先週末から今週にかけては風炉後炭手前のお稽古です。これは一連の茶会の中で、濃茶点前の後、薄茶点前の前に燃えつきかけて流れた炭を整え、新たに炭を足すお手前です。朝きれいに咲いた朝顔を水切りして、竹かごの花入れにさしていたら、利休が庭に咲いたたくさんの見事な朝顔を全部切ってしまい、たった一輪の朝顔を床に掛けた逸話を思い出しました。後炭手前の特徴は、(1)初炭手前で切った月型の中に白いふじ灰を埋め込む所作—これは白い月がぽっと浮かんだ感じでとても風流ですー と(2)お客様が炭が組まれた後、風炉中を拝見する(3)釜を風炉に掛ける前に、湿らせた茶巾で釜肌を拭く所作があります。熱い釜肌を茶巾で拭いた跡が、す〜っと消えていく様は何とも風雅なのです。炭手前は、一時現実の世界から離れて、快く利休の時代を浮遊しているような気分にさせてくれます。
We have been practicing furo-gozumi demae these past few weeks. This is the second procedure to add charcoal to the fire, performed after the guests have received koicha or thick tea during chakai. We rearranged the burned charcoals and added new ones to the fire. Sensei decorated the alcove with morning glory in a bamboo vase. This flower reminded her of the famous anecdote that Sen no Rikyu decorated an alcove by using just one morning glory, after razing the field of all other morning glory, in order to placing emphasis on the beauty of just one flower. The characteristics of this gozumi demae are, (1) to fill the white ashes into the moon shaped hollow made in shozumi demae. It looks like the moon floating in a tea room. (2) guests can come close to the furo and view the beautifully arranged charcoal (3) hosts draw the line on the surface of hot kama with wet cloth before returning the Kama inside the furo. You can see the water line on the kama evaporate and disappear in a few second. It is a refined and beautiful moment. Gozumi demae takes us from the reality for a moment showing us a glimpse of an era Sen no Rikyu created.
