Arco (TN)

Arco (TN)

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Sparkling Stars - Tea - October 18, 2014



 an empty cup
water bubbling merrily
a blackbird singing

©  G.s.k. '14

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I loved the prompt by our host at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, Chèvrefeuille.  I can feel completely in tune with the aptmosphere he relates in his post ... beginning with the time of day he's writing, which is the time of day I usually wake up and write.

I'm going to imagine that I'm in a classical tea house, which has been prepared for the Cha noYu - or The Way of  Tea.  I  imagine that the host has spent the day in meditation, preparing the room with just the right amount of charcoal in the brazier to boil the water, the seasonal flower arraingement, and each utensil has been laid out just so ...

I'm reminded of a story that I hear a long time ago about Sen no Rikyū who is considered the the historical figure who had the most influence on the chanoyu, in particular to the Wabi-cha (which is what I'm imagining above) which weighs heavily on estetics.  He was almost fanatical about creating the perfect aptmosphere of simplicity - the size of the room, the position of the every single object under his guidance became an art of precision.  Even to the placing of a drop of water on a petal.

One day, after Rikyū ahd passed a morning preparing the Wabi-cha, a young disciple came into the cerimonial room and distractedly knocked over the flower arraigement that the Master had  worked on all morning.  The student was mortified and was expecting to be disciplined.  Instead of shouting at the young man, Rikyū embraced him thanking him: this is the perfection that I had been seeking all morning!
But he was also famous for this sentence:


The Way of Tea is naught but this:

first you boil water,

then you make the tea and drink it.

tea ceremony tokyo

Cats Tea Ceremony Tokyo



Here are some delightful haiku by Yozakura whom we have recently met here on Carpe Diem Haiku Kai:

  deep silence
only the sound of boiling water
an empty cup

© Yozakura

 in this tea house
the smell of cherry blossoms
scooping hot water

© Yozakura

 all alone
at the foot of Mt. Fuji -
tea and nothing else

© Yozakura

Yozakura (1640-1716)

16 comments:

  1. It really is comforting isn't it? I never got the new kind of hot water carafe I have an old fashioned singing pot.

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    1. Me too .... and it bubbles merrily without electric ... I find it strange when I go visit and someone offers tea and then pops the cup into the microwave!

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  2. Tea... simple.. yet infinitely complex

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    1. yes ... isn't it strange how the Japanese culture has created such complicated simplicity ...

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  3. I was inspired by your story by Sen no Rikyu and wrote a second haiku based ond on this for the prompt. Ha...loved the Cats Tea Ceremony In Tokyo.:)

    Yours...a beautiful tranquil time depicting the early morning. Lovely !

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    1. Wow .. quite a compliment, thank1! I couldn't resist the cats! Glad you enjoyed them!

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  4. A wonderful haiku -- and thank you for all the background information on the tea ceremony and on Sen no Rikyu -- the apprentice knocking over the flowers -- and getting a hug! -- was a pleasant surprise. But -- that is life isn't it? The beauty of the moment, the happy accident .....

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    1. Yep .. I think that is what the story meant ... glad you enjoyed the post Jen ... funny but I don't see my cats! Hope you got a peek.

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  5. I enjoyed your haiku and your story you shared thqt made me smile. yes, I imagine you and our host are on the same time zone...I love how you brought us to an atmosphere our host was contemplating...you rock, kiddo!

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    1. Thanks kiddo, yep we're in the same time zone ... so it was a little like havig been together (but several hours earlier) ;-)

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  6. You may just boil the water, infuse it with tea, and drink the brew, but it doesn't hurt to have a blackbird singing along with you! ;)

    Tea Haiku

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  7. A fascinating insight into the tea ceremony. Though, I must say I'm thinking that nowadays Sen no Rikyū might have been getting treatment for OCD rather than inspiring people to follow rituals...

    And I really like the blackbird. I'm not sure if you intended it, but I associated the bird to the whistling of the kettle.

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    1. Now days we'd treat people for just about anything ... and I guess he was a bit obsessive ... cool hadn't thought of the whistling of a tea kettle .. mine dosen't warble ;-) thanks Blake for passing by, nice to see you!

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harmonious words ... like crystal clear water ... pure ectasy

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