Ro and Its Foundations: Robuchi Within and Beyond
Traditionally, the kama, 釜, kettle used February is a kama placed in the dai-ro, 大炉, large-hearth. In March, a tsuri-gama, 釣釜, suspended-kettle, is hung over the ro hanging from a chain or a bamboo pole. In April the suki-gi gama, 透木釜, spacer-wood kettle, is used. At neighboring Omotesenke, the reverse order is their tradition. In May the ro is closed, and the fu-ro, 風炉, wind-hearth, is returned to the Tearoom. However, some people follow the lunar kyū-reki, 旧暦, old-calendar, and in 2025, March continues the second lunar month. The 28th day of the second month of the lunar calendar the day of Rikyū’s suicide April, 19th. It should be remembered that the furo can be used throughout the year. If there is a ro in the floor, it is opened in the cold part of the year.
In the coldest time of the year at Urasenke, the dai-ro, 大炉, great-hearth, is opened in the room adjoining Totsu-totsu-sai, 咄々斎, (sound of reprimand)-abstain, which is also the Buddhist name of Rikyū’s grandson, Sō-tan, 宗旦, Sect-dawn. This special gyaku-ga-tte presentation of tea is a mirror-like image of the more familiar hon-ga-tte, 本勝手, original-prevail-hand. The pictured hearth is not a dairo.
The mukogiri and sumi-ro, 隅炉, corner, arrangements reserved for ko-ma, 小間, small-room, where there are four and a half or fewer tatami, or rooms that have a dai-me, 台目, support-eye, a three-quarter tatami. The rustic looking ro-buchi, 炉縁, hearth-frame, is also appropriate for a koma.
The Kanji for traditional Japanese measurements are written in Romanization: 尺, shaku寸, sun, 分, bu. In specific context, shaku is –jaku, sun is –zun. For example, the number 5.63 in Japanese is go-shaku roku-sun san-bu, with the Kanji, 五尺 六寸 三分. Traditional measuring tools include the kane-jaku, 曲尺, bend-span, is approximately 3.03 cm or 12”, and kujira-jaku, 鯨尺, whale-span, is approximately 38 cm or 14.78 or 14 ⅞”. The two measurements relate to each other at 8:10. The measurements of 5.63 shaku kane-jaku and 5.63 shaku kujira-jaku are quite different lengths.
The chashaku is named for Sen-bon Dōri, 千本通, Thousand-stave-avenue, which was the central north-south thoroughfare of the ancient city of Hei-an-kyō, 平安京, Level-peace-capital. Its original name was Su-zaku Ō-ji, 朱雀大路門, Vermilion-sparrow Grand-way, which lead from Kyōto’s great city southern gate of Ra-jō-mon, 羅城門, Spread-castle-gate, this lead north to the Su-zaku-mon, 朱雀門, Vermilion-sparrow Gate, of the imperial palace. The location of the palace in the north is of primary import. To sanctify the avenue, a thousand Buddhist stupas, so-to-ba, 卒塔婆, deceased-tower-nurse, were erected along its way.
Four so-to-ba, 卒塔婆, deceased-tower-nurse, (Japanese for stupa). There are a great variety of sotaba, including the pictured flat wooden grave markers. Each stake has the silhouette of the go-rin-tō, 五輪塔, five-ring-tower, inscribed with the names of departed souls. Such markers may have been like the thousand ‘stupas’ that lined Suzaku Ōji.
Raku chawan that have a black glaze with a red glaze patch are sometimes called gan-rai-ko, 雁来紅, goose-become-red, Amaranthus tricolor, cockscomb, and there are other readings. The foliage of the variety of cockscomb turns bright red, orange, and yellow. The cockscomb flower called kei-tō, 鶏頭, chicken-head, is one of the flowers that Rikyū believed to be inappropriate as chabana, 茶花, tea-flower.
Inscribed in pencil on the exterior: Tai-shō Jū-san-nen, 大正十三年十月, Great-rectitude 13 year 10 month. Kyō-to Go-sho, 京都御所, Capital-city Hon.-place (Imperial Palace). Partial inscription includes the words, me-ryō, 馬寮, horse-bureau, and cha-seki, 茶席, tea-seat. In the imperial court there were two groups, sa-u-me-ryō, 左右馬寮, left-right-horse-bureaus, that were headed by the Ashi-kaga, 足利, Foot-advantage, and later the Toku-gawa, 徳川, Virtue-river, Shō-gun, 将軍, Commander-army, who were given the title of Go-kan, 御監, Hon.-commander. Note that a robuchi frame with a width less than one sun kane-jaku is used only with an i-mae, 位前, be-fore, at soto-zumi, 外角, out-corner.
The date of Taishō 13 (1924), is significant in that the ‘Great Kantō Earthquake’ devastated Japan in the previous year, Taisho 12 (1923). On September 1, 1923, near noon, in winds from a passing typhoon, a 7.9 earthquake and tremors struck Japan with firestorms, tidal waves, and earthquakes, and destroyed most of Tōkyō and Yokohama. Also, there followed several Korean ethnic massacres. In all, approximately 150,000 people were killed and more than a million people were left without homes. The government was in turmoil.
The form and construction of the robuchi may have hidden significance. Joining two pieces of wood at a 90-degree angle in the western style is a mitered joint, where both pieces are cut at a 45° angle. The joint is secured with glue, nails, brackets, dowels, etc. This technique is most familiar in picture frames. In Japanese joinery, sashi-mono, 指物, indicate-thing, similar joints such as the robuchi is an example of tenon and mortise. In Japanese, tenon is hozo, 枘, handle, and mortise is hozo-ana, 枘穴, handle-hole. To piece together is kiri-kumi, 切り組む, cut-assemble. The piecing together of two sections of wood use only the shapes of the wood itself to create the join. No other pieces of wood are used, nor are any other materials. It is simply the two pieces shaped in such a way that they will join together and not come apart. Special attention is needed to miter the corners of the bevelled edge of the robuchi.
The square of wooden floor square that covers the ro is called a ro-buta, 炉蓋, hearth-cover. The board has a small hole in the center for a finger to help place and remove the lid the ro. This board is also the inspiration for the ō-ita, 大板, large-board, used with the portable fu-ro, 風炉, wind-hearth.
The left-facing swastika is a sacred symbol in the Bon and Mahayana Buddhist traditions. The manji 卍 adorns the chest of Amida, and certain other deities, which reveals the compassion in his heart. The right-facing swastika appears commonly in Hinduism, Jainism and Sri Lankan Buddhism. During ro season in a standard yojōhan, the tatami layout creates a swastika motif. The joints of the robuchi create the motif of the swastika.
The swastika is an ancient sacred symbol of life and prosperity. The word swastika in Japanese is man-ji, 卍, gammadion, fylfot, also, man-ji, 万字, 10 thousand-character. The Kanji 卍 and 卐, as seen on many images of deities, are different symbols and have individual translations. The Kanji 卍, manji, is, symbolic of Compassion. The Kanji 卐, is also manji, and is symbolic of Wisdom. Only one Kanji, 卍, is derived from the Sanskrit su, good, and asti, to be, which, when combined, create the word swastika.
This motif has been used for centuries by many cultures around the world. Due to its appropriation, it regrettably has become a symbol of hate. The origin of the swastika is illustrating the horizontal action, ⎻, which is In, 陰, Yin, negative, and the vertical action, ⼁, which is , Yō, 陽, Yang, positive. They cross, + , and turn, which creates the design of the swastika. The turning is the force of the universe.
Shi-fuku, 仕覆, serve-cover, for a cha-ire, 茶入, tea-receptacle, blue silk drawstring bag with a pattern named ‘Fuji-tane don-su’, 藤種緞子, Wisteria-seed damask-of, mei-butsu-gire, 名物切れ, name-thing cut, with a design of ume-bachi, 梅鉢, prunus-bowl, and man-ji, 万字, ten thousand-character. The origin of the Fujitane name is obscure.
Ro-buchi, 炉縁, hearth-frame, wood with inner bevel; 14 x 14 sun kane-jaku or 11.2 sun kujira-jaku. Kama-sue, 釜据, kettle-set, wood with inner crescent bevels; 5.1 x 5.1 sun kane-jaku or 4.1 x 4.1 sun kujira-jaku: used in the mizu-ya, 水屋, water-house, preparation room. Both frames have a similar construction. Curiously, the robuchi measuring 14 sun kane-jaku has its numbers reversed in the kamasue 4.1 sun kujira-jaku. The length of each side molding of the kamasue is the full measurement of 5.1 sun kane-jaku or 4.1 sun kujira-jaku. There is an expression in Buddhism: ‘Shi i-ssai shu shō-jō’, 四一切種淸淨, Four one-cut-kinds pure-purity. The four-sided object is a single object.
Taking the four-sided object, and focusing on its measurements, 4 x 14 = 56 sun kane-jaku or 44.8 sun kujira-jaku. This measurement is also 448 bu kujira-jaku. The number 4 may refer to the Four Noble Truths, Shi-tai, 四諦. These are:
Kuta-dai, 苦諦, suffering-truth, known as the truth of suffering
Shū-tai, 集諦, gather-truth, known as the cause of suffering
Metsu-tai, 滅諦, destroy-truth, known as the end of suffering
Dao-tai, 道諦, way-truth, known as the path to the end of suffering, i.e. the Eightfold Path
The number 48 may refer to the Forty-Eight Vows of Amida Buddha as recorded in the Larger Sutra of Immeasurable Life. Rikyū’s choice of the Amida-dō gama, 阿弥陀堂釜, Amida-hall kettle, may not have been coincidental. And, there are 8 angles of ash in the ro, in the peaks and valleys along the wall of the rodan.
The robuchi is ‘dry’ Yō, 陽, positive, and subject to heat being close to the fire, Yō, 陽, whereas the kamasue in the mizuya is physically wet subject to water, both being In, 陰陽, negative, supporting the kama when being filled and emptied.
The plain wood robuchi shows the method of construction. The full width is 14 sun kane-jaku or 11.2 sun kujira-jaku. The width of the flat top of the molding is 1 sun kane-jaku or .8 sun kujira-jaku. The method of construction implies that the length of the molding is 13 sun kane-jaku. This may give the impression that the corners of the frame are 1 sun square, and therefore the length of each side is composed of thirteen squares: jū-san-zun, 十三寸, 10-3-‘inch’.
For a Buddhist, the word and number, jūsan, might imply Jū-san Butsu, 十三仏, Ten-three-Buddhas, who are deities who watch over the thirteen periods of mourning. [see Jūsan Butsu] The first of the thirteen periods of mourning is watched over by Fu-dō Myō-ō, 不動明王, No-move Bright-king, and the last and the thirteenth period is watched over by Ko-kū-zō Bo-satsu, 虚空蔵菩薩, Empty-void-treasure Grass-buddha. Fudō Myō-ō is the wrothful manifestation of Dai-nichi Nyo-rai, 大日如来, Great-sun Like-become, who is the universe made manifest. Kokūzō Bosatsu is the Void of the universe, and Buddha of Wisdom.
In the realm of Chanoyu, the tei-shu, 亭主, house-master, may represent Dainichi and Fudō, especially when building the charcoal fire to heat water for tea. The shō-kyaku, 正客, correct-guest, may represent Kokūzō. The Kanji for master, shu, 主, is composed of ō, 王, king, and hi, 火, fire; the master of fire is of elevated stature. The priest of a temple offers the sacred Buddhist fire ritual, go-ma, 護摩, protect-polish, which is also read homa, that customarily reveres Fudō Myō-ō.
When building the charcoal fire, sumi-te-mae, 炭手前, charcoal-hand-fore, in the presence of the guests at a Tea, the robuchi and the rodan are swept with a ha-bōki, 羽箒, feather-brush. When sweeping the ro, for the first time, shō-baki, 初掃, the habōki is brushed with 8 strokes. However, perhaps the number of strokes are in separate directions, so that there may be 11 strokes.
Diagram of the ro showing number and sequence of sweeping with ha-bōki, 羽箒, feather-brush, hishikui, 鴻, bean goose, Anser fabalis, used with the ro; the length of the brush is 10.8 sun kane-jaku. The number 108 is in the Hyaku-hachi bon-nō, 百八煩悩, Hundred-eight compulsions-trouble, Buddhist kleshas, afflictions.
The Jūsan Butsu of the Shin-gon-shū, 真言宗, True-vow-sect, oversee death rites in duration of periods of 7: seventh, fourteenth, twenty-first, twenty-eighth, thirty-fifth, forty-second, forty-ninth, and then one hundredth days and on the first year, third year, seventh-year, thirteenth year and thirty-third year memorials.
Ascribing 13 sun to each of the 4 sides of the robuchi, creates a total of 52 sun which is the number of 7-day periods or weeks in a year. Focusing on its numeric attributes, 4 x 7 = 28, which approximates the cycles of the moon. The total also happens to be the date of Rikyū’s death, lunar 2/28/1591.
The ro may be identified with a year protected by the Jūsan Butsu. The same can be applied to handling and examining the 4 sides of the host’s silk cloth, fuku-sa sabaki, 帛紗捌, cloth-gauze handle. When examining the fukusa, the cloth is made taut and folded, passing from hand to hand along the perimeter, which temporarily creates eight folds. The fukusa is approximately 9 sun kane-jaku square (9 x 9.5), which is equal to approximately 7 sun kujira-jaku square (7.2 x 7.6).
There is a fascinating aspect to the Kanji for sabaki, 捌, which means handle, deal with, dispose of, sell, be in demand, be worldly, be frank, be sensible, be sociable, drainage, sale, demand for, eight, and has various readings: sabaku, sabakeru, he, hatsu, hachi, betsu. The curiosity is that the Kanji, 捌, also means the number 8, hachi, 八, as it is the number of fukusa folds which resemble the shape of the Kanji 八. There is a similarity with the form of the 8 peaks and valleys of the ash bed in the rodan. The size of the rodan opening is 1 shaku kane-jaku or 8 sun kujira-jaku.
The ro has origins that may be derived from the Hindu homa offering hearth that is called in Sanskrit a havan kund, offer-pit.
Left: Three-tiered havan kund, brass. Right: oki-ro, 置炉, place-hearth, kuwa, 桑, mulberry, with copper ro-dan, 炉壇, hearth-foundation.
Havan kund, offer pit, is made of brass, and is a hearth for sacred Hindu offerings, such as homa, puja, etc. The havan kund is made in various sizes, styles, and metals including those that are approximately the size of the ro and the dairo; there are also very small models for the home. The pictured havan kund dimensions: 45 cm or 15 sun kana-jaku square. Variates of the havan kund may suggest the oki-ro, 置炉, place-hearth, that is used in Chanoyu. Pictured okiro dimensions: 40 cm or 13 sun kane-jaku square.
During the homa an offering called havan samagri, is created. Ingredients of the havan samagri include a combination of some rare medicinal and Ayurveda herbs, which, when burnt in the course of the homa, samagri produces medicinal smoke which purifies subtle as well as gross materials. Common ingredients in the offering are samagri leaves, herbal roots, ghee, milk, seeds, incense and grains, dry coconut, guggul, agar, bach, amla, bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, haldi, dry eucalyptus leaves, karpoor, nutmeg, tejphal wood, Tagar wood. The spoon is also for offering ghee.
Each of these havan aspects seem to apply more directly with the ro rather than the furo, particularly in the context of the Buddhist goma offerings. The mixture of ingredients in the ‘incense’ of the havan rites, may be the origin of burning neri-kō, 練香, knead-incense, which is a blend of aromatics, in the ro. According to Urasenke tradition, the preferred incense for the furo is byaku-dan, 白檀, white-sandalwood.
The lota is one of the utensils used in homa fire ceremony of havan kund that is used to offer water containing five different kinds of leaves. The five leaves symbolise the five primordial elements or the five states of matter: earth, water, fire, wind and the void. The most popular leaves are the mango and betelnut. The five leaves may evoke the go-toku, 五徳, five-virtues, that supports the kama in ro and the furo.
The hearth is the center of the Tea room and brings people together for its warmth. The robuchi separates and joins. In its way the robuchi causes us to focus on the fire and the kama, like a frame of a picture. Those who gather bring their own creativity and spirit. The evolution of fire in the center of a gathering of people began in prehistoric times, and through various iterations has become refined in the ro of the chashitsu. The ro ultimately provides people of all walks of life to gather together and enjoy Tea.
In Urasenke, the kettle will soon be suspended over the ro. Significant events in March include Hina Matsuri, 雛祭り, Doll Festival, celebrating Girls Day, lunar Ne-han 涅槃, Black-basin, Nirvana of the Buddha, on the 14th, and the full moon, Shun-bun, 春分, Spring-division, on the 20th, Rikyūki, 利休忌, Rikyū Memorial, on the 28th.
For more information on Tea and Japanese culture in March, see also: Tea in March, Tea in March Part 2, Unryū Gama, Unryū Gama – A Petal Puzzle, and Rikyū’sTake Jizai (video).
For further study on the ro, see also: Ro: The Sunken Hearth Collection
