宗純先生の京都だより

Sojun sensei ‘s journal from Kyoto

11月最期のおけいこは口切の茶事の中の口切の所作のお稽古でした。
立冬(11月7日前後）のころ、前の年の11月から使っていた茶葉が壺の中からなくなるので、炉を開いて今年の初夏に摘まれ、壺に詰められた新茶に手を付けることになります。新茶は初夏から11月頃まで約半年間壺の中で寝かされ、風味が最上になるのだそうです。そこで、壺の封を切って、新しい茶を出し石臼で挽いて抹茶にしたものを賞味する茶事を催すのです。これを口切の茶事と言います。
開封前の壺が床の間に飾られているので、初座の席入りをして床の間の壺を拝見します。亭主は客とあいさつを交わした後に、お茶入れ日記を正客へ拝見に出します。亭主は茶壷を踏み込み畳に運び客の方へ向いて封印されている茶壷の口を小刀で切り、蓋を開けて中の和紙に詰められた濃茶用の茶葉とその周りに詰められた薄茶の葉をそれぞれの小さい黒の茶壷にいれ、再び細長い和紙（封紙）で口を封じて自分の印を押す。封印された茶壷を網の中に入れ、茶壷の拝見に出します。
かつては、半年間熟成された茶葉を茶壷から取り出しそれを丁寧に挽いてお抹茶にして、亭主はもてなしました。今は亭主がわざわざ石臼で挽いてお抹茶を作ることは珍しくなっていると思いますが、その貴重な所作を経験することができました。ノリで封紙を壺の蓋に貼ったり、興味深いものでした。
The last lesson in November we practiced was the procedure from Kuchikiri tea ceremony.
On around Ritto (considered as the first day of winter which occurs around November 7th) the tea leaves picked in the previous year and used since last November run out.   Hence Ro tea ceremony is held to open the pot and use for the first time the new tea leaves which were picked in the early summer this year and packed and sealed in the pot.    The new tea leaves picked in the early summer are preserved in the pot for about a half year which brings the best flavor.   That is why the tea ceremony is held at this time of the year to un-seal the pot, take the tea leaves out of the pot, and grind the tea leaves to enjoy Macha.   This is called Kuchikiri rocedure.

In this procedure, the sealed pot is displayed in the Tokonoma alcove, and the guests view it when they first move into the tea room.   The host presents the written record of the tea in the pot to the main guest for viewing.  The host brings the pot to the Humikomi Tatami mat from the Tokonoma alcove, and open the lid of the pot by cutting the seal with a knife.    Then the host takes out the tea leaves for the thick tea placed in a Japanese paper bag and the tea leaves for the thin tea packed around the thick tea leaves in the pot.   After that the host puts the bag containing the thick tea leaves and the thin tea leaves into the respective black jars.    The host then seals the lid of the pot again with a thin strip of paper, and puts the stamp of his/her own on the sealed paper.    Finally, the host put into the netted container and present it to the guests for viewing.

The host used to serve Macha to the guests by taking the tea leaves out of the pot after preserving them in the pot for a half year and carefully grinding them.    It is quite rare these days that the host grinds the tea leaves by himself/herself to make Macha but it was a precious experience to learn the procedure based on that.   The part of the procedure such as sealing the lid of the pot with a paper strip was quite interesting.