今週の利休百首から抜粋の句は
『茶はさびて心はあつくもてなせよ 道具はいつも有合にせよ』
日頃、揃わない道具を色々と工夫しながら見立てて、お稽古をしていますが、お客さまをお迎えするときも心からのおもてなしを差し上げれば、特別な道具を準備しなくても、手持ちの有り合わせの道具で構わないということなのですね。利休様からお墨付きをいただいた気分です。
“Keep the tea rustic and through your heart,
Give warm hospitality; always simply put together utensils you already have”
Since we lack utensils for each procedure of tea ceremony, we usually substitute a missed utensil with something we have on hand. This poem tells us the most important thing in the tea room is our hospitality for the guests, and having special utensils for each occasion is secondary. After reading this poem, I felt Rikyu gave us a permission for what we have been doing for years in Junshin-An. Even though we have limited resources, we strive to keep the space peaceful and warm for the guests to enjoy a bowl of tea.
お菓子は栗大福です。生徒さんの旦那様の実家で採れた栗が堅かったので甘煮にしましたということでしたので、ではその甘栗をあんこで包んだ大福を作りましょうということになりました。全部で25個もできました。市販では味わえないやわらかい大福もちで大好評！
We served kuri-daifuku (chestnut rice cake) during our practice. Since one of my students harvested chestnuts last November, we decided to use these chestnuts as our sweet this week. After we defrosted and cooked the chestnuts in syrup, we mixed them with red bean paste to make the chestnut filling. Then, we wrapped the filling inside the sweet and soft rice dough to make 25 rice cakes. Even though not perfect in shape and size, everyone enjoyed the cakes with green matcha tea.
