Directory: Shifuku

Kobukusa and Mandala Part 2

In Chanoyu, when serving tea to a guest, the cha-wan, 茶碗, tea-bowl, may be placed on a ko-buku-sa, 古帛紗, old-cloth-gauze. The kobukusa is also used to display a revered object. There are countless types of fabrics, including treasured cloths from the past and also of foreign origin. The type of fabric reveals the choice and taste of the owner. Of the several sizes of kobukusa, the standard measures 4 x 4.2 sun kujira-jaku.The diagonally measurement is 5.8 sun kujira-jaku. The number 5 may represent the Go-rin, 五輪, Five-rings, principles, and the Go-gyō, 五行, Five-transitions, and the number 8, hachi, 八, is symbolic of Infinity in Space. When...

Chanoyu and the Orange

For the New Year, at one’s home and elsewhere, a daidai, 橙, bitter orange, is placed on the top of the kagami mochi, 鏡餅, mirror-mochi. The number of leaves left on the daidai is three leaves for Amida, Buddha of Compassion and Shinran, founder of New Sect Pure Land Buddhism, and two leaves for successive generations. The reasons for offering the daidai are that it bears fruit in winter, it does not fall off meaning that prosperity will continue, etc. When serving a bowl of ma-tcha, 抹茶, powder-tea, a sweet is offered and eaten before drinking the tea. The sweet is called an o-ka-shi, お菓子, hon.-sweet-of, and...

Kobukusa

A ko-buku-sa, 古帛紗, old-cloth-gauze, also written with Kanji, 古袱紗, is a small square of fine fabric that is used to display or hold a prized Tea utensil. The fabric is doubled, so that it is hemmed on three sides. It is kept in the front folding of the kimono, futokoro or kai, folded in half like a Japanese book, with the fold on the right, together with a folded fuku-sa, 帛紗, cloth-gauze, and folded pack of kai-shi, 懐紙, heart-paper. Because of its kept location, it is also called a kai-chū ko-buku-sa, 懐中古帛紗, heart-middle old-cloth-gauze. The kobukusa is kept in the futokoro, 懐, heart, the front folding of...