatherings at this time of year is a yuki no
cha, a celebration of the first snowfall. The moon and the snow -- two
of the great poetic trio of snow, moon, and flower -- are good images to
play around with in a tea gathering, as is frost, branches heavy or
breaking with snow, and thin ice (representing the thin coating of ice
that forms on the tsukubai outdoors that tea people break through to get
the water). Anything with a drip or long line running down it could be
used to represent an icicle. In terms of utensils, ceramics that suggest
warmth, like shioge (Korean salt ware), are preferred, and tsutsu (tall,
cylindrical) chawans are appropriate.

A related theme that might be interesting to play around with is the
idea of hota. Hota literally refers to tree roots used for firewood in
the wintertime, but it's written with the Chinese character representing
good taste, and is associated with folkcraft. A temae using local
folk-craft dogu could be used around this time.

The other major theme of this month is the preparation for New Year's,
and bidding farewell to the old year. There are a number of formal
gatherings along that theme, including koto-hajime (the start of
preparations for the new year), seibo no kama (kettle for year-end), and
joya-gama, a bidding farewell to the old year that ideally takes place
on New Year's Eve.

The passage of time is a key theme for tea gatherings. Images to use
include arrows (for time flying like an arrow), or a calendar or item
that refers to the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac.

Mochi is also a key item around this year, firstly because it's during
the latter half of the month that people would traditionally gather to
pound mochi for New Year's celebrations, and secondly because mochi is a
traditional gift given as a thank-you around this time.

If you enjoy a good story, on the 14th of December you could gishi-sai
no cha, tea in memory of the legendary 47 ronin of Ako. As the story
goes, the lord of Ako attacked an official of the shogun's court named
Kira, and as a result was ordered to commit suicide. After his death,
his retainers became ronin (masterless samurai), and avenged their
lord's death -- and restored their honor -- by killing Kira. The samurai
became renowned as paragons of the code of bushido, the way of the warrior.

Some flowers for the season:

It's getting down to slim pickings this season, but there are a few
options...

First, bare branches with only a leaf or two can be appreciated for
their truly cold and withered aesthetic. Picking a branch with an
aesthetic shape and perhaps mixing it with a flower or two can only help.

Plum blossoms (ume or bai in Japanese) are a beautiful and poetic flower
to include in any gathering, should they happen to be blooming. If not,
there's the perennial winter favorite, the camellia, which makes an
elegant addition to the tokonoma. Or, try some other options:

Ro-bai -- Japanese allspice (Meratia praecox)
Fuyu-sakura -- Primrose (Primula sinensis)
Suisen -- Narcissus (Narcissus tazetta)
Tosa-mizuki -- Spike winter hazel (Corylopsis spicata)

*****

Tea tidbits: The Roots of Tea: Tea Gambling

At the same time that serving tea had become an austere ritual in the
Zen temples of Japan, it was taking hold among the nobility in the form
of tocha, tea gambling or tea contests.

When such competitions first developed in the 14th century, their
purpose was to distinguish honcha, "real tea," from hicha, "false tea,"
by determining where the tea came from. Although "real tea" initially
referred only to tea grown in Togano, later the source of the tea took a
back seat to the contest itself, where the real intent was simply to get
together with others and have a night's entertainment. Nobles would bet
on their ability to correctly identify the source of ten different teas,
with the prizes ranging from a modest pile of noodles to a huge stack of
money.

The lavish nature of these gatherings is legendary. Accounts from the
time describe a nobleman filling a room with chairs covered in animal
skins, wagering rare incense, brocade, and piles of gold while serving
rare delicacies for dinner. While most gatherings were probably not at
that level of expense, it was clearly not a pasttime for the poor.

And yet, these gatherings had much in common with the simple tea rituals
of the monasteries. The room where the tea was actually served was often
decorated with Buddhist imagery, either in the form of paintings or
statues. A meal was served beforehand in a separate room, and then
guests were given a break to go out and enjoy the garden. Upon their
return, they went into the tea room, where each was given a bowl with
tea, and a server came around and poured hot water into each bowl and
whisked it into a foamy brew, starting with the head guest and going on
down the line.

Later, tea gambling -- and the related practice of drawing lots to see
who would prepare the tea for the rest of the group -- filtered down to
the masses. Although it still required a fair amount of money to host
one, the stage was being set for the idea of tea for everyone... the
idea that was embraced by Murata Juko, Takeno Joo, and, ultimately, Sen
no Rikyu.


*****

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at http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/uls-news

You can also find back issues there.

We're closed for Thanksgiving weekend on November 29, not November 22.
Apologies for the confusion!

Morgan

Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 2, No. 7 -- November 2003

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Local Events
-- Seasonal notes: November
-- Tea Tidbits: The Roots of Tea -- Tea in the Temples

*****

Classes will be held as usual this month except for Nov. 22, when we'll
be closed for Thanksgiving weekend.

Just a reminder -- if you're planning to come to class on a particular
Saturday and you weren't able to sign up in advance, please let your
teacher know you're coming. (Same thing if you're already signed up and
aren't able to come after all.) Thanks!


*****
Local Events:

Taeko-sensei is doing demonstrations at Longwood Gardens Nov. 9 & 23. If
you can help, please let her know! The demonstrations are being done in
conjunction with their Chrysanthemum Festival, which ends on the 23rd
and is open every day for your viewing pleasure.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show is taking place at the
Pennsylvania Convention Center Nov. 13-16. While not strictly an Asian
event, it's definitely worth seeing!

The Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia holds "conversation
clubs" on the first Tuesday and third Thursday of every month, where
Japanese and English speakers can come together and practice their
conversational skills. For more information, call (215) 790-3810 or
e-mail jasgp@....

*****

Seasonal notes: November

November is the beginning of winter, and so it's now that we begin to
look forward to the cold days and nights that lie ahead.

In the tea world, two of the biggest gatherings are the opening of the
ro, the sunken hearth (a celebration called robiraki or irori no cha),
and the breaking on the seal of the tea jars (kuchi-kiri). In the past,
familes who practiced tea would send their jars, their chatsubos, to the
tea plantations to be filled. The growers would pack the koicha in small
packets in the middle and usucha leaves around the outside. During a
kuchi-kiri gathering, generally a chakai or chaji, the breaking of the
seal would be done first, before the meal was served, and then guests
would eat to the sound of their tea being freshly ground. Nowadays tea
comes pre-ground, of course, but the image of the chatsubo is still very
evocative of the time of year.

Good themes for the season are anything to do with the frost and cold
winter days or nights. At the beginning of the month you might still be
able to get away with images of changing leaves (momiji) and
chrysanthemums (kiku), but especially toward the end of November it's
time to think about snow -- and staying indoors by a nice fire to avoid
it. Fire worshippers, this is your time to shine.

Other themes for the month include sudden rain showers, fire and
charcoal, pine or pine needles, tsubaki (camellia) and hunting themes
like rabbits, hawks, and owls.

Some flowers for the season:

tsubaki -- Camellia (many varities)
kiku -- Chrysanthemum (late bloomers)
hashibami -- Siberian hazlenut (corylus heterophylla)
tsuwabuki -- Leopard Plant (ligularia tussilaginea)


*****

Tea tidbits: The Roots of Tea -- Tea in the Temples

The link between tea and Zen in Japan goes back to the introduction of
tea to the islands, as we saw in previous installments. Although tea
caught on in all levels of society, it remained a fixture of temple
life, and some of the temple rituals surrounding tea were later
incorporated into tea ceremony.

The monks' interest in tea was mostly practical. It helped them "conquer
the devil of sleep" while meditating, kept them warm in cold weather,
and it was believed to have a number of medicinal properties. Saint
Myoe, who according to the stories received tea seeds from Eisei
himself, was said to have a kettle that listed the ten virtues of tea:

1. Divine protection of the buddhas
2. Harmonizing of the five organs
3. Filial piety
4. Expunging desire
5. Prolonging life
6. Banishing sleep
7. Freedom from morbidity
8. No ill effects from regular use
9. Divine protection of the Shinto gods
10. Equanimity in the face of death

Although the monks did not, strictly speaking, have tea ceremonies, they
served tea to each other with the same structured discipline that they
performed all of their communal tasks. During formal ceremonies a gong
or sounding board would be struck before tea was made (a practice
retained in modern chaji), and the chief priest or guest would be served
first, who would later give thanks on behalf of the group. The monks
would raise their bowls in appreciation before drinking. Occasionally a
light meal would be served on a tenshin tray, a practice also retained
in modern gatherings.

There were also significant differences, of course; for example, in
those early gatherings, each participant would be given his own bowl
with tea, and then the preparer would come to each person, pour hot
water into his bowl, and whisk the tea. But judging from the amount of
tea that the monks drank, it played a pivotal role in their daily lives,
and perhaps for some the taste of tea and Zen were truly one and the same.

*****

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Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 2, No. 6 -- October 2003

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Local Events
-- Seasonal notes: October
-- Tea Tidbits: The Roots of Tea -- Eisai's Medicine

*****

Well, Mariko-sensei is still out, but getting better! Taeko-sensei will
continue teaching while she's recovering, with Morgan's help.

Robiraki (the opening of the ro) will tentatively be held on the
afternoon of Sunday, October 26. We'll send more details, including a
confirmation of the date, soon. If you'd like to help with the
preparations, or if you know for sure that you'd like to attend, please
let Taeko-sensei know the next time you see her.

*****
Local Events:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is hosting an exhibition that
features tea ceremony ceramics by Furuta Oribe, one of Rikyu's most
famous disciples (along with some other Momoyama-period art). The
exhibition opens October 21 and runs through January 11. If you'd like
more information, visit www.metmuseum.org.

Taeko-sensei is doing demonstrations at the Japanese House on October 5
and 12. If you're able to come and help, please let her know!

The Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia holds "conversation
clubs" on the first Tuesday and third Thursday of every month, where
Japanese and English speakers can come together and practice their
conversational skills. For more information, call (215) 790-3810 or
e-mail jasgp@....

*****

Seasonal notes: October

October is a transitional month, a time to celebrate the glories of
autumn at the same time you say goodbye to them. Gatherings could be
held to take a last look at the fall moon in the spirit of Emperor
Murakami, who held his moon viewing a month later than normal. Or you
could build a theme around the changing and falling of the leaves --
remembering always that you should anticipate what's coming next, not
dwell on what's happening now.

In keeping with the transitional nature of the season, tea people will
often do naka oki, a variation on ordinary furo cha where the furo is
placed in the middle of the dogu mat, closer to the guests. Because less
space is available, a tall, thin mizusashi is used.

In the choice of tea utensils, wabi is preferred. Pottery like Tamba,
Bizen, Shino, or Karatsu is good, as are less formal containers like
baskets and gourds. This month (October 12) is also the memorial day for
Basho, a great haiku poet, so a scroll with one of his poems might be a
nice touch.

The theme of "farewell to autumn" is a key one for the month; you might
use utensils or foods reminiscent of the opening of the furo to invoke
that feeling. Other seasonal themes or ideas to use include the frost,
the deepening cold, wild geese flying over, a gentle rain, late (dense)
autumn dew, changing the shoji, roasting chestnuts, chrysanthemums,
persimmons, and the withering autumn grasses.

Flowers for the month:

Kiku -- chrysanthemum (many varieties; "kiku" is also sometimes applied
to members of the aster family)
Tsuru-rindo -- Tripterospermum (tripterospermum japonicum)
Koya-boki -- Pertya (pertya ovata)
Yama-bokuchi -- Synurus (synurus palmatopinnatifidus)
Semburi -- Swertia (swertia japonica)
Tsuru-ume-modoki -- Oriental Bittersweet Vine (celastrus orbiculatus)
Nishiki-gi -- Winged Spindletree or Winged Burning Bush (euonymus alata)
Yama-budo -- Crimson Glory Vine or Claret Cloak (vitis coignetiae)
Nanakamado -- Japanese Mountain Ash (sorbus commixta)
Aki-mansaku -- Witch Hazel (leaves in fall colors)

When the leaves of any deciduous tree or plant change color, they can be
used as chabana (tea flowers) whether they have flowers or not. It's
also considered appropriate to use any kind of flower that blooms in the
spring or summer but whose blooms are still lingering into the fall -- a
kind of farewell to the autumn.


*****

Tea tidbits: The Roots of Tea -- Eisai's Medicine

Although the monk Kukai is credited with bringing the practice of
drinking tea to Japan, it was nearly 400 years before it really became
widespread.

A lot changed in that time. In China, the Tang Dynasty fell to be
replaced with the Song Dynasty. Although Japan retained trade links with
the Chinese, culturally the country moved away from China and began
building its own traditions. Between 1156 and 1185, a series of wars
wracked the country, marking the transition from the Heian era into the
Kamakura.

It was into that era that the monk Myoan Eisai (1141-1215) was born.
Eisai saw tea as a remedy for the conficts that rocked his age -- no
necessarily a spiritual remedy, as others would, but as a physical curative.

As he wrote in his classic Kissa Yojoki (Drinking Tea for Health):

"In this latter age, tea is a marvelous elixir of health that has the
capacity to prolong human life. It grows in mountains and valleys, the
sort of land where the spirits of gods dwell. We humans take it and
extend our lives. . . . The human body was formerly as strong as that of
a god, containing, as it does, the four elements of earth [flesh and
bone], water [blood], fire [body heat], and wind [energy and movement].
In this latter age, flesh and bone have withered and gone rotten.
Acupuncture and moxabustion are painful, while mineral baths offer no
effective relief, so that people who use these treatments grow weaker
and finally expire."

Like the Japanese intelligentsia before him, Eisai was heavily
influenced by Chinese thought; unlike others, though, he largely ignored
the spiritual benefits of tea extolled by Lu Yu in his Classic of Tea.
Eisai was concerned completely with tea as medicine: he believed,
following Chinese thought, that bitter food and drink like tea
strengthened the heart, and a strong heart was essential for resisting
disease.

In addition to banishing drowsiness, he believed that tea would heal
pox, stimulate the system, aid in digestion, cure beriberi (disease
caused by vitamin deficiency), and warded off fevers. Later in the book
the also perscribed different parts of the mulberry tree to ward off
other diseases as well.

Eisai made several trips to China to study Buddhism, and at the same
time consulted with a number of Chinese sources for the information in
the Kissa Yojoki. On one trip in 1191, he returned (according to
tradition) carrying tea seeds in a persimmon-shaped container, which he
presented to St. Myoe. Myoe is said to have planted the seeds in at
Toganoo in Kyoto, and from there tea spread to all regions of Japan.

*****

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Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 2, No. 5 -- September 2003

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Local Events
-- Seasonal notes: September
-- Tea Tidbits: The Roots of Tea: When Tea Came to Japan

*****

Classes start again September 6 at the usual times. Mariko-sensei is
still laid up with back problems -- but getting better! -- so she won't
be back in class any time this month. We'll keep you updated on her
progress.

*****

The Japanese House, Shofuso, is having a moon viewing on September 13.
For those of you who have never been to one, the view from the deck of
the house is absolutely wonderful. Tickets are $50 but it goes to a good
cause, helping to build the planned Japanese cultural center in the
park. If you're interested, call (215) 878-5097.

Also, Taeko-sensei is doing a demonstration at the house on September
21. If you can come and help, please let her know, because I'm sure
she'd appreciate it!


*****

Seasonal notes: September

Since in the tea world autumn technically started in August, by now fall
is in full swing. Think wabi, wabi, wabi. Popular themes for this month
are anything that reflect the changes in nature right now -- the
changing leaves are a given (and don't forget, it's good to anticipate
the change before it happens), as well as autumn grasses and wildflowers
and the singing of insects.

The migration of wild geese are an important poetic theme, as well as
deer in general -- but be careful how you use it, since the deer is a
symbol of loneliness. The autumn dawn is another common image,
especially in connection with dew. And just as spring is associated with
mist, autumn is best represented by a clear day with high clouds.

One of the major festivals around this time is Choyo, the chrysanthemum
festival (September 9, the lucky ninth day of the ninth month).
Originally held to celebrate the blooming of the chrysanthemums, the
shift from lunar to solar calendar put the festival too early to catch
the flowers' natural blooming time. Don't let that deter you. Break out
those chrysanthemum-theme scrolls, bowls, kettles, tea scoops, tea
containers, incense containers, and sweets. And if you can't find any
tea items with a chrysanthemum theme, you're just not trying.

The other major activity, especially in the tea world, is a moon viewing
in honor of the harvest moon. The moon in general is one of the most
important poetic images of autumn, in all phases and appearances.
There's a chabako temae designed specifically for moon viewings (tsuki
chabako), and it's appropriate to have a tea gathering almost anywhere
that you can see the moon. Again, moon-themed tea bowls, tea scoops, tea
containers, and scrolls are very appropriate for any gathering
throughout the month.

Flowers for the month:

Kiku -- Chrysanthemum (many varieties)
Hototogisu -- White Variegated Toadlily (tricyrtis hirta)
Waremoko -- Burnet (sanguisorba officinalis)
Akebono-so -- Swertia (swertain bimaculata)
Sojutsu -- Atractylis (atractylis ovata), a.k.a. okera
Shion -- Tartarian aster or Tartarian daisy (aster tartaricus)
Asagiri-so -- Wormwood, Silvermound Artemsia (artemisia schmidtiana)
San-shichi-so -- Gynura (gynura japonica)
Rindo -- Autumn Bellflower (gentiana scabra)
Fusen-kazura -- Balloon vine, Heart pea (cardiospermum halicacabum)
Soba no hana -- Buckwheat flower (fagyopyrum esculentum)
Karigane-so -- Snow Fairy or Blue Mist Spiraea (caryopteris divaricata)
Kobuna-gusa -- Small Carpgrass (arthraxon hispidus)


*****

Tea tidbits: The Roots of Tea -- When Tea Came to Japan

Tea might never have achieved the status it did in Japan if it weren't
for the "cult of tea" created in China by Lu Yu and his followers. At
the time that tea was thought to have been brought to Japan (806 CE,
although there were some references to it in Japanese writing before
then), Japanese love of Chinese culture was at a high point. Anyone with
pretentions to intellectual or artistic accomplishment was already
familiar with tea drinking through the works of Chinese poets, and were
eager to experience the sublime taste themselves.

So when the monk Kukai presented tea (prepared) to Emperor Saga, it
became an instant hit. It became a symbol for transcending the mundane
world, entering a new realm of peace and tranquility. Witness, for
example, this poem by Emperor Saga:

Rice harvested, fields as still as Xuanpu of the sages,
  From the pond pavilion we gaze in peace at the autumn sky
Surprised by the cries of wild geese on wing.
The last cicadas sing in the growing cold.
Willows on the bank make me long for China's River of Willows.
I yearn to see the lotuses there.
I regard the sence in tranquility
The sky behind filled with the smoke of roasting tea.

Tea was also valued for its medicinal properties, and there are records
of it being given as a gift from the emperor to Buddhist priests to use
as a tonic.

But while tea was initially valued as a direct import from China, it
didn't take the Japanese long to develop their own tradition of
tea-drinking, as we shall see in the next issue.

*****

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Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 2, No. 4 -- August 2003

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Seasonal notes: August
-- Tea Tidbits: The roots of tea -- China after Lu Yu

*****

There will be no classes in August; classes will begin again on
September 6. If you’re planning on coming, please contact Taeko-sensei
and let her know.


*****

Seasonal notes: August

August is a curious in-between period in Japan. On the one hand, just
like here, it’s so hot that the last thing you want to do is put
something hotter in your body. On the other hand, around the 7th or 8th
day of August is the traditional first day of autumn -- ready or not,
it’s time to break out those “changing leaves” tea utensils.

In terms of theme, you can go either way. Motifs that suggest coolness,
such as the ones described in July’s newsletter, are still very
appropriate, and any gathering should be timed for either early morning
or evening, to avoid the heat of the day.

That may be one reason why gatherings that celebrate the stars are so
popular during the summer and into the autumn. One such for August is
ama no gawa, which in the old (lunar) calendar is actually the seventh
day of the seventh month, the Star Festival. This particular tea
gathering is held in honor of a cluster of stars that appear over the
skies of Japan about this time that look like a river. Anything to do
with stars, especially in a cluster that shines brightly in the night,
makes a good theme for utensils or the gathering itself.

Another major holiday around this time of year is Urabon-e, a Buddhist
festival honoring the ancestors. Services are held in homes and Buddhist
temples to remember the dead, culminating with Daimonji, the bonfire for
escorting the spirits of the dead, usually held on August 16. Around
this time lanterns are lit for them and set adrift on the water, a
well-known custom called toro-nagashi. Fireworks are also often set off
during these festivals.

If you want to go a different route and celebrate the coming of autumn,
a good theme would be aki-zare, the first scent of autumn. This can be
expressed through blowing wind, or images of barely-changing leaves, or
a single leaf falling to the ground. Other interesting ideas to work
with might be inazuma, the flash of lightning that happens without
thunder on autumn nights, or the sound of cicadas singing, or
dragonflies.

Some flowers for the month:
Shukaido -- Hardy Begonia (begonia evansiana)
Fuyo -- Dixie Rosemallow, Cotton Rose, or Confederate Rose (hibiscus
mutabilis)
Kikyo -- Balloonflower (platycodon grandiflorum)
Sawa-kikyo -- Japanese Lobelia (lobelia sessilifolia)
Ominaeshi -- Patrinia (patrinia scabiosaefolia)
Otokoeshi -- Patrinia (patrinia villosa)
Hagi -- Bush Clover (lespedeza bicolor)
Fujibakama -- Eupatorium (eupatorium stoechacosmum)
Kiyodori-bana -- Eupatorium (eupatorium japonicum)
Tsuyu-kusa -- Asiatic Dayflower (commelina communis)
Mizuhiki-so -- Knot Weed (polygonum filiforme)
Kuzu no hana -- Arrowroot (pueraria thunbergiana)


*****

Tea tidbits: The Roots of Tea -- China After Lu Yu

The philosophy of drinking tea described in Lu Yu’s _Classic of Tea_
(see the June 2003 issue) caught hold of the Chinese imagination and
inspired people at all levels of society to make tea into a more
spiritual practice. Lu Yu himself became revered as the patron of tea.

This poem by Wei Yingwu demonstrates the spirit of the new tea people:

“The Joy of Growing Tea in My Garden”

Defile not its purity,
For drinking it expunges dust and woe.
The taste of this thing is spiritual.
Taking it from the mountain,
Where naturally it grew,
I planted it in my own garden.
The bushes, to my delight, flourished,
And I could invite my wonderful friends.

It was also around this time that China’s first recorded tea gathering
was held -- a group of about 20 people were invited to celebrate the
appointment to office of Xi Zhi, and were each served tea individually.

There were also numerous books written about tea, refining Lu Yu’s
technique and introducing some utensils that would later make it to
Japan, such as the tea whisk and the technique of grinding tea to powder
rather than using it in brick form. It was also around that time that a
new form of Chan Buddhism was being developed that would form the basis
for Zen in Japan. All of those influences were soon to make their way
over to the island nation.


*****

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Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 2, No. 3 -- July 2003

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Tea gathering at Daibosatsu
-- Upcoming events
-- Seasonal notes: July
-- Tea Tidbits: Principles of Tea

*****

July 5 -- No class
July 12 -- Taeko-sensei
July 19 -- Taeko-sensei

If you’re planning on coming to class and weren’t able to sign up
beforehand, please let Taeko-sensei know you’re going to be there.

July 19 is our last class before summer break; classes will resume in
September.

*****

The tea gathering at the Daibosatsu Zen Monastery was a great success.
There were about 40 people there, mostly from the United States but some
from as far away as Europe and Japan! We talked about a variety of
subjects, from Buddhism (including a wonderful talk from the monastery
abbot) to wabi to creating a tea space. There was also a workshop on
Alexander Technique and a great class on chashaku-making taught by Kap
Young of California.

I’ll be posting some more detailed notes and photos on our site, er,
sometime Real Soon Now, and also a link to the World of Tea site, which
will have even more details yet.

Some of the people at the gathering have been discussing how we can work
together to keep the interchange going, not just among people at the
gathering but among the broader tea community in the United States and
abroad. If any of you would like more details, let me know and I’ll pass
that along to you.

*****

Local events:

On July 6, the Japanese House in Fairmount Park is having a festival in
celebration of Tanabata (see below), an all-day sort of thing with food
and crafts and so on. It starts at 11 a.m., and there’s an $8 entrance
fee if you’re interested in going.

Taeko-sensei is also doing a demonstration at the Japanese House on July
20th. If you’re able to help, please let her know!

*****

Seasonal notes: July

As we head into the two hottest months of the year, think cool, cool,
cool. Your main job as host is to make sure that your guests forget all
about the heat. Traditional motifs include anything to do with water,
especially boats, the ocean, or waterfalls, and things made with reeds
or green bamboo. Anything to do with ice is also very appropriate (like
broken-ice sweets, for example), or clouds, or gourds, which were used
to carry water.

Pottery that is either dark brown (like Seto) or white (like Shino or
Satsma) is a good choice, as are natsumes made of wood or glass, and, of
course, wide, flat summer chawans. To give a feeling of open space,
don’t overcrowd the tea room.

Sasaki Sanmi says in his tea almanac that “a mosquito-repellent incense
should not be considered a nuisance.”

Tea gatherings this time of year are traditionally held either in the
early morning (asa-chaji) or evening as the sun sets. In Japan, tea
people might go to a hasu-mi no cha, a gathering to listen to the lotus
flowers pop as they open. Anything relating to lotus, including celadon
(seiji) pottery, makes a good theme this time of year.

One of the major festivals in Japan this month is Tanabata Matsuri, the
Star Festival or Festival of the Weaver, held July 7. The legend is that
the Lord of Heaven had a daughter (the Western star Vega) who spent all
her time weaving by the side of a river (the Milky Way). Her father
arranged her marriage to a man (the Western star Altair) on the other
side of the river, but once she was married she stopped weaving. Her
father was so angry he brought her back to the other shore, and since
then the husband and wife can only meet once a year, on July 7.

Motifs for the star festival include stars, of course; boats to cross
the river; mulberry leaves; putting up bamboo; and tying up strips of
fancy paper with poems, symbolizing the wishes you have for the year.

Rikyu’s seven principles:

1) Summer should be cool.

2) Winter should be warm.

3) Charcoal should be good enough to boil water.

4) Flowers should be as if they were in the fields.

5) Everything should be in good time.

6) Rain should be expected any time if it is not raining.

7) Care should be taken to accomodate guests.


*****

Tea Tidbits: Standard Policies (traditional)

1) When a guest of honor and his or her accompanying guests arrive at a
waiting room, make an announcement by striking the board.

2) Washing hands is important. Washing and cleaning the heart is
essential.

3) After the host’s request, guests should enter the tearoom. The
utensils for meals should be perfectly ready, and the meal should not be
too tasty. Those who do not understand the natural beauty of the trees
and stones in the garden should leave immediately.

4) When the water in the kettle sings and the gong rings, the guests
should come back. If there is anything wrong with the water and the
fire, there should be a lot of apologies.

5) It is forbidden since old times to talk about worldly affairs both
inside and outside the tearoom.

6) It is so obvious who is the host and who is the guest of honor that
praising with fine words is not a good idea.

7) The entire time of the tea gathering should not be more than four
hours. However, this does not include time for religious or artistic
talk.

*****

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Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 2, No. 2 -- June 2003

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Upcoming events
-- Seasonal notes: June
-- Tea Tidbits: Lu Yu’s Tea

*****

Class schedule:
(if you’re planning to attend, please sign up in advance or contact the
appropriate teacher to let her know you’re coming.)

May 31 -- Mariko-sensei*
June 7 -- Mariko-sensei*
June 14 -- Taeko-sensei
June 28 -- Taeko-sensei

*If you’re planning to come to this class, please contact Mariko-sensei
a day or two before and confirm that she’s able to come.

*****

Local events:

June 11 there will be a shiatsu (massage) workshop given at the Japanese
House in Fairmount Park, and on June 29 there will be a workshop on the
principles of creating a tsubo-niwa, a small garden in a pot. For more
information, see their web site at www. shofuso.org.

And on June 15 Taeko-sensei will be having a tea demonstration at the
house. Please get in touch with her if you’re able to help.

There will also be a tea conference at the Daibosatsu Zen Center in New
York State June 12-15, co-organized by our own Mariko-sensei. :-> I
believe all the spaces are filled, but I’ll put the highlights on our
site once I get back!

*****

Seasonal notes: June

June is the month when summer’s heat really hits, and so the job of the
tea person is to suggest coolness. Tea utensils that are blue to suggest
water, or white to suggest ice are good, as are items of unfinished wood
or green bamboo.  For pottery, you could use something earthy like a wet
Bizen or Shigaraki.

Also appropriate are utensils that relate to summery scenes like boats
on the water, cool breezes, flowing water and waterfalls, the shade of
green trees, and so on. Wildlife for the season include waterfowl,
cicadias, and fireflies. You could also use something with a fan motif
(although of course you would never actually fan yourself in the tea
room!).

Around the 10th of June in Japan is the start of the month-long rainy
season, when rice is planted and begins to sprout. Along with the rice
imagery, you could use the idea of the tearoom as a refuge from the
rain, or a pause in the rain, or greenery growing as a result of the
rain.

Groups of six:

The six tea masters: Murata Juko. Torii Insetsu. Takeno Joo. Sen no
Rikyu. Furuta Oribe. Kobori Enshu. (Or, in place of Insetsu, Katagiri
Sekishu.)

Shapes of ash: Nimonji-oshikiri. Nimonji-kakiage. Marubai-oshikiri.
Marubai-kakiage. Tooyama. Muko-ichimonji-maetani.

Trays: Gassan-naga-bon. Choshorai-bon. Tsunemo-nagabon. Chu-maru-bon.
O-maru-bon. Shaku-naga-bon.

Rikyu’s kettles: Amidado-gama. Futon-maru-gama. Shiribari-gama.
Yoho-gama. Kiriko-gama. Unryu-gama.


*****

Tea Tidbits: Lu Yu’s Tea

Lu Yu was the author of “The Classic of Tea,” the first and most
important book in China dedicated to drinking tea. Although tea at that
time was brewed from fresh leaves rather than ground into a powder and
mixed with boiling water the way we do in chanoyu, it was Lu Yu’s
reverence for tea that formed the earliest roots of the tea ceremony.

For instance, careful attention had to be paid to pick the proper shape
of tea leaf -- still new and curled rather than open and hard or old and
withered. The water used should ideally be from the mountains, he said,
although river water was better than well water.

He described a set of 24 utensils that should properly used when
preparing tea, everything from the charcoal to the kettle used to boil
water to a tea scoop and a supply of fresh, cold water. But the most
important utensil was the tea bowl: “Du Yu speaks of the equipage and of
a moistly glossy bowl that originated in the East. The bowl was Yue
ware. Hence for him Yuezhou made the best of bowls. the lip does not
curl over, but the base is round and shallow and will hold fewer than
eight ounces. Stoneware from both of the Yuezhous is of a blue-green
shade. Being so, it itensifies and emphasizes the color of the tea. If
the tea is of a light red color, it will ot appear as red in the white
bowls of Xingzhou. If the tea is red, it will look a rusty brown in
Shouzhou bowls, they being of a yellow glaze. Because Hongzhou ware is
brown, the tea will look black. All of those are unworthy of tea.”

When drinking tea, he felt it was important to savor it deeply, paying
close attention to the flavor and the temperature. Well-prepared tea
could taste like “the elixir of the immortals.”

*****

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You can also find back issues on the site there.

Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 2, No. 1 -- May 2003

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Our (maybe) TV debut
-- Upcoming events
-- Seasonal notes: May
-- Tea Tidbits: Yamanoue Soji on tea

Mariko sensei is doing much better; she’s able to walk around now, and
is about to start physical therapy. She says she’s looking forward to
getting back into the swing of things!

*****

Class schedule:
(if you’re planning to attend, please sign up in advance or contact the
appropriate teacher to let her know you’re coming.)

May 3 -- Taeko sensei
May 10 -- Mariko sensei*
May 17 -- Mariko sensei
May 24 -- Taeko sensei
May 31 -- Mariko sensei

* If she’s well enough to come; updates to follow.

*****

We’ve been contacted by a representative of CN8 (the local Comcast
channel) about doing a feature on tea ceremony! They were originally
interested in having us on a morning show, but after some discussion
their programming person thought it might be better suited for one of
their evening programs, CN8 Extra. No definite plans yet, but I’ll keep
you all posted.

*****

For anyone interested in anime (Japanese animated films), there’s going
to be an anime festival at Villanova University on May 31. For more
information, visit http://www.kosaikon.com.

Taeko-sensei is doing a demonstration at the Japanese House on Mother’s
Day, May 11, at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. If you like, come on down, or pass
the word on to anyone who might be interested.

*****

Seasonal notes: May

The beginning of May (traditionally the 5th or 6th) is the transition to
furo or summer season, and it’s a time to look forward to the warmth and
fun of summertime. If you like, you could have a celebration of the
first use of the furo.

Images for the season include fresh greenery, especially grass-like
flowers and wisteria and azalea; baskets; flower viewings; the cuckoo
(hototogisu); and utensils that have a light, airy feeling, like wide,
shallow chawans.

The major holiday for the month is Boy’s Day (May 5), which is
celebrated with lots of “male” themes like warrior dolls and suits of
armor. Think weaponry, heroes, and powerful animals like tigers and
dragons.

On the 15th is Shuko-ki, the memorial tea for Murata Shuko, the man
whose philosophy of wabicha later inspired Sen no Rikyu’s practice.

Seasonally, May is also a time when the wheat is ripening in the fields,
and this motif is reflected in serving sweets and foods with wheat in
them. Likewise, rice seedlings are just starting to sprout, so you might
use utensils reflecting rice fields. Other ideas to express poetically
are soft, warm breezes and pure water flowing from the mountains.

Groups of Five:

Elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water

Literary Painter’s Themes: Pine, Bamboo, Plum, Orchid, Rock
-or- Plum, Chrysanthemum, Bamboo, Plantain, Rock

Tastes: Sweet, Sour, Hot, Bitter, Salty

Elements of a ro: Ro-buchi (wood), Sumi (fire), Ro-dan (earth), Kama
(metal), Yu (water).

*****

Tea Tidbits: Yamanoue Soji on tea

Yamanoue Soji was a contemporary of Rikyu, and kept a well-known record
of tea at that time. Following is an excerpt:

“Toward the constructive realization of that one sitting . . .  even if
the participants are old friends who meet daily, and not only on the
occasion of bringing out newly-acquired utensils or opening the new
year’s tea jar -- that goes without saying -- but even at an ordinary
chanoyu gathering, [guests] must behave with awe and reverence toward
their host from the time they enter the garden until the time they
leave, as befits this unique encounter [ichiza]. . . .  The host
[likewise] must act with due reverence toward the guests.”

*****

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at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uls-news.

You can also read back issues there.

Oops, spoke to soon. The program this Sunday starts at 7:00, not 7:30.
Sorry about that!

Best,
Morgan

For those of you who don't know him, Willy is a local potter (from the
Hawk Mountain area) who among other things makes tea items. He's going
to be featured on a program on WHYY (the PBS station) this Sunday at
7:30. If you're interested in the process of making tea pottery, it's
well worth checking out!

Have a Happy Easter!

Best,
Morgan

Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 1, No. 12 -- April 2003

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Upcoming Event -- The Cherry Blossom Festival (help needed!)
-- Seasonal notes: April
-- Tea Tidbits: Predicting the Cherry Bloom


*****

Our sympathies to Drew Hanson on the loss of his mother this March.

*****

Class Schedule:

April 5 -- No class
April 12 -- Taeko-sensei
April 19* -- Taeko-sensei
April 26 -- To be determined

*This is the Saturday before Easter, but we’ll still have class if
there’s enough interest.

If you are planning to come but haven’t had a chance to write your name
on the sign-up sheet, please let the appropriate teacher know as soon as
possible.

*****

Just a reminder -- the Cherry Blossom Festival will be held at the
Japanese House and the Horticultural Center in Fairmount Park this
Sunday the 6th, and we’re scheduled to do tea demonstrations as part of
the festivities.

Mariko-sensei has hurt her back and is unable to come, so we need extra
help! If you can help out, please contact Taeko-sensei and let her know.

There will also be a cherry blossom celebration at the Morris Arborateum
(Chestnut Hill) on April 13, with tea demo. If you can help out, or
would just like to come, please let Mariko-sensei know.

******

Seasonal notes: April

If there’s any month of the year that’s all about flowers, it’s April.
Between the fading of the plum and peach blossoms and preparing to view
the cherry blossoms, it may be the one month where you can’t have too
many flower themes going on, especially cherry (sakura).

Obviously, this is a perfect time to have a cherry blossom viewing --
perhaps a chabako-temae outside under the trees. On the third Sunday in
April, it’s traditional to hold a memorial tea in honor of Yoshino, a
famous geisha whose family temple is one of Japan’s most famous places
to view cherry blossoms. There is a type of tana called a “Yoshinodana”
that would be especially appropriate at this time.

Or, if you’re all cherried out after doing one too many demonstrations
at local cherry blossom festivals :-> the birthday of the Buddha is
celebrated on April 8. It’s traditional at local temples to bathe a
statue of the Buddha in tea and decorate it in flowers, but for a tea
room there’s no shortage of Zen scrolls to use.

The key thing to remember is that this is a time of celebration. The
weather is getting warmer (no, really, it is) and the flowers are
starting to bloom, and it’s a time to look forward to the transition to
furo season at the beginning of May. It’s good to use bright colors, and
pottery of Iga, Karatsu, Shigaraki, and Mishima in flower patterns. You
could also use a wide-flanged kettle (sukigi-gama), to protect your
guests from the heat of the ro.

Some other images to use include picking of tea leaves (which generally
happens at the beginning of May), sowing of seeds, birds like the lark
(hibari), swallow (tsubame), and bush warbler (uguisu), and butterflies.

Some poems for the season:

Even the naked trivet is missed when we close the ro -- Sanmi

Ferryman, for tea, scoop up those reflections of cherry blossoms --
Hoitsu

Neither brightly shining nor overcast, there is nothing better than a
veiled moon at night in the spring. -- Ooe no Chisato

As spring comes to an end, the temporarily set-up tea shop is smothered
in flowers. -- Yayu

A late frost creates white tea from the unpicked leaves. -- Chigen

Oh, dear Swallow, don’t do anything in our water when we make tea
outdoors. -- Kikaku

Beautiful birds sing non-stop in the spring field where grasses grow
densely. Love should be like that; there shouldn’t be a haitus in love.
-- Anonymous

The sounds of tea being made invite peach blossoms to peep in through
the window. -- Uson


*****

Tea tidbits: Predicting the Cherry Bloom

According to Robert DeFeo, the National Park Service’s chief
horticulturist for the National Capital Region, cherry trees bloom in
very predictable ways. “You monitor them like a pregnancy,” he said in a
recent interview with AAA World. “Toward the end, my predictions are
based on high and low temperatures, and I’m able to nail down the dates
-- but not until about 10 days before. Once they bloom, the individual
flowers can last from 7 to 10 days, although not all the flowers on the
tree are at the same stage. So you could see blooms for 10 to 14 days,
depending on the temperatures.”

He adds that it takes two to three days of daytime temperatures in the
50s and 60s and nights above 45 degrees for the cherry trees to start
blooming, and then temperatures in the 30s and 40s at night to really
make the blooms last.

Once the florets are visible on the buds (it’s no longer just green),
you’ve got about 16-21 days to peak bloom, when 70% of the flowers are
open; by the time those buds are “puffy white” and ready to open, you’ve
got 4-6 days.

The cherry buds in Washington are just starting to open, so DeFeo has
predicted a peak bloom of April 4-10 there -- right on schedule. We’re a
bit behind, but not too far, so keep your eyes on those buds.

*****

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Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 1, No. 11 -- March 2003

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Parking Permits (nag, nag)
-- Upcoming Event -- The Cherry Blossom Festival (help needed!)
-- We’re famous!
-- Seasonal notes: March
-- Tea Tidbits: Rikyu on Tea


*****

Our heartfelt sympathies go out to Taeko-sensei for the loss of her
husband, Marcel, on February 16. Anyone who’s been to her house or been
with her on demonstrations probably remembers him; he was a warm and
wonderful person.

Taeko-sensei is taking some time off from classes during this very
difficult time. She will be coming back to teach within the next few
weeks, but we’re not sure of her schedule right now.

Until she returns, Mariko-sensei will be teaching weekly lessons. Please
contact her to let her know if you’re planning to come.

*****

Just as a reminder, effective this week anyone who wants to park in the
little lot outside the tea house has to get a permit from La Salle.
Permits cost $30 per semester, and if you apply for one now, it’s good
through the end of August.

If you don’t want to get a permit, you can still park on the streets
surrounding La Salle -- subject to local parking laws, of course.

There are applications in the tea house, or you can contact me to get
one by mail (just hit reply to this e-mail).

Sorry for the inconvenience!

*****

Every year, the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia, in
conjunction with the Japanese House in Fairmount Park, holds a
cherry-blossom festival in the park. This year, it’s Sunday, April 6.
They’ve asked us to help out by doing demonstrations again this year, on
an ongoing basis from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., about 25 people per demo.

As you can imagine, we need help. If you can come, please let
Mariko-sensei know as soon as possible.

******

We’re famous!

In the Winter 2003 issue of Eating Well magazine, there’s an article on
the Mushanokojisenke school and kaiseki. In a sidebar to the article it
lists places online where you can find out about tea, and our site is
listed under “tea lessons.”

It seems like the good publicity has boosted our site traffic, at least
a little. Our range for December-February was around 700-750 visitors
per month, whereas for the three months before that it was 300-600
visitors per month.

Pass it on.

*****

Seasonal notes: March

March is the middle of spring but really the beginning of its
manifestation in nature, so now’s the time to really break out the
spring-themed things -- especially if you’re tired of cold and snow.
It’s a little too early for cherry blossoms, unless it’s the end of the
month, but until the plum blossoms come out it wouldn’t hurt to think
about them. Peaches, too, are an ideal sign of spring, be they peach
blossoms or the peach itself.

Some other seasonal images include the spring mist (kasumi), especially
something obscured by the mist, like flowers, the moon, distant
mountains, etc. Soft, falling rain and snow-fed streams are also
striking images. Anything happening at dawn is also appealing, as is,
obviously, anything relating to the return of the green, including
planting. Leaf buds. The return of birds. Collecting seashells at low
tide.

For a non-seasonal celebration, the big one falls at the beginning of
the month -- the Doll Festival, a girl’s celebration. Scrolls, chawan,
natsumes, mizusashis, anything with dolls on it or a little girl theme
is appropriate on this day, the 3rd of March.

On March 15 is the memorial for the death of the Buddha, a perfect time
for a contemplative, Zen-centered tea.

This is also a traditional time to use a tsuri-gama, the kettle that
hangs from a hook over the ro.

Some poems for the season:

A plum tree! Just enough warmth for one blossom. -- Ransetsu

Willows are green and cherry blossoms are red.

Chasen discarded on the ground have the smell of flowers. -- Fuhaku

In the spring breezes light-hearted are the pictures being drawn on the
teabowls. -- Seibi

[Making tea on a picnic]
A light mist mingles with the steam of the thick tea. -- Ryuho

The water in spring is most suitable for both tea and the inkstone. --
Seira

Waters both deep and shallow join together and get warmer. -- Chiyojo

During a lull in the rain I planted the willow I had kept. -- Buson


*****

Tea tidbits: Rikyu on Tea

In honor of Rikyuki (the memorial tea for Rikyu), the beginning of the
Namporoku, a record of the words of Rikyu.

1. “Chanoyu of the small room is above all a matter of performing
practice and attaining realization in accord with the Buddhist path. To
delight in the refined splendor of a dwelling or the taste of delicacies
belongs to worldly life. There is shelter enough when the roof does not
leak, food enough when it staves off hunger. This is the Buddhist
teaching and the fundamental meaning of chanoyu. We then offer it to the
Buddha, serve it to others, and drink ourselves. We arrange flowers and
burn incense. In all of this, we model ourselves after the acts of the
Buddha and the past masters.”

2. “In the roji, the host’s first act is to bring water; the guests’
first act is to use this water to rinse their hands. This is the
foundation underlying the use of the roji and thatched hut. It is
precisely so that the person who calls and the person called on can
together wash off the stains of worldly dust in the roji that the stone
basin is placed there. In the depths of the cold season, one draws and
carries the water without aversion to the chill; in summer heat, one
does so imparting a crisp feeling of coolness. In either case, providing
this water is an act of attentiveness to the guests.

“It is unpleasant to use the water if one has no idea when the basin was
filled. You should pour the water in before the eyes of the guests so
that it has a genuinely refreshing air. If, however, the stone basin is
next to the waiting bench, determine an appropriate time before the
guests arrive to fill the basin. When it is within the roji or at the
eaves of the entrance [to the tearoom] as is most common, the host
should bring and pour the water after the guests have seated themselves
on the waiting bench. That is why, since the time of Joo, it has been
considered best to have the basin cut just so large that it overflows
freely with the water of one small handbucket.”

4. “To be sure, it is good for guest and host to be in mutual accord.
But to contrive to be in accord is detrimental. If both guest and host
have attained a grasp of the way, a sense of harmony will arise
spontaneously. If immature practitioners seek only to be in consonance
with each other, when one side falters along the path, both fall into
error. Therefore, it is good to be in accord; it is wrong to be so
intentionally.”


*****

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at http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/uls-news

You can also find back issues there.

Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 1, No. 10 -- February 2003

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Seasonal notes: February
-- Tea Tidbits: Chabana (Arranging Flowers for Tea)

Our deepest condolences to Todd Frey, who lost his father in January.

*****

Class schedule:

February 1 -- Taeko-sensei
February 8 -- Mariko-sensei
February 15 -- Taeko-sensei
February 22 -- Mariko-sensei

If you’re coming to class and weren’t there to put your name on the
sign-up sheet, please contact the appropriate teacher beforehand.


*****

Seasonal notes: February

Believe it or not, February is the beginning of spring in the tea
calendar -- looking forward to the coming warmth rather than the actual
achieving of it. In tea, there are two ways to go: embracing the cold
and the snow outside, or using images of spring to remind your guests
that it’s just around the corner.

If you go the cold route, the imagery is not quite the depths of winter
that you had in December and January; rather, it’s the image of cold
that lingers despite the growing warmth. Buds or blossoms encased in ice
or peeking out of the snow are a great poetic image to play around with,
as is thin ice that’s on the verge of melting or a thin dusting of snow
that will melt in the bright sun.

If you choose to embrace spring, you have almost no choice but to in
some way incorporate the ultimate Japanese harbinger of spring -- the
plum blossom. Between sweets, scrolls, and poetic names for every tea
utensil conceivable, if you haven’t incorporated plums into your tea by
the end of February, you just aren’t trying. Birds are also a classic
sign of spring, especially the pheasant (kiji) and bush warbler
(uguisu). Spring mists are also a good image to play around with,
especially mountains partially obscured by mist, which is a very
traditional poetic image.

If you’d rather put the season out of your mind, however, there are a
couple of good options. For example, Setsubun (celebrated on the 3rd or
4th of February) was traditionally the turning point from winter to
spring, and it was celebrated with a ceremony at the Imperial Palace
when a man in a four-eyed mask chased red and green demons. Later the
custom was transformed into scattering beans and saying, “Devils out,
good fortune in.” It’s also customary for people to sleep with a picture
of a treasure boat under their pillows, and any of these images could be
used in scrolls or as poetic names or utensils.

On the first Horse Day in February there’s a festival held at the shrine
of the fox diety, Inari. For that time you could use images of gods, or
balls, or, of course, foxes or horses.

Rikyu-ki, the memorial tea for the anniversary of Rikyu’s death, is
technically February 28, although it’s usually celebrated sometime in
March.


Some poems for the season:

To those who lust after only cherry blossoms, I want to point out the
mountain hamlet spring grasses breaking through the snow.

The sound of loosening the last of the charcoal in the sack makes me
aware of the lingering cold. -- Shoha

Young sprouts picked from under the snow have no leaves to be wrapped in
-- Kikaku

In the evening the placid mountain is green, together with the willows
that trail along with the spring mist.


*****

Tea tidbits: The Art of Chabana

From the book “The Art of Chabana” by Henry Mittwer:

“To be truthful and pure are important prerequisites in arranging
chabana. One must not try to creat so-called beauty by demanding that
the flowers behave according to one’s desires. It is true that the
individual personality of the arranger will inevitably appear in the
arrangement, but chabana is separate from the ego of self-assertion.

“Chabana should be free and natural, but this does not mean that it
should be wild and haphazard or an irresponsible expression of an
arbitrary interpretation. Chabana is a pursuit in the life of wabi, and
sensitivity to life and the fullness of sentiment are important for
poetic expression. Arrange the flowers with complete selflessness where
the free spirit is active; then the flowers will take their place as if
by themselves -- effortlessly.”

<...>

“There are three points to keep in mind:

“1. In a tall, slender, bottle-type vessel, arrange tree branches and
grassy flowers in the vertical position, close to the vase’s rim. With a
wide container, or one with a broad mouth, the flowers can be arranged
in a flared fashion, cutting them rather short.

“2. At the opening of the vase, keep the stems uncrowded. Remove almost
all of the leaves that come close to the vase, and never let any rest on
the vase’s mouth. If this space is unnecessarily crowded, the chabana
will appear heavy and gloomy.

“3. Keep the number of flowers odd; for instance, one, three, five,
seven, or perhaps nine if the basket is large. Rikyu points out that, in
a small room, one should use one or two flowers in a vase. Two flowers
are permissable, but all other symmetrical numbers should be avoided.”


*****

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You can also find back issues there.

Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 1, No. 9 -- January 2003

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Summer Events (Tea Beyond Japan chado conference and a Noh intensive)

-- Seasonal notes: January
-- Tea Tidbits: The Year of the Sheep

*****

Class schedule:

January 19 -- Hatsugama
January 25 -- Mariko-sensei

If you’re planning to come to Hatsugama, please let Taeko-sensei know as
soon as possible.

And a big thanks to everyone who came to joyagama and helped to make it
such a success!!!

*****

Summer events:

With the weather we’ve been having already this winter, it seems like an
appropriate time to look forward to the warmth of summer. There’s a
couple interesting events going on that you might be interested in:

Tea Beyond Japan: June 12-15, 2003
(co-organized by our own Mariko-sensei)

The organizers say:

“Our intention is to engage issues common to all pracitioners,
regardless of
Tea School. During the gathering, we hope to:

1. explore how Tea is relevant to our daily lives
2. understand our bodies and Tea (breathing, posture and movement)
3. make utensils, sweets, etc.
4. share tea as a practical baseline for our discussion and workshops
(make a
bowl of tea, be a guest ...)

The theme is to see how chado reveals its essence -- both form and
spirit --
outside Japan. We will each bring our practice with us and have the
opportunity to enjoy it in the beautiful Daibosatsu Monastery sited on a
lake
in the forest.

Provided will be furo, kama and appropriate dogu for usu and koicha.
Fresh
matcha, of course. If you wish to bring your dogu, or to contribute tea,

sweets, charcoal (consumables), more the merrier. If you wish to lead a
discussion, demonstrate how to make dogu or sweets, we're very open. We
will not be teaching temae. Please see the survey form at the website
(www.worldoftea.org).”

The monastery is in the Catsgill Mountains of New York State, and the
cost of the event will be around $400. The official site has more
information, including how to register.

The following isn’t about tea, but I thought it might be interesting to
some of you:

Noh Training Project:  July 14 - August 1, 2003

The organizers say:

“The Noh Training Project is a three week intensive, performance-based
training in the dance, chant, music, and performance history of Japanese

Noh Drama. Taught by internationally acclaimed Noh expert Richard Emmert
and hosted by the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, NTP is now entering its
ninth summer of bringing intensive training in Noh to the United States.
Again this summer, Mr. Emmert will be joined for the final week of
training by Noh Master actor/teacher Akira Matsui. In addition to
teaching traditional performance practice, Matsui will offer special
sessions designed to allow senior students the opportunity to direct
beginning students in experimental pieces using Noh techniques with
non-Noh musical accompaniment and/or text.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: May 1, 2003

Applications should include a resume, photo if possible, and a brief
statement describing what the applicant hopes to gain from the training
program. Enrollment is limited to 20.

send to:

Noh Training Project
c/o Learning Tomorrow
53 West Main Street
Bloomsburg, PA 17815
Phone: (570) 387-8270
FAX: (570) 784-4160
email: ntp@...
Acceptance notification by May 16, 2003.”

Bloomsburg is in north central Pennsylvania, a 3-4 hour drive from
Philadelphia. The cost of the program is $1,600.


*****

Seasonal notes: January

It’s no surprise that the theme of this month is the New Year, and all
the celebrations that implies. Think bright, happy designs, especially
ones that revolve around the changing of the year, long life, good
fortune, and so on. No skimping on the formality -- New Year’s
celebrations are no time for wabi. Writing done on or around the New
Year, including letters written then, are great for scrolls. Good images
to use are pines, cranes, fresh bamboo, plum blossoms, water buckets
(symbolizing drawing fresh water) whatever the current zodiac year is,
Mt. Fuji, or clouds/mist. Pottery items made with “ears” (little jugs on
either side) are considered representative of good fortune and are good
to use around this time. Willow branches, symbolizing merriment, are
hung in the tokonoma for New Year’s celebrations.

However, we’re also entering the coldest months of the year, so it’s a
great opportunity to use items that suggest warmth, like Korean salt
pottery and tsutsu (tube-shaped) chawans. It’s also prime time for
evening teas that encourage your guests to linger rather than go out
into the cold.

On the 10th day of January is the celebration of Ebisu, the god of
wealth. Those gatherings especially should emphasize good fortune, with
anything symbolic of Ebisu, wealth in the form of giving charity, or
rice-bags.

Around the 20th of January is Dai-kan, thought to be the coldest time of
the year. What better time to get inside and enjoy a nice, warm bowl of
tea?


Some poems for the season:

This morning’s tea makes yesterday distant -- Tanko

When I draw the lively fresh water, please come to the first tea
gathering -- Sodo

In the bucket drawn up from the well at dawn is found a camellia --
Kakei

Listen, how hopeless I feel, praying for the young crane’s long life but
feeling that my small sleeves are inadequate to stroke him -- Tosanmi

The pine and bamboo decoration casts its evergreen shadow in the sunrise
of the New Year’s Day. -- Shiko

In the Imperial Kitchen the fresh chasen was used this morning too. --
Ippan


*****

Tea tidbits: The Year of the Sheep (2003)

According to Chinese astrology, the Year of the Sheep, also called the
Ram or the Goat, is a time to relax and make peace with the people
around you, to focus on your home and family. It’s not a time to start
any ambitious new plans, but rather to turn your attention inward and
create harmony within yourself.

People who were born in the year of the sheep (1919, 1931, 1943, 1955,
1967, 1979, 1991) tend to be elegant, artistic, wise, gentle,
passionate, and materially successful -- however, they can also be shy
or timid, pessimistic, and overly sensitive.


*****

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at http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/uls-news

You can also find back issues there.

Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 1, No. 8 -- December 2002

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Local Events
-- Seasonal notes: December
-- Tea Tidbits: Hounsai Oiemoto

*****

Class schedule:

December 7 -- Taeko-sensei
December 14 -- Mariko-sensei (Last class before winter break!!)

If you are planning to come to class and haven’t signed up, please let
the appropriate teacher know that you’re coming.

Also, there’s been some discussion of having a joya-gama (end-of-year
chakai) on either the 21st or 28th of December. If you’d like to come or
have other input, please let either teacher (or Morgan) know.

*****

Local Events:

The Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia holds “conversation
clubs” on a regular basis, where Japanese and English speakers can come
together and practice their conversational skills. This month, meetings
will be held on the 3rd and the 19th. For more information, call (215)
790-3810 or e-mail jasgp@....

And whatever holiday events you may be attending, have a wonderful time!

*****

Seasonal notes: December

Seasonally, no surprise, the big themes for the month are snow and ice,
and how nice it is to be inside where you don’t have to deal with them.
One of the popular types of gatherings at this time of year is a yuki no
cha, a celebration of the first snowfall. The moon and the snow -- two
of the great poetic trio of snow, moon, and flower -- are good images to
play around with in a tea gathering, as is frost, branches heavy or
breaking with snow, and thin ice (representing the thing coating of ice
that forms on the tsukubai outdoors that tea people break through to get
the water). Anything with a drip or long line running down it could be
used to represent an icicle. In terms of utensils, ceramics that suggest
warmth, like shioge (Korean salt ware), are preferred, and tsutsu (tall,
cylindrical) chawans are appropriate.

A related theme that might be interesting to play around with is the
idea of hota. Hota literally refers to tree roots used for firewood in
the wintertime, but it’s written with the Chinese character representing
good taste, and is associated with folkcraft. A temae using local
folk-craft dogu could be used around this time.

The other major theme of this month is the preparation for New Year’s,
and bidding farewell to the old year. There are a number of formal
gatherings along that theme, including koto-hajime (the start of
preparations for the new year), seibo no kama (kettle for year-end), and
joya-gama, a bidding farewell to the old year that ideally takes place
on New Year’s Eve.

The passage of time is a key theme for tea gatherings. Images to use
include arrows (for time flying like an arrow), or a calendar or item
that refers to the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac.

Mochi is also a key item around this year, firstly because it’s during
the latter half of the month that people would traditionally gather to
pound mochi for New Year’s celebrations, and secondly because mochi is a
traditional gift given as a thank-you around this time.

If you enjoy a good story, on the 14th of December you could do
gishi-sai no cha, tea in memory of the legendary 47 ronin of Ako. As the
story goes, the lord of Ako attacked an official of the shogun’s court
named Kira, and as a result was ordered to commit suicide. After his
death, his retainers became ronin (masterless samurai), and avenged
their lord’s death -- and restored their honor -- by killing Kira. The
samurai became renowned as paragons of the code of bushido, the way of
the warrior.

Some poems for the season:

Under the winter moon, the chasen are not withered spikes. -- Yayu

The bamboo bent with tea is much more bent and looks colder than the one
bent with snow. -- Yayu

My old hand-made teabowl is stained, as is the master of hota. -- Sanmi

Heavy snow breaks the branches; burning the wood, I boil the snow in the
kettle. -- Buson

Keeping from getting upset, keeping on making tea, it is the end of the
year. -- Ganzan

*****

Tea tidbits: The Life of Hounsai Oiemoto

In honor of the retirement of Hounsai Oiemoto later this month, a little
bit about his life and works.

He was born Masaoki Sen on April 19, 1923, and began studying tea at the
age of six with his father, Tantansai Oiemoto. Although his family
traditionally studied Zen, Masaoki also went to a Christian junior high
school, and learned Christian customs and beliefs as well. He attended
Doshisha University in Kyoto, focusing on economics, beginning in 1941.

It was during that time that World War II broke out, and in 1943 Masaoki
was conscripted into the navy. After the war ended in 1945, he returned
home, and returned to Doshisha. He graduated in 1946.

His first job after college was teaching at a girls’ high school, a job
he quickly lost because of his former position as a military officer. He
moved to Tokyo and got a job as a staff member of the Nagao Museum,
studying tea art.

At the age of 25 he went to study Zen at Jukoin, a subtemple of
Daitokuji. It was there he received the name Hounsai, “Phoenix Cloud,”
and officially became the wakasosho, the heir to the Urasenke school of
tea.

He traveled to the United States for the first time in 1951. He taught
tea to Americans, and at the same time strove to teach the Japanese
about America, reporting back regularly to the tea people of Urasenke in
Japan. That same year, Urasenke chapters were established in Hawaii, Los
Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. He worked hard over the following
years to bring the way of tea not only to Americans, but to people
worldwide.

In 1962, he established a live-in college for studying tea called
Urasenke Gakuen; the foreign students studied at the international
section of the school, known as Midori-kai.

Two years later, Tantansei died, and Hounsai became the head of
Urasenke. Since then he has won numerous awards and been honored many
times for his work in spreading the way of tea, establishing branches
throughout the world -- and, of course, enabling Brother Keenan to set
up a tea community in Philadelphia.

*****

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You can also find back issues there.

Hello all! We'll be having a student meeting on Saturday to discuss
upcoming teaching schedules/curriculum changes (morning group  only) and
language issues in the tea room. Time is 10 a.m., same as normal class.
If you have input but can't make it Saturday, please get in touch with
Drew, Mariko-sensei, or Morgan for details.

Hope to see you then!

Just thought I'd pass this along for anybody who's going to be near the
University of Pennsylvania tomorrow:


> East Asian Studies Humanities Colloquium
>
> The Tradition in Naming in Chanoyu, Japanese Tea Ceremony
>
> Friday, November 15th
> 1:30 PM LOGAN HALL 402
>
> Janet Ikeda,
> Associate Professor, East Asian Languages and Literatures
> Washington & Lee University
>
> The joy of attending a tea gathering goes far beyond partaking in the sweet
> and bowl of tea.  From beginning until end the host serves as a narrator of
> an intricately written monogatari or tale.  Each step in the tea gathering
> weaves together various threads of a story that eventually are fashioned
> into texturally a rich and elaborate brocade.  As in renga or linked verse,
> a poetic art that flourished during the same period as chanoyu, the
> assemblage of images from a shared repertoire is what delights guest and
> host alike.  The thematic focus of a tea gathering is often communicated in
> the names of certain utensils.  This is characteristically, but not limited
> to the names of thick tea containers, tea bowls and tea scoops.  Sweets and
> tea, which are consumed, also have names.   Names assigned to utensils or
> comestibles are generally known as go-mei, and the more specific names that
> come from classical Japanese poetry are referred to as uta-mei.   The names
> of tea utensils are one aspect of Chanoyu, which is particularly difficult
> to describe to non-Japanese, and yet, it is this individual naming of
> utensils that is also so greatly appealing.  A poetic name such as
> "Yatsuhashi" or "Eight Bridges" evokes a well-known episode from the Tales
> of Ise or reference to the coast of Suma simultaneously recalls the tenth
> century poet, Yukihira, the fictional protagonist of The Tale of Genji and
> the Noh play "Matsukaze."  Such names reverberate with profound echoes that
> emanate from the canon of Japanese traditional culture.
>
> In this paper I will examine how the mechanism of naming in chanoyu operates
> within the context of Japan's literary and historical past.  Naming
> functions in several ways; it creates an identity for the utensil, provides
> a provenance or lineage, legitimizes the cultural, sentimental and even
> market value of the utensil, strengthens the utensil's ties with a legendary
> and historical past, draws one into the calendar or nenju gy_ji of court
> society, forces the listener to interactively make associative links with
> other traditions such as medieval drama and Heian narrative, heightens an
> awareness of Japan's geographical and poetic landmarks, and requires an
> informed and educated response.  In the case of comestibles, names provide a
> temporary enjoyment that typically accentuates patterns of a theme.  Similar
> to the image of the eternal traveler as seen in the haikai poet Basho, who
> has often been compared to the waki in a Noh play, the tea gathering allows
> the participants to journey to a remote past and summon the spirits of an
> earlier time.

Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 1, No. 7 -- November 2002

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Local Events
-- Seasonal notes: November
-- Tea Tidbits: Video review: Rikyu

*****

Class schedule:

November 2 -- Mariko-sensei
November 9 -- Robiraki
November 16 -- Taeko-sensei
November 23 -- Thanksgiving Break
November 30 -- TBA (call one of them and you’ll have a 50% chance of
getting it right ;-> )

For any questions about robiraki, please e-mail Morgan at
mleebeard@....

Looking ahead, our last day of class before winter break will be
December 14.

*****
Local Events:

The Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show is taking place at the
Pennsylvania Convention Center Nov. 7-10. While not strictly an Asian
event, it’s definitely worth seeing!

The Japanese House (Shofuso) in Fairmount Park is holding an origami
workshop on Nov. 30. For more information, call them at (215) 878-5077.

The Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia holds “conversation
clubs” on a regular basis, where Japanese and English speakers can come
together and practice their conversational skills. This month, meetings
will be held on the 5th and the 21st. For more information, call (215)
790-3810 or e-mail jasgp@....

*****

Seasonal notes: November

November is the beginning of winter, and so it’s now that we begin to
look forward to the cold days and nights that lie ahead.

In the tea world, two of the biggest gatherings are the opening of the
ro, the sunken hearth (a celebration called robiraki or irori no cha),
and the breaking on the seal of the tea jars (kuchi-kiri). In the past,
familes who practiced tea would send their jars, their chatsubos, to the
tea plantations to be filled. The growers would pack the koicha in small
packets in the middle and usucha leaves around the outside. During a
kuchi-kiri gathering, generally a chakai or chaji, the breaking of the
seal would be done first, before the meal was served, and then guests
would eat to the sound of their tea being freshly ground. Nowadays tea
comes pre-ground, of course, but the image of the chatsubo is still very
evocative of the time of year.

Good themes for the season are anything to do with the frost and cold
winter days or nights. At the beginning of the month you might still be
able to get away with images of changing leaves (momiji) and
chrysanthemums (kiku), but especially toward the end of November it’s
time to think about snow -- and staying indoors by a nice fire to avoid
it. Fire worshippers, this is your time to shine.

Other themes for the month include sudden rain showers, fire and
charcoal, pine or pine needles, tsubaki (camellia) and hunting themes
like rabbits, hawks, and owls.

Some poems for the season:

The sound of the wind among the pines and the bamboos puts me in the
mood for ro. -- Gorai

With the coming of the winter winds, I hide myself in the
four-and-a-half-mat room. -- Somin

The fallen red leaves are afloat and the not-fallen ones are reflected
in the river water at Mt. Takao. -- Fumai

As I serve the soup, the rain lets up. -- Chora


*****

Tea tidbits: Video review: Rikyu

Based on the award-winning book “Hideyoshi and Rikyu” by Yaeko Nogami
(not currently available in English), “Rikyu” details the
often-turbulent relationship between Sen no Rikyu and Toyotomi
Hideyoshi, the military ruler of Japan. Rikyu, in his 70s at the time,
had been tea teacher and advisor to Oda Nobunaga, one of the unifiers of
Japan. Hideyoshi, born a peasant, had risen through the ranks of the
military to become Nobunaga’s successor.

The relationship between Rikyu and Hideyoshi was a complex one.
Hideyoshi was an impulsive, passionate man, often given to fits of rage
-- usually to the detriment of the people around him. As Hideyoshi’s tea
teacher and one of his most important advisors, Rikyu had to walk a fine
line between his principles and his lord’s temper, trying to influence
and guide Hideyoshi without becoming a target.

As with many movies based on books, you’re left with the impression that
the plot of the novel was cut down to its bare bones to fit into the
movie’s two-hour length. And the image quality of the video was
unfortunately not improved for the DVD -- many scenes, particularly in
the tea room, are so dark that it’s hard to tell what’s going on.

Nevertheless, there’s a lot about the “big picture” of tea in this movie
-- what it’s about, what some people want it to be about, and what it
really means to be a tea practitioner. For those who are interested in
Rikyu’s life and philosophy of tea, “Rikyu” is not to be missed.

*****

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Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 1, No. 6 -- October 2002

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Local Events
-- Seasonal notes: October
-- Tea Tidbits: The Ten Virtues of Tea

*****

Class schedule:

October 5 -- Taeko-sensei
October 12 -- Mariko-sensei
October 19 -- Taeko-sensei
October 26 -- Mariko-sensei

Robiraki will be held November 9. Please e-mail me at
mleebeard@... and let me know if you’ll be attending. Nagging
will continue until I hear one way or the other. :->

*****
Local Events:

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is sponsoring an ikebana (flower
arranging) workshop on October 19. For more information, check out their
web site at www.philamuseum.org.

The Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia holds “conversation
clubs” on a regular basis, where Japanese and English speakers can come
together and practice their conversational skills. This month, meetings
will be held on the 1st and the 17th. For more information, call (215)
790-3810 or e-mail jasgp@....

*****

Seasonal notes: October

October is a transitional month, a time to celebrate the glories of
autumn at the same time you say goodbye to them. Gatherings could be
held to take a last look at the fall moon in the spirit of Emperor
Murakami, who held his moon viewing a month later than normal. Or you
could build a theme around the changing and falling of the leaves --
remembering always that you should anticipate what’s coming next, not
what’s happening now.

In keeping with the transitional nature of the season, tea people will
often do naka oki, a variation on ordinary furo cha where the furo is
placed in the middle of the dogu mat, closer to the guests. Because less
space is available, a tall, thin mizusashi is used.

In the choice of tea utensils, wabi is preferred. Pottery like Tamba,
Bizen, Shino, or Karatsu is good, as are less formal containers like
baskets and gourds. This month (October 12) is also the memorial day for
Basho, a great haiku poet, so a scroll with one of his poems might be a
nice touch.

The theme of “farewell to autumn” is a key one for the month; you might
use utensils or foods reminiscent of the opening of the furo to invoke
that feeling. Other seasonal themes or ideas to use include the frost,
the deepening cold, wild geese flying over, a gentle rain, late (dense)
autumn dew, changing the shoji, roasting chesnuts, chrysanthemums,
persimmons, and the withering autumn grasses.

Some poems for the season:

Gazing over the inlet one autumn evening and seeing the forlorn thatched
huts, I felt cherry blossoms or autumn colors are nothing. -- Teika

Beside the pillar in the tearoom on an autumn evening, who is the guest
and who is the host? -- Basho

While reading a book one autumn night, I hear faintly, tea being ground
in an outbuilding. -- Shiki

The sound of things! In autumn even dewdrops sound like a rain shower.
-- Shirao


*****

Tea tidbits: The Ten Virtues of Tea

Rikyu’s list: Blessed by gods. Shakes off sleepiness, Discharges filial
duties. Wards off serious disease. Makes one love and respect people.
Frees one from earthly desires. Keeps one healthy. Has contact with
nobility. Prolongs life. Expels darkness.

St. Myoe’s list: Dispels melancholy. Shakes off sleepiness. Vitalizes
Wards off disease. Controls manners. Encourages one to express respect.
Tastes with relish. Teaches morals. Enriches mind. Seeks after truth.


*****

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at http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/uls-news

You can also find back issues there.

Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 1, No. 5
September 2002

In this issue:

- September class schedule
- Local Events
- Seasonal Notes -- September
- Tea Tidbits -- How to make mochi

*****

September class schedule:

9/14 -- Taeko-sensei
9/21 -- Mariko-sensei
9/28 -- Taeko-sensei

If you’re planning to come to class and haven’t already signed up,
please contact the appropriate teacher to let her know that you’re
coming!

*****

Local events for September:

The Japanese House and Garden is sponsoring its annual moon viewing on
September 21, starting at 7 p.m. Trust me on this one, the view of the
moon from the deck of the house is stunning!

For those of you who aren’t already planning to be there, Taeko-sensei
is doing public demonstrations at the house the next day.

The Japan America Society’s next conversation club meeting is September
19 (topic: TV Show, TV Commercial).

And, looking ahead to October, the Philadelphia Museum of Art is
sponsoring an art history course on Japanese, Korean, and Chinese
ceramics. For more details, go to their web site at www.philamuseum.org
and click on “Education.”

*****

Seasonal notes: September

Since in the tea world autumn technically started in August, by now fall
is in full swing. Think wabi, wabi, wabi. Popular themes for this month
are anything that reflect the changes in nature right now -- the
changing leaves are a given (and don’t forget, it’s good to anticipate
the change before it happens), as well as autumn grasses and wildflowers
and the singing of insects.

The migration of wild geese are an important poetic theme, as well as
deer in general -- but be careful how you use it, since the deer is a
symbol of loneliness. The autumn dawn is another common image,
especially in connection with dew. And just as spring is associated with
mist, autumn is best represented by a clear day with high clouds.

One of the major festivals around this time is Choyo, the chrysanthemum
festival (September 9, the lucky ninth day of the ninth month).
Originally held to celebrate the blooming of the chrysanthemums, the
shift from lunar to solar calendar put the festival too early to catch
the flowers’ natural blooming time. Don’t let that deter you. Break out
those chrysanthemum-theme scrolls, bowls, kettles, tea scoops, tea
containers, incense containers, and sweets. And if you can’t find any
tea items with a chrysanthemum theme, you’re just not trying.

The other major activity, especially in the tea world, is a moon viewing
in honor of the harvest moon. The moon in general is one of the most
important poetic images of autumn, in all phases and appearances.
There’s a chabako temae designed specifically for moon viewings (tsuki
chabako), and it’s appropriate to have a tea gathering almost anywhere
that you can see the moon. Again, moon-themed tea bowls, tea scoops, tea
containers, and scrolls are very appropriate for any gathering
throughout the month.

*****

Tea Tidbits: How to Make Mochi

Mochi, a dough made from sweet rice flower, has a huge number of
variations, some for sweets, some not. The following recipe was taken
from a Japanese book on tea sweets:

Ingredients:
(makes 10-15 balls)

135 grams sugar (recipe calls for a Japanese sugar called johakuto,
granulated works fine)
150 grams mochiko
160 cc water

For the metric impaired:
slightly less than 2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup mochiko
slightly less than 2/3 cup water

(In experimenting, I’ve found that this makes slightly runny mochi; you
may want to adjust the water content to taste. Same with the sugar.)

Mix ingredients together in a large bowl.

Pour into a steamer lined with a thin cloth and steam for 15 minutes.

Stir mixture over heat until it starts to get doughy and stick to
itself, 1-2 minutes.

Put on surface covered with katakuriko (potato starch) -- the potato
starch keeps it from sticking to everything it touches. You should cover
your hands in katakuriko or dip them in water before touching the mochi.
Trust me on this.

Separate the mochi into balls, with the weight depending on how you’re
going to use it, or just eat it plain.

*****

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http://groups.yahoo.com/uls-news. You can also view past issues there.

Hello all! Hope you've had a great summer. Just a quick note to let
you know that the September newsletter is going to be a bit late --
my computer died last week, and I don't expect it back from the
repair shop until late this week at the earliest. Isn't technology
wonderful?

In the meantime, just a reminder that classes do begin this coming
Saturday, September 7, and if you're planning on attending please let
either Taeko-sensei or Mariko-sensei know (if you haven't already).

Thanks, and apologies for the inconvenience with the newsletter!

Morgan

Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 1, No. 4 -- August 2002

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Web Site Update
-- Seasonal notes: August
-- Tea Tidbits: Shinkei, Renga, and Wabicha

*****

There will be no classes in August; classes will begin again on
September 7. If you’re planning on coming, please contact either
Taeko-sensei or Mariko-sensei and let them know.

*****

Web site update:

Just thought I’d let you all know what’s going on with our site, since
you probably haven’t heard a peep about it since it went up in October!

The site is up and kicking, although the first few months were pretty
slow in terms of site traffic. In May and June things picked up, with
over a hundred visitors each month, and in July the figure went up above
600 (!).

The even better news is that we’ve had a few people inquire about taking
classes, so you may be seeing some new faces around come September.

If any of you have any ideas for how to make the site better, or know of
sites that might be willing to link to us and vice versa, drop me an
e-mail at mleebeard@....

*****

Seasonal notes: August

August is a curious in-between period in Japan. On the one hand, just
like here, it’s so hot that the last thing you want to do is put
something hotter in your body. On the other hand, around the 7th or 8th
day of August is the traditional first day of autumn -- ready or not,
it’s time to break out those “changing leaves” tea utensils.

In terms of theme, you can go either way. Motifs that suggest coolness,
such as the ones described in July’s newsletter, are still very
appropriate, and any gathering should be timed for either early morning
or evening, to avoid the heat of the day.

That may be one reason why gatherings that celebrate the stars are so
popular during the summer and into the autumn. One such for August is
ama no gawa, which in the old (lunar) calendar is actually the seventh
day of the seventh month, the Star Festival. This particular tea
gathering is held in honor of a cluster of stars that appear over the
skies of Japan about this time that look like a river. Anything to do
with stars, especially in a cluster that shines brightly in the night,
makes a good theme for utensils or the gathering itself.

Another major holiday around this time of year is Urabon-e, a Buddhist
festival honoring the ancestors. Services are held in homes and Buddhist
temples to remember the dead, culminating with Daimonji, the bonfire for
escorting the spirits of the dead, usually held on August 16. Around
this time lanterns are lit for them and set adrift on the water, a
well-known custom called toro-nagashi. Fireworks are also often set off
during these festivals.

If you want to go a different route and celebrate the coming of autumn,
a good theme would be aki-zare, the first scent of autumn. This can be
expressed through blowing wind, or images of barely-changing leaves, or
a single leaf falling to the ground. Other interesting ideas to work
with might be inazuma, the flash of lightning that happens without
thunder on autumn nights, or the sound of cicadas singing, or
dragonflies.

Some poems for the season:

Though the coming of autumn is not visible, the wind tells us that it
has come. -- Fujiwara no Toshiyuki

Soami has been asleep since sunset. Shall I have him woken up so that he
can see Daimonji? -- Buson

When I cross over Mt. Kamakura alone, a starlit night is the very thing
I want. -- Nijo Kotaikogo no Higo

The black glaze of the teabowl carries with it a flash of lightning. --
Hoitsu

A hovering dragonfly is trying in vain to settle on a blade of grass. --
Basho


*****

Tea tidbits: In the Beginning, There Was Wabi...

The aesthetic of wabi as it came to be applied to tea (wabicha) was
strongly influenced by a man named Shinkei (1406-1475), a practitioner
of a type of poetry called renga.

In renga, a group of people gathered in a single room, and one of them
composed a verse having to do with a particular theme, usually something
in nature. Each person in turn would have to compose a verse that linked
thematically to the one before it and the poem as a whole, all the while
following strict rules of wording and structure.

Shinkei, a Buddhist monk, developed his ideas on wabi through writings
on renga. At the core of his aesthetic was finding beauty in the “chill”
and the withered, an awareness of the impermanence of all things, and a
focus on clarity that is not distracted by warmth or bold colors.

Here’s what Shinkei had to say:

“Turn your attention to the faint and undistinguished (kasukanaru). It
is the link like white plum blossoming within the bamboo grove, like
seeing the moon amid clouds, that is engaging. There is no pleasure in
verses that are like branches of multipetaled cherry or crimson plum
lopped off when the blossoms have opened and are scattering, or like the
full moon of autumn.”

“To be shifted from the world of life into the world of death is, for
the flower, a kind of transcendence. The flower made to stand upon death
has been cut off from the constructs of time that occur in life, and it
is just as though it stands in the timeless present; its evanescent
existence of several days becomes a momentary point in which there is no
arising or perishing.”

“The verse of poets who dress up their thoughts and feelings has the
ring of deceit, whatever grace in form and diction it might possess. It
cannot manifest any purity of heart. Among the famous poems of the old
masters, and those of their works that they themselves approved, rarely
is an embellished surface to be found. In particular, the poems of the
ancient period are so straightforward and direct that the eyes of this
decadent world, accustomed as they are to affectation, cannot discern
their excellence.”

“Poems impued with genuine beauty emerge from the hearts of those whose
worldly desires have grown meager, who have been transfixed by the
awareness that all things ultimately pass without a trace, who never
forget human compassion, and who, for the sake of responding to
another’s kindness, are willing to consider their own life of little
consequence.”

“[If in renga you] participate in gatherings with skilled and unskilled
alike, day and night in thousand-link or hundred-verse sessions ... the
poisonous thoughts and feelings within your breast will be expelled, and
your own true verse will then emerge for the first time. You may draw
turbid water a little at a time waiting for it to clear, but to no
avail. If you draw fully and repeatedly, however, clear water will well
forth from below. Likewise, good verse lies in the heart’s depths.”

“On a cold night, it makes no difference whether you are wearing robes
of patterened brocade or lying under layers of hempen patchwork once you
have fallen asleep and forgotten about the wind.”

*****

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Keep on whipping!

Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 1, No. 3 -- July 2002

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Upcoming events
-- Seasonal notes: July
-- Tea Tidbits: The Song of Seven Bowls of Tea

*****

Classes will not be held in July; however, if anybody wants to get
together for an informal practice session, drop Morgan an e-mail at
mleebeard@....

*****

Local events:

On July 14, Taeko-sensei will be doing public demonstrations at the
Japanese House and Gardens. If you’re in the neighborhood (and not
already helping), drop by and say hello!

The Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia has Japanese-English
conversation nights on an ongoing basis. This month, the dates are July
2 (topic: Commonly Used Phrases) and July 18 (topic: Crimes). For more
information, e-mail the JASGP at jasgp@....

There’s a new Japan-oriented exhibit opening at the Philadelphia Museum
of Art titled “Munakata Shiko: Japanese Master of the Modern Print.” The
exhibit opens July 27 and runs through November, and features over 100
of this modern artist’s paintings, prints, calligraphy, and ceramic
objects.

*****

Seasonal notes: July

As we head into the two hottest months of the year, think cool, cool,
cool. Your main job as host is to make sure that your guests forget all
about the heat. Traditional motifs include anything to do with water,
especially boats, the ocean, or waterfalls, and things made with reeds
or green bamboo. Anything to do with ice is also very appropriate (like
broken-ice sweets, for example), or clouds, or gourds, which were used
to carry water.

Pottery that is either dark brown (like Seto) or white (like Shino or
Satsma) is a good choice, as are natsumes made of wood or glass, and, of
course, wide, flat summer chawans. To give a feeling of open space,
don’t overcrowd the tea room.

Sasaki Sanmi says in his tea almanac that “a mosquito-repellent incense
should not be considered a nuisance.”

Tea gatherings this time of year are traditionally held either in the
early morning (asa-chaji) or evening as the sun sets. In Japan, tea
people might go to a hasu-mi no cha, a gathering to listen to the lotus
flowers pop as they open. Anything relating to lotus, including celadon
(seiji) pottery, makes a good theme this time of year.

One of the major festivals in Japan this month is Tanabata Matsuri, the
Star Festival or Festival of the Weaver, held July 7. The legend is that
the Lord of Heaven had a daughter (the Western star Vega) who spent all
her time weaving by the side of a river (the Milky Way). Her father
arranged her marriage to a man (the Western star Altair) on the other
side of the river, but once she was married she stopped weaving. Her
father was so angry he brought her back to the other shore, and since
then the husband and wife can only meet once a year, on July 7.

Motifs for the star festival include stars, of course; boats to cross
the river; mulberry leaves; putting up bamboo; and tying up strips of
fancy paper with poems.

Some poems for the season:

It is already shou-sho [15 days after the summer solstice] but obviously
the rainy season is lingering. -- Nigatsudo

In the midst of the dog days I rustle around the green tatami with my
broom. -- Soujou

I wish we could put a kettle on and forget the heat. -- Bantoku

The natsu-chawan is shallow, but that will be all right, won’t it? You
can always ask for a refill. -- Gizan

*****

Tea tidbits:

Rodo Shichi-wan, The Song of the Seven Bowls of Tea
(Lu To’ng, c. 795-835)

A first bowl wets my throat and lips,

A second bowl dispels my loneliness,

A third bowl swells my dried and shrunken intestines, preparing me for
5,000 volumes of writing,

A fourth bowl induces slight perspiration, which flushes all complaints
out of my pores,

A fifth bowl makes my skin and bones clean and fresh,

A sixth bowl makes me feel as if I had become a hermit or a divine
spirit,

A seventh bowl, therefore, is not really needed, my arms are free to
feel the breeze blow.

*****

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Keep on whipping!

Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 1, No. 2 -- June 2002

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Upcoming events
-- Seasonal notes: June
-- Tea Tidbits: The Urasenke Lineage

*****

Class schedule:
(if you’re planning to attend, please sign up in advance or contact the
appropriate teacher to let her know you’re coming.)

June 1 -- Taeko-sensei
June 8 -- Mariko-sensei
June 15 -- Mariko-sensei
June 22 -- Taeko-sensei
June 29 -- Taeko-sensei

Mariko sensei will also be having a sweet-making class at her home on
June 14. If you’re interested, please contact her for more details.

*****

Local events:

June 1 there will be a shiatsu (massage) workshop given at the Japanese
House in Fairmount Park. For more information, see their web site at
www. shofuso.org.

The Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia has Japanese-English
conversation nights on an ongoing basis. This month, the dates are June
4 (topic: Vacation) and June 20 (topic: Kwaidan, Scary Stories). For
more information, e-mail the JASGP at jasgp@....

On June 5, the Philadelphia Museum of Art is hosting a Japan-oriented
Wednesday evening. Includes a showing of the filk “Kikujiro,” music by
the Sawai Koto Ensemble, dancing by the Saeko Ichinohe Dance Co., food,
sake tasting, and more. For more information, call (215) 684-7506.

June 22 is the Summer Festival at the Japanese House. Events include
martial arts demonstrations, shiatsu, orgami, games, food, etc. For more
information, visit www.shofuso.org.

*****

Seasonal notes: June

June is the month when summer’s heat really hits, and so the job of the
tea person is to suggest coolness. Tea utensils that are blue to suggest
water, or white to suggest ice are good, as are items of unfinished wood
or green bamboo.  Also appropriate are utensils that relate to summery
scenes like boats on the water, cool breezes, the shade of green trees,
and so on. Wildlife for the season include waterfowl, cicadias, and
fireflies.

Around the 10th of June in Japan is the start of the month-long rainy
season, when rice is planted and begins to sprout. Along with the rice
imagery, you could use the idea of the tearoom as a refuge from the
rain, or a pause in the rain, or greenery growing as a result of the
rain.

Poems:

A mountain is a mountain; water is water.

How seductive the falls are, never-ending water, with a swirl and a
whirl; how stoic the rocks. -- Toshiyori

The firefly disappears from the clumps of grass, to immediately reappear
in the distance. -- Basho

When I found a star, how much happier I was than when I saw the moon in
the rain-laden sky of May. -- Enshu
[In the lunar calendar, the rainy season falls in May, the fifth month,
rather than June.]


*****

Tea Tidbits: The Urasenke Lineage

First generation: Rikyu Soeki (1522-1591). The man with the plan. A
student of Takeno Joo, he hosted his first tea gathering at 15. Forty
years later, he became the tea advisor to Oda Nobunaga and later to
Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His teachings served as the inspiration for later
generations of tea.

Second generation: Shoan Sojun (1546-1614). The son of Rikyu’s second
wife and her first husband, Shoan married Rikyu’s daughter and was
adopted into the family. After the reinstatement of the Sen family name
following Rikyu’s suicide, he and his step-brother Doan (Rikyu’s son by
his first wife) began teaching tea as second-generation masters.

Third generation: Gempaku Sotan (1578-1658). Shoan’s son, who succeeded
his father at the age of 18. Perhaps wary of his grandfather’s fate, he
stayed away from politics and rejected numerous offers of patronage from
nobles. During his retirement, he built Konnichian, one of Urasenke’s
most famous tea-huts.

Fourth generation: Senso Shoshitsu (1622-1697). The youngest child of
Sotan, he spent much of his career as a tea advisor to the Maeda family.
Senso made a number of contributions to the arts of chanoyu, including
enabling the Raku potter Chozaemon to set up the Ohi kiln and kettle
maker Miyazaki Kanchi to establish the Kanchi foundry.

Fifth generation: Fukyusai Joso (1673-1704). Following in his father’s
footsteps, he served with the Maeda family and later transferred to
become the tea advisor to the Hisamatsu family of Matsuyama. His favored
tea utensil was the red-topped thin tea container.

Sixth generation: Rikkansai Taiso (1694-1726). Only 10 at the time of
his father’s death, Rikkansai was given training in tea by Omotesenke
grand master Kakukakusai Genso. Like his father, he also died young, at
the age of 32.

Seventh generation: Chikuso Soken (1709-1733). When Rikkansai left no
heir, his mother adopted Kakukakusai’s second son, Chikuso, who became
the seventh-generation grand master. He, unfortunately, died even
younger than Rikkansai, also leaving no heirs.

Eighth generation: Yugensai Itto (1719-1771). Chikuso’s younger brother
then took over leadership of the Urasenke school. He and Chikuso’s older
brother, Joshinsai Tennen (the seventh-generation master of Omotesenke),
set about revitalizing both schools. The two together developed the
shichijishiki, tea exercises or tea games. Itto continued the Urasenke
relationship with the Hisamatsu family and also acted as advisor for the
Hachisuka family, establishing a number of new Urasenke tea schools in
major cities around Japan.

Ninth generation: Fukensai Sekio (1746-1801). When the Urasenke
household was nearly destroyed by a fire in 1788, it was Fukensai who
took on the responsibility of rebuilding it.

Tenth generation: Nintokusai Hakuso (1770-1826). Married young, he had
his first child at the age of 16, but none of his five sons lived to
adulthood. He was said to be a man of strict discipline, both with
himself and with others.

Eleventh generation: Gengensai Seichu (1810-1877). Originally born to
the powerful Matsudaira family, he was adopted by the Sen family in
1819. Given a thorough training in Chinese and Japanese arts, he
succeeded Nintokusai to the head of Urasenke at the age of 16. He was
the head of the school during the difficult transition to the Meiji Era
(1868-1912), and acted as an advocate for the way of tea in a time when
other cultural arts were being dismissed. He invented the ryurei, or
table-top, temae.

Twelfth generation: Yumyosai Jikiso (1852-1917). Married into the
Urasenke family and became head of the school at the age of 19. However,
he was unhappy in the role, and turned it over to his son at the age of
33. Meanwhile, his wife Yukaku was a major force in spreading tea to the
women of Japan, a famous teacher in her own right.

Thirteenth generation: Ennosai Tetchu (1872-1924). Succeeding his father
to become head of the school at the age of 12, he later married and
devoted himself to spreading the way of tea in Japan. He helped to
standardize the secondary school tea courses for girls and introduced a
series of summer seminars in tea.

Fourteenth generation: Tantansai Sekiso (1893-1964). Continued his
father’s work in spreading the way of tea, including the development of
local tea groups. He was also the first to formally introduce tea to the
West, organizing a number of international branches to further spread
tea overseas.

Fifteenth generation: Hounsai Soshitsu (1923 -- ). The current grand
master of the Urasenke tea school.

Urasenke La Salle Newsletter
Vol. 1, No. 1 -- May 2002

IN THIS ISSUE

-- Class Schedule
-- Upcoming events
-- Seasonal notes: May
-- Tea Tidbits: Rikyu on tea

*****

Class schedule:
(if you’re planning to attend, please sign up in advance or contact the
appropriate teacher to let her know you’re coming.)

May 4 -- Taeko sensei
May 11 -- No class
May 18 -- Mariko sensei
May 25 -- Memorial Day, no class

Mariko sensei will also be having a sweet-making class at her home, date
and time TBA. If you’re interested, please contact her for more details.

*****

Local events:

On May 11 & 25 (Saturday afternoons), the Philadelphia Museum of Art is
sponsoring an art history course on Chinese calligraphy. For more
information, visit the museum’s web site at www.philamuseum.org.

The Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia has Japanese-English
conversation nights on an ongoing basis. This month, the dates are May 7
(topic: Welfare) and May 16 (topic: Fashion). For more information,
e-mail the JASGP at jasgp@....

Just a reminder: the tea exhibits at the Japan Society and the Asia
Society in New York close on May 19. It’s been getting rave reviews from
those who have seen it already; don’t miss out!

*****

Seasonal notes: May

The beginning of May (traditionally the 5th or 6th) is the transition to
furo or summer season, and it’s a time to look forward to the warmth and
fun of summertime. Images for the season include fresh greenery,
especially grass-like flowers and wisteria and azalea; baskets; flower
viewings; the cuckoo (hototogisu); and utensils that have a light, airy
feeling.

The major holiday for the month is Boy’s Day (May 5), which is
celebrated with lots of “male” themes like warrior dolls and suits of
armor. Think weaponry, heroes, and powerful animals like tigers and
dragons.

Seasonally, May is also a time when the wheat is ripening in the fields,
and this motif is reflected in serving sweets and foods with wheat in
them. Likewise, rice seedlines are just starting to sprout, so you might
use utensils reflecting rice fields. Other ideas to express poetically
are soft, warm breezes and pure water flowing from the mountains.

Some poems for the season:

It is wheat harvest time; through the clouds of dust and chaff
the temple bell at noon is somewhat muted.
-- Taigi

On a moonlit night I slumber on the summer riverside.
-- Sampu

As I handle the teascoop in complete silence, a hototogisu warbles.
-- Sokyu

The wind in the trees has died down
and the color of the rice seedlings is revealed.
-- Ransetsu

*****

Tea Tidbits: From the _Namporoku_ (attributed to Rikyu)

“It is good for guest and host to be in mutual accord. But to contrive
to be in accord is detrimental. If both guest and host have attained a
grasp of the way, a sense of harmony will arise spontaneously. If
immature practitioners seek only to be in consonance with each other,
when one side falters along the path, both fall into error. Therefore,
it is good to be in accord; it is wrong to be so intentionally.”