Hosts:
– Marius
– Damian
– Naomi
– Anthony
Poem
こころざし深き人にはいくたびもあはれみ深く奥ぞ教ふる
“Kokorozashi fukaki hito niwa ikutabi mo awaremi fukaku oku zo oshiuru.”
To the student who has a deep desire to learn the secrets of chanoyu, the teacher should spare no effort.
You should many a time compassionately impart the inner teachings to one who has a deeply willing mind.
Tea Practice: Purification
Anthony congratulations on your Christmas present! Some information about your new kama, via my sensei who is knows these things: the white interior is desirable and meant to simulate the white mineral deposits (which are also desirable to reduce rusting) you get on your kama when you use it a lot. Do not actively try to get rid of that white coating. You only need to boil and throw out 1-2 pots of water and the kama is fine to use. You may notice shiny deposits floating on the top of the water when you boil water in it. This is fine and normal and likely to continue to happen every time you use it.
Regarding boiling tea in the kama (and this info is NOT from my sensei, and therefore not as reliable), but my understanding is that you do this when you have a rusty kama to try to reduce the rust. My recent experience with my own rusty kamas is that as i boil water and use it a lot, the kama gets cleaner and cleaner and white mineral deposits are starting to form. So, use your kama as much as possible!
Additional, kama care tips my sensei gave me:
Whenever possible heat cold water in a cold kama. Don’t pour boiling water in a cold kama. It’s better to heat your kama/water on an electric burner rather than a gas flame. When you finish, empty water out and set kama back on the hot burner, which you have just turned off, this will be enough to dry the kama. Do not leave the burner on or ‘cook’ the empty kama on a burner that is turned on.
Thank you for this great information.
Thank you for this podcast. I very much enjoyed the discussion of how to care for Kama. You should not scrub the white coating as it helps to prevent rust. If it starts to flake off, boil a few potfuls of water to help build up the coating.
Also the Dairo is done at Urasenke in February, the coldest month of the year and the Dairo helps to warm the room. The kettle for the Dairo also has a larger mouth so the lid is larger and you have to adjust the placement of the futaoki to accommodate it.
This poem just points out the responsibility of teachers to students to help them learn about tea. But there is also a responsibility of the student to learn. And also to trust your teacher rather than direct them to teach you in a certain way.
For me purity is not just in temae, but all the cleaning before even stepping into the room and after everything is done. The guest purifying themselves at the tsukubai before entering the tea room and also the host purifying his heart and mind to make the very best tea for the guest. Also incense is often used for purification in many cultures, including in Catholic mass.
After class, I clean tea off by using the velvet magic brush. Every new year I get a new fukusa to start the year with a clean one. For big events I do get new one also.
Thank you again to hosts discussing and putting it out there. I am enjoying your discussions very much.