| C CHIASHI The streamlined legs which flow naturally from the body of a utensil such as the chôsen-buro, the Ryûkyû-buro, or certain incense burners. CHIGA KAKÔ (1811-1890) Tea master. Other names used include Iichi, Denueimon and Futai-an. Native of Sanshû Okazaki, he learned the Sôhen style of Tea from Fuzô-an Ryûkei, from whom he inherited the title "Seventh Generation Sôhen Fuzô-an of the True Stream of Rikyû." Though most of his activity was centered around Okazaki, he also had many followers in the Hamamatsu area. In Meiji 11 he published the "Manual for Learning Proper Chanoyu," in which he attempted to teach tea procedures through instructions in verse form. CHIGAI-DANA Staggered shelves built into the area next to a tokonoma or shô-in. CHIGARA KIKUTAN (1728-1801) Sukisha. Other names: Sen'eimon, Kanryû-an. He lived in Edo at Nihonbashi and learned Tea from Ittô Sôshitsu. It is said that there was a tearoom favored by Ittô called "Bai-an" at his residence. CHIGIRI An hourglass shape in which the top and bottom of the utensil open out while the waist is brought in. Often used for hanaire and futaoki. Also called ryûgo (standing tsutsumi drum). CHIKAMATSU SHIGENORI (1695-1778) Military scholar. Also known by the names, Hikonoshin, Nankai Nôgenshi. He called his residence Renbeidô, the "Hall of Military Training." The son of Shigekiyo of the Owari domain, he learned the military arts as a child, and at the age of seventeen went to Edo to become juvenile assistant to clan leader, Yoshimichi. However, after only two months there, the clan leader died and Shigenori returned to Owari where he vigorosly applied himself to the study of the military arts, and at nineteen became a professor of military studies. He was also accomplished in waka and haikai, as well as writing, leaving many works on military affairs. His haikai name was Chôboku. His chanoyu lineage is unknown but he left two written works related to Tea, the "Discussions of the Former Times of Chado," and the "Stories from a Tearoom Window." CHIKARA-DAKE Bamboo poles which are built into the outer walls of tea houses. They were also called aida-bashira, but in order to distinguish them from the aida-bashira which serve as a structural basis for the tea house, they have been called chikara-dake. While they serve the purpose of supporting the wall around the shitaji-mado, which is made by leaving part of the wall unplastered, they are also effective in adding to the creative design of the outside view of the tearoom. As a rule they are constructed half-way between the aida-bashira, but in order to improve the artistic design of the outer wall, they are freely place. CHIKA-WATARI Term for tea fabrics (meibutsu-gire) which were brought to Japan in the early part of the Edo period. CHIKUGO-GIRE A kohitsu-gire written by the Emperor Fushimi. CHIKUIN JÔCHI see Yabunouchi-ryû. CHIKUJI JÔCHI see Yabunouchi-ryû. CHIKUKEI A tankei made of bamboo. CHIKUÔ DONSU Fabric favored by Chikuô Jôchi. Gold-brown kakuryû patterns are woven onto a light green fabric with vertical stripes. Along with Jôchi Kinran and Fukuju Donsu it is a characteristic fabric of the Yabunouchi School. CHIKUÔ JÔCHI see Yabunouchi-ryû. J JIGAMI USHI KOGO Gosu kogo. Fifth ranking in the eastern division of the "Sumo List Ranking of Moulded Kogo." It is in the fan shape with a picture of an ox. There is another kogo similar to this one which is not moulded. It is called the Gyokushôgyû kogo. JIGAMI-GATA KOGO Fan-shaped kogo. One of the styles of sometsuke kogo. JI-ITA The lowest shelf of a tana. In the case of a daisu this may also be called the nagaita. The term is used in contrast to ten-ita. It is also sometimes used to refer to a tokonoma floor which does not have tatami, also known as the toko-ita. N NANGA Abbreviation of nanshû ("Southern School Painting"). The late Ming period Chinese artist and critic Dong Qichang divided all of the landscape paintings from the Tang period to his own time into two stylistic lines, the Northern School of Painting (Hokushûga, abbreviated to Hokuga) and the Southern School of Painting (Nanshûga, abbreviated to Nanga). The Southern School was composed of literary types who were not official court painters. It began with Wang Wei and included Jing Hao, Guan Tong, Dong Yuan, Juran and Mi Fu, as well as the Four Yuan Masters (Huang Gong Wang, Wu Zhen, Ni Zan and Wang Meng), and continued in the Ming period with such painters as Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming and Dong Qichang. At present the term Southern School is used to denote the work of literati type painters. The Northern School, which can be called the painting of the Imperial Art Academy, is represented by Li Sixun, Li Zhaodao, Zhao Boju, Ma Yuan and Xia Gui. NANKIN AKAE Akae porcelain produced for export by the non-government kilns of Jingdezhen (northern Jiangyou province) during the Qing period in China. A large number of these wares are hiire and plates bearing depictions of natural scenery, human figures, birds and flowers. Red-rimmed pieces are highly regarded by chanoyu enthusiasts. NANKIN SEIJI This term is used to refer to rather unskillfully made porcelain wares produced in China during the Qing period. Because the clay used is white to begin with, the white glaze which is applied lacks depth. Pieces with designs created either from etching or from removing portions of clay are common. The term ura haku seiji ("the other seiji") is also used. Fukushû seiji (seiji of Fuzhon) is included in this category. NAWA SUDARE ("rope curtain") A design on ceramic wares consisting of vertical lines resembling a doorway hanging which uses a row of cords or rope (nawa noren or nawa sudare). The lines may be solid or broken, they may be etched in the clay or inlaid, or they may be applied with an iron based or gosu (cobalt) glaze. The namban nawa sudare muzusashi is a particularly well known example of this. It is often found on egohon style bowls and in odoyaki wares. S SABAKU Verb. 1) To fold the fukusa in the prescribed manner during a tea procedure. 2) To level off the accumulation of tea powder in a tea bowl with the tip of the chashaku after pouring it from the chaire SABI The quality of being aged and tasteful. Originally from the word sabishi (lonely, solitary). That the element of sabi lies at the heart of the spirit of chanoyu is attested to in the Kôshin Gegaki, which states, "The basis of chanoyu takes that which is imbued with sabi as its principal [factor]." Wabi is similarly considered to be part of the nucleus of the tea spirit and the two concepts are easily confused. Around the time of the Shin Kokinshu the two were set up as contrasting aesthetic priciples. Wabi implies sadness, mental anguish and suffering, and as can be seen from such expressions as omoi-wabiru (to feel lonely or depressed) and urami-wabu (to feel wretched from bitterness and spite) it represented an undesirable quality. Sabi (or sabishisa) on the other hand was a desirable quality reflected in poetry dealing with subjects such as gazing at the moon in solitude or experiencing the lonliness of a mountain hamlet. It was idealized as an experience of purity and refinement beyond our ordinary world, and as such shares a similar attitude with Zen and the Buddhist notion of emptiness, both of which greatly influenced the spiritual development of chanoyu. SAHARA KIKÛ (? - 1843) Potter. Created the Hyakkaen garden at Mukôshima in Edo in 1804, and using clay taken from the Sumida River initiated a type of raku ware. A disciple of Ogata Shûhei. see Sumidagawa-yaki SAHARI A metal alloy consisting of copper mixed with smaller amounts of tin, lead or silver. Also called kyôdô. Sahari is mentioned in the literature of the Nara period, and within the Shôsôin Collection are found mizutsugi, bowls and small lidded containers made of this material. It was widely used in ancient times in China, Korea, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Wares produced in China are finely wrought with a nickel color tinged yellow and bearing a surface of hammered-in spots referred to as "tiger skin." Those of Korea have a dark tarnished appearance and the surface of the interior parts of many have a scale-like appearance which glitters when struck by light. Those of Southeast Asia have a greenish yellow patina and feature carved motifs around the rims, with small reddish brown bumps here and there. Sahari wares of the Middle East are often decorated with needle-thin etchings. They are the color of nickel and their rims as thinly built. In Japan, from the Momoyama period chajin have used sahari hana-ire, mizusashi and kensui. Well-known sahari hanging hana-ire include: the “Matsumoto-bune Hana-ire” (ômeibutsu), the “Akaneya-bune Hanaire” (meibutsu), the “Awajiya-bune Hana-ire” (meibutsu), the “Hirata-bune Hana-ire,” (meibutsu), and the “Hariya-bune Hana-ire” (meibutsu). Collectively these are known as the "Five Boats (Go-bune)," while the Matsumoto, the Awajiya and the Hariya together are referred to as the "Three [Greatest] Boats Under Heaven (Tenka Sanbune)." Another great hanaire is an early Ming sahari piece in the shape of a length of planed timber (“Kakugi Hana-ire”). SANADA HIMO A narrow, braided or woven cord in either the flat or rounded styles. Made of cotton, a special feature of this cord is the series of thick ribs running across its width. Its name comes from the fact that it was used by Sanada Masayuki to wrap around the hilt of his sword. It is used to tie boxes, and can be a type of konomimono. SANO DENSHO Work written by Ogata Kenzan in 1737 a the request of Shimono Sano, the actual title being Toki Seihô (Ceramics Production Methods).The contents include such sections as "The Ordinary Glazes of the Honshôzan Kiln," "The Glazing Methods of All Vessels of the Honshôzan Kiln," "Colors of the Honshôzan Kiln," and "Secret Glazes Handed Down in My Family." Kenzan includes methods transmitted to him by Ninsei as well as information about glazes which he himself developed through personal research. Since much of the work was written by Kenzan without the help of his notes (they had been lost in a fire in Edo) it is difficult to confirm the accuracy of the descriptions of glaze composition and mixing. SANO CHÔKAN (1791-1863) Kyoto lacqerware artisan known as Chôheiya Tadasuke. He was said to be the fifth generation descendant of the well known Korean craftsman Chôkan (different kanji "kan"). Sano Chôkan travelled the country visiting various lacquer studios and finally at the age of 35 returned to Kyoto, taking up residence at Shinmachi Sanjô, where he made a constant effort to produce new and inventive styles of lacquerware. His black lacquered works with pictures are especially prized. SANO KENZAN Ceramics made by Kenzan in Sano, Tochigi Prefecture. Kenzan visited Sano from September to November of 1737 at the invitation of Sudo Tosen and Ôkawa Kendô, at which time he taught ceramics and produced some works of his own. He also wrote the Sano Densho while in Sano. Two well-known pieces from this period are a hi-ire with paintings of plum, orchid and narcissus, and a kikyô-shaped bowl. SANUKI ENZA (see ENZA) SANUKI YAKI Also called Takamatsu Yaki and Rihei Yaki. Name by which ceramic wares produced in Kagawa Prefecture (Sanuki no Kuni) are known. San'yô Dôhachi is also sometimes referred to by this term. SANYÛ (1683-1739) Potter. Sixteenth generation master of the Raku kiln. Second son of Yamatoya Kahei of Aburakoji-nijô, Kyoto, he became the adopted son of the fifth generation Raku master, Sônyû. Originally named Sôkichi, he succeeded Sônyû in February of 1708 at the age of twenty-four, taking the name Kichizaemon. At the age of forty-four, Sanyû took the Buddhist tonsure and retired. At that time he received the character "sa" from Kakukakusai Sôsa, and became known as Sanyû. In style, his work includes traces of Sônyû's kase-gusuri in some of his black raku, a deep persimmon colored glaze in his red raku, and a glaze now known as Sanyû-gusuri, in which white drops appear on a red raku base and penetrate the surface in the manner of kôrô-gusuri. He also left some outstanding pieces in the styles of Chôjiro, Nonkô and Kôetsu. At one point he followed Joshinsai Sôsa to Wakayama. In his later years he produced the "Two Hundred Tea Bowls of Sanyû," and it is believed that he fired Kenzan's painted black raku tea bowl. SEKIBIRAKI The opening of a new tearoom by holding its first tea gathering, which strictly speaking takes the form of a shogo chaji. SEKIHAI Ceramic sake cups used at a tea gathering. The word can be written with either the kanji for "stone" or "seat" (seki) plus the kanji for "drinking cup" (hai). When written with the "stone" kanji, the word can also be pronounced "ishi sakazuki." the term is used to differentiate these cups from hikihai, the lathe-turned wooden lacquered cups normally used at a chaji. SEKIMORI ISHI Stones tied in a cross pattern with bracken twine. They are marker stones placed at branches in a roji's stepping stone pathways to indicate which turns not to take. "Sekimori" means barrier keeper. SEKIYO ("Setting Sun") a) Omeibutsu tenmoku chawan. A yellow bowl in the ash-covered (haikatsugi) tenmoku style, with yellow glaze drip. The overall color scheme of the bowl is that of a persimmon goldish hue with a silver hakeme-like pattern. It has a silver lip cover (fukurin). Below the glaze line there is a wide area of exposed clay the color of iron-tinged purple. The edge of the foot is uneven, the potter's spatula having been applied in a carefree way. There is red lacquer lettering on the inside of the foot. An amagasaki stand goes with the bowl. This bowl was originally part of the Higashiyama Gomotsu collection but was passed on to the Nara monk Shishobo of Todaiji. It was often mentioned in the Matsuyama Kaiki and in the Tennojiya Kaiki. Later it left the hands of Shishobo and came into the possession of an administrator at Osaka Castle named Tangosu Noritoshi. In 1868 it was acquired by Sakai Tadayoshi. Its name is based on the scenery formed by its glaze. b) Important Cultural Asset. Meibutsu. Korean gosho maru style bowl with black hakeme glazing. It is kutsu-gata in shape with a slightly warped lip and a wide cut of the potter's spatula circumscribing the body. The foot is in a six-sided shape with the exposed clay unevenly distributed. There is a metallic element within the black hakeme strokes and the white glaze appears here and there over the black. A tea bowl of very strong character, it has long been considered the finest of all black hakeme gosho maru bowls. It passed from Hisahara Osabur? to Inoue Segai. Z ZABAKI The sweeping of the tatami of a tearoom with a habôki, or the feather used to do this, of which there are two types, the zabôki and the hakikomi. A zabôki is used to sweep out the tearoom before the host exits to greet the guests (mukaetsuke) and also during the guests' break (nakadachi), and is made of wild goose or crane feathers, all taken from the same side of the bird and bundled accordingly. A hakikomi is used for zabaki in a small room during a chaji after sumi-demae, in which case the host leaves the kettle lid closed. Crane or swan feathers are used, also in a one-sided arrangement. In present day use, however, these two types of dusters are used interchangeably, and depending on the school of tea, the mizuya duster (tsukami-bane) or the temae habôki are also used in place of the hakikomi. |
| urasenke foundation seattle branch |
This dictionary of chanoyu is a work in progress and as such it will always be “under construction.” My sources are the Genshoku Chadô Dai Jiten published by Tankôsha plus various articles that I encounter in Japanese books and magazines. I hope that it will be of use to whomever may wish to consult it. Corrections are welcomed. Keith Snyder Director, Vancouver Branch February 22, 2002 |
| CHANOYU DICTIONARY |
| Translated by Keith Snyder Vancouver, BC |
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