Tea Ceremony and Fortune-telling:
“Hot Water” and Creation (Part 4, Final)
By Souchuu Sekine

Even judging by 1-4, within the 64 trigrams, concerning the intercourse between yin and yang, this “Already Settled” trigram, is the trigram that is well ordered to the greatest perfection. That hot water is hot and therefore yang.

However, as for fortunetelling theory, it is thought that because of the constant change, the generation and annihilation etc. due to the intercourse of yin and yang, hot water’s yang created by the intercourse of this yin (water) and yang (fire) is the “good fortune at the beginning” and after that, because the condition of the fire and water declines, there is “disorder at the end”. If in the middle of a chaji or chakai, there is a time when the condition of the fire and water decline. This is the condition of the water whose fire’s condition cannot make a cup of good tea. This is the matter of “in the end disorder”. The host must give the greatest effort to that the condition of the fire and water does not decline. For that time, even the guest is not reluctant of cooperating along with the host for the condition of the water and fire.

Concerning such water quality as this, let’s try to consider (the section) after the wise saying “Solitary Contemplation” in Ii Naosuke’s “Collection of the Oneness of Chanoyu”.

This day, completing “one time, one chance”, contemplate the matter of it not returning again. Possibly, the matter of having even a solitary cup is a habit of the essential point of this one chance. During this time of loneliness, even the thing that gives feedback (striking words?) is nothing but the kettle’s words; nothing outside, truly, the boundary of understanding excludes (those who) don’t have this self-acquired.

Thereupon an understanding of this from the standpoint of fortunetelling, your own cup after having showed the guest out can give verification of not the declining quality of the fire and water nor the matter of being disordered, but whether a good cup of tea was made. After the guest’s leave-taking, as for remaining in the tea room, there is only the kettle’s words. Reflection on and the evaluation of whether (the host) could put into practise the quality of the water in that kettle, namely, the duty that the host should fulfill of the said creation of hot water was expressed as the words “even the thing that gives feedback is nothing but the kettle’s words”.

Chanoyu, by way of various settings, always appoints yang. It is trying to go and epitomize yang, which equals a world of good fortune. Because of such meaning, at least consider that the yang of fortunetelling is a keyword of chanoyu. Next month, we will try and explain the thing of the furo and kettle which create this hot water capturing the heart of the the creative philosophy of the five elements theory of fortunetelling.

①～④で判断しても、此「既済」の卦は、六十四卦の中で陰陽交合が最も完全に整った卦で有り、此卦が茶の為に創造された湯に相当する。其湯は、熱いが故に陽で有る。

然し、易思想では、陰陽交合に依って生成、消滅等、常に変化をする事から、 此陰（水）、陽（火）交合で創造された陽で有る湯が、「始めは吉」で有るが、其後は火相と湯相が衰える事に依って「終わりは乱」と考えられる。若し茶事・茶会中に火相と湯相が衰える時、それは服の良き茶が点たない火相で有り湯相で有る。それが「終わりには乱れる」の事で有る。亭主は、客が退席する迄火相と湯相の衰えがないように最大の努力を払う。時には、客も此火相と湯相に亭主と共に協力を惜しまないので有る。

此ような湯相に就いて、井伊直弼の『茶湯一会集』に有る名言「独座観念」から考えて見たい。

今日、一期一会済て、ふたゝひかへらさる事を観念シ、或ハ独服をもいたす事、是一会極意の習なり、。此時寂莫として、打語ふものとてハ、釜一口のみ二ツて、外二物なし、誠ニ自得せされはいた りかたき境界なり

此れを易の立場から理解すると、客を送り出した後の自服は、火相と湯相が衰える事なく、乱れる事なく一服の良き御茶が点てられたかどうかの検証ではあるまいか。客の退席の後、茶室に残って居るのは釜一口のみであり、其釜の中湯相、即ち、亭主の果たすべき湯の創造と言う役割が実践できたかどうかの評価・反省が「打語ふものとてハ、釜一口のみ」の言葉として表現された物で有ろう。

茶の湯は様々な場面で常に陽を重用し、陽＝吉の世界を体現していこうとして居る。こうした意味で易の「陽」が茶の湯のキーワードの一つで有るとも考えて居る。来月は此湯を創造する風炉・釜が易の五行思想を制作理念の中心に捉えて居る事を述べて見たい。