さあ11月です。風炉を片付けて、炉を置きました。『炉開き』です。
軸は紫野大徳寺大仙院桃林和尚の『紅葉秋風に舞う』。お花は一輪の黄色の菊を鶴首の花入れに挿しました。お菓子は抹茶をたっぷりと練りこんだ『抹茶大福』を作りました。2日前から小豆を焚いて作ったおぜんざいを皆で頂いた後、半年ぶりの炉点前で濃茶と薄茶をいただきました。
COVID-19の感染を防止するため、襖は開けはなってはいますが、炉が客畳に近づいた分、何か茶室全体が暖かくなった感じがしました。
In the first week of November, we opened ro (wintertime hearth) for the first time since April. The translation of the calligraphy on the scroll is “red leaves dance in fall breeze”. I placed yellow chrysanthemum in a long-necked vase and made sweet matcha Daifuku, which my students served.
For the ro briraki occasion, I spent two days cooking traditional zenzai. My students enjoyed this sweet bean soup with mochi.
Later, we used the ro to boil water and enjoyed two teas–thin and thick.
Normally during ro all the doors are closed. During the pandemic, however, we kept the doors open for better air circulation. Although it was chilly outside, the ro in the center of the room kept us warm.
