Hotarubi no chakai

One of the most memorable chakai that I attended when I lived in Kyoto was the Hotarubi no chakai at Shimogamo shrine. The tea gathering that is held in June amidst the glow of live fireflies at Kyoto’s Shimogamo Shrine (also known as Kamomiya Shrine). “Hotaru” means “firefly”; “bi” means “fire “or “glow”. One of its aims is the preservation of Tadasu no Mori, “The Forest of Justice,” which surrounds Shimogamo Shrine. About 600 fireflies are released over a stream called Mitarashigawa as invitees to the tea ceremony enjoy their tea.

Shimogamo is one of the oldest shrines in Japan, and is located just to the north of the confluence of the Kamo and Takase Rivers in north-central Kyoto. The history of this shrine dates back to prehistoric periods. The earliest reference to the shrine is a repair of the fence in 2 BC, suggesting that the shrine had existed even before that time. Since then, the shrine has played a central role in the religious lives of the people of Kyoto, and has served as a guardian of Japan and Kyoto. The importance of the shrine was especially significant in the Heian period, since prayers for the success of the capital were held there. This shrine has often been described in literature, including an appearance in the Tale of Genji. Today, Shimgamo Shrine has been registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The shrine contains 53 buildings that are all recognized as Important Cultural Properties.

Hotarubi no chakai is usually held in the beginning of June. The connection between the shrine and tea began in the Kansho period (1441-1446) and tea ceremonies with fireflies were common until the Meiji period (1868 - 1912). In later days, however, those events ceased as the shrine was nationalized, and the fireflies became extinct in the surrounding forest because of pollution in the 1940s. But people recently started to clean up the area and release firefly larvae. Consequently, the number of fireflies began to increase in the forest, and so the tea ceremony was revived in 1991, after about 100 years of absence.

The fireflies are released over the Mitarashigawa. A cage holding fireflies was placed on a small pier at around 8pm (the big cage and some other smaller ones were on display in other places on the shrine grounds until the awaited time). We attended the festivities starting at about 5 pm. Then we went to the chakai and after we had tea and sweets, it was dark and they released the fireflies. As they flew out of the boxes, it looked almost like fireworks, yet they still glowed afterwards in the bushes and grasses around the river.

The Five Senses and Tea

All five senses are stimulated in the tea room. Please add descriptions in the comment section of how your senses come alive in the tea room during your own practice. Here are some of the ways tea comes alive for me:

Sense #1: Sight

• Watching the host prepare tea
• Admiring the appearance of the tea room
• Reading the scroll and admiring the flowers

Sense #2: Hearing

• The whistling kettle making the sound of the wind in the pines
• The cascading water falling into the bowl
• The rustle of the host's kimono as he / she prepares the tea

Sense #3: Taste

• The pleasure of eating and tasting the sweet
• Enjoying that first sip of the tea
• Eating the kaiseki meal

Sense #4: Smell

• The aroma of the tea as I lift the bowl to drink
• The smell of the incense, if using

Sense #5: Touch

• The feel of the tea bowl in my hands while drinking
• The feel of the dogu during haiken
• The difference between hot and cold: the steam from the warm water and the refreshing touch of the wet cloth as you purify the chawan

From the archives

I have been blogging Chado for more than three years.  There are more than 280 posts on the blog. I thought it might be fun to review some of the posts in the archive:

One year ago:  Mizuya work,   Ichigo ichie revisited

Two years ago: Leaving no trace,  Who is the best teacher,  The art of tea 
Three years ago: The haiku recordings


We will be coming up on 300 posts sometime in the next week.  I plan to offer another contest with prizes for this milestone.  Please stay tuned.

Your relationship with your fukusa part 3

I've had a request in the comments about how to tame your fukusa. So here is part 3 on your fukusa.

Historical Note: The size of the fukusa was decided by So-on, the wife of Rikyu. Until that time, a small cloth like the kobukusa was used. The story goes that when Rikyu traveled to the battlefield at Odawara his medicine was in a natsume wrapped in a larger cloth by So-on and he felt that this size might be better for tea and he began to use it from that time.

Taming the fukusa is letting the fukusa know what its job is.  When it is brand new, it still thinks that it is a doubled piece of cloth. When you first get a fukusa it is folded in fourths and often comes in a box and/or cellophane envelope.  This is how you want to store your fukusa after class, not folded in eighths or jammed into your fukusa basami.  Clean your fukusa of tea powder before you put it away.  You need to have a good relationship with your fukusa, so treat it gently.

To tame your fukusa you need to fold it and put it in your obi properly, take it out of your obi and fold it to purify the natsume, fold it to purify the chashaku, fold it to put it back in your obi and fold it to put in your kaichu (front of kimono) enough times that it won't spring open on you at inappropriate moments. Please ask your teacher to show you how to do this properly.  For experienced students, it is always good to review this periodically during warigeiko to correct your form and to review the proper way to do it.  At workshops for advanced students and teachers, this is one of the things everybody is required to review no matter how advanced.

I have some students who have trained their fukusa improperly and get confused when folding it because the fukusa is telling them to fold in a certain way that is not right.  In that case, you have to re-fold it enough times properly until it (you) understand(s) the correct way to do it.

How many times?  That depends on your fukusa and your relationship. For me, it is at least 30 times and I try to do it in front of a mirror so I can see my form as I am doing it. I was at an intensive workshop once and the visiting sensei told me that I had too much of a results oriented relationship with my fukusa.  In other words, I was concentrating too hard on getting to the end of the folding procedures and not taking enough time for each step of folding it.  My assignment from that workshop was to enjoy the feel of the silk, be present for each step in folding my fukusa and not let my mind and heart skip to the end result of purifying the utensil.

Inner and outer aspects of the fukusa

I wrote earlier about the care and feeding of your fukusa,  and as part two, I'd like to talk more about your fukusa.

During the preparation of tea, the fukusa is folded in various ways to purify utensils in front of the guests.  I know of about 20 different ways to fold it.  What you are doing is exposing different surfaces of the cloth to purify the different utensils.  There  are three categories of folds:  shin (formal) gyo (semi-formal) and so (informal).

In the formal tea ceremony, koicha, one of the first movements is the formal inspection of the fukusa (yoho sabaki) before purifying the chaire.  It is the clockwise movement used to examine the four sides of the fukusa.  As with all parts of the temae there is additional meanings to the movements.

Inner aspects of the fukusa:  Unlike usucha, koicha requires four meditative breathing pauses when folding the fukusa.  This emphasizes the formality of koicha and the host and guest begin to breathe in unison.  This is not to be hurried through.  With each part of this movement there is a pause -- a breath and then movement, pause -- breath, movement until all four sides have been completed.  The traditional meaning behind this action is the inner reflections that strengthen our character and is a directive for our lives.  With daily examination of these inner aspects it will bring growth.

When the fukusa is open and in position centered over our left knee the first reflection is
Thoughtfulness "zin"  Note here there is a pause but no breath
Then Righteousness "gi"
Thankfulness "rei"
Wisdom "chi"
Truth "shin"

Outer aspects of the fukusa: With the influx of modern life into the world of Chado, scholars have attempted to broaden the philosophy and understanding of Chado.  Now reflections that are taught for this movement not only involve the inner aspects mentioned above, but also intertwine with more tangible ideas:

The first reflection is:
Heaven (above)  note there is a pause but no breath
Parents (East)
Teachers (South)
Family (West)
Tea community (North)

The final movement is returning the fukusa to the center and forming a triangle with the thought of Earth (below).  These concepts may be easier for the modern mind to accept because they are ideas we live with daily.  These interpretations deal with the sharing aspect of tea rather than emphasis on inner progression.  It is the blending of these two aspects the inner understanding and outward sharing that koicha is prepared and received.