Nelson Mandela : Breaking News

　One great man died the other day. Whose name is Nelson Mandela. Today, I'll tell you about this man as a breaking news.

   
  Do you know about the apartheid?  Apartheid is a person isolation policy to prescribe the relations of the white and the nonwhite performed in the republic of South Africa. It means the isolation in Afrikaans. Apartheid itself has been already abolished, but this policy enforced in 1948 was just a symbol of the discrimination against blacks. He was a soldier who confronted such a policy.

  Nelson Mandela was born on 18 July 1918 in the village of Mvezo in Umtatu. He entered a University and joined African National Congress in 1944 after graduating university. He formed a young people's association in ANC and began an anti-apartheid campaign. 
In 1961, He co-founded the militant called Umkhonto we Sizwe - means Racial Spear. As the result of later anti-apartheid activity, he was arrested for national treason in 1962. He was sentenced  to life imprisonment, and imprisoned in the Robben island. His behind-bards life lasted to 27 years. But he never gave up abolishing apartheid. 
  An international campaign lobbied for his release. In 1990, he was released. After released, he took office as a vice-chairperson and attend at a talk with President Frederick Declercq of those days as a representative. In 1991, he assumed office as a chairperson of ANC and abolished the basis of the apartheid. On December 10 in 1993, he won Nobel Peace Prize with Declercq. In 1994, first all race participation election in history of South Africa was carried out. As a result ANC won, and Mandela was inargurated as President. The apartheid was abolished for a formula. Mandela went down the seat of the chairperson in 1997, and pulled the body from politics after the last speech of 1999. 

 The reason why he is particularly great is the method than what he accomplished. When a 
rebolution occurs, blood  always stream down in history of all over the world. But he let a revolution succeed "peascefully".  Without bleeding. Though he was forced to behind-bars life of 27 years on the false charge, his correspondence was really gentlemanly. he is just a great person.

 In mourning the death of the hero, the leaders and the imperial family of each country attended at his memorial service. 
May his soul rest in peace.
 

#6 Tea Ceremony Room 2

 On the before blog, I wrote about history and concept of tea ceremony room. So today, I'll tell you about famous tea ceremony rooms, Jo-an,  Mittan, and Golden Tea Ceremony Room. 
  
  Jo-an is one of Japanese national treasures. It is said that the origin of this name is the landlord, Oda Yurakusai - he is a Christian, and his Christian name is "Joan". Its area is approximately 2 mat and a half. It is about same area as Rikyu's Tai-an, but the interior decoration is very different.The lower photograph is reproduction of Jo-an.  

Jo-an

Comparing Jo-an with Tai-an, This room is free for pressure. Jo-an have a screen called Mukougiri, and it makes this room humorous. As you can see, there is a big hole in the lower part of this screen. Just because, a guest can see the process of making tea through this hole. And this is not in the photograph, the line of flow for a waitperson is thought about well. This tea ceremony room is very rational, and it may be said that it is right a tea ceremony room of the samurai family. 

  Mittan. This is a Japanse national treasure too.  In addition, the tea ceremony rooms of the national treasure are only three in the whole country. Tai-an, Jo-an, and Mittan. Mittan is in the temple called Ryukou-in, and it is the whole temple to be appointed a national treasure. Because a general release is forbidden, its inside photograph is only a CG photograph. 

Mittan inside

the Mittan floor

The layout of Mittan is a tea ceremony room of the size calld the four-and-a half mat daime room basically. It may be comprehensive, but is the size of the tatami mat of the size like 1-mat 3/4 when this "daime" easily says. You may hear the word four-and- a half mat room tea-ceremoy room, but attention is well necessary because it is different from "daime".  Speaking of the characteristic of Mittan, it is the "Mittan floor" that the name was derived from. It is the floor for displaying handwriting of Mittan Kanketu - Zen priest of Chinese south Soong Era. However, it is really interesting, the handwriting was displayed in the main floor - the opposite side, and the Mittan floor seemed to be used as a desk. It will be worth learning this.

  
  Last, about Golden tea ceremony room. It is said that Rikyu and Hideyoshi Toyoyomi made it, but the truth is not known. This room is very different from ever tea ceremony rooms. Gold is put all over the room, and It is may be said that is tasteless. But it follows the basic rule of wabi-cha. It's size is three mat, and decoration is very simple - excepting its color. So there is a opinion that it is the extremity of the bad taste of Hideyoshi, but there is a opinion too that Rikyu absolutely participated to making this room. This may be said that this is most famous tea ceremony room.

Replica of Golden tea ceremony room

Beauty of the tea ceremony rooms is the presence of mind. Learn this.

#5 Tea Ceremony Rooms

  A tea ceremony room make a very important role in Japanese tea ceremony. That is a place that two persons meet each other through drinking tea.  The personality of the owner of the tea room appers in it, and it is pleasure of the tea ceremony that watch it. Today, I explain about concept of Japanese famouse tea ceremony rooms and its history.
   Culture of drinking tea is very old tradition in Japan. In Muromachi period, according to some records, so-called tea ceremony room did not exist. But there is a building called Kaijo  and tea was served there. Kaijo is the place that nobles gather, and reads Japanese poetry.  This is the origin of the tea ceremony room.
  It is the 16th century that a tea ceremony room, for the purpose of taste the mountain village while being in the city,  of the prehttp://translate.weblio.jp/sent form was completed by Rikyu.  Juko Murata who was a teacher of Rikyu and assumed a father of wabi-cha made the foudation of tea ceremony room. A four-and-a half mat room is basic, and a room smaller than it called Room of Koma, and one bigger than it called Room of Hiroma. Koma means small place, and Hiroma means large place.
  
   It is normal with the tea ceremony room that there are usually gardens called Roji as well as a building itself. Roji has a role to lead a guest to the tea ceremony room which is not in everyday life. At first the guest put the baggage away at a place called Yorituki, and fixes the outfit. He is led to the room called Machiai, and waits for an other invited guests being prepared. After that, they enter the tea ceremony room depending of the greeting of the owner. While these proceses, Roji affects them.

Roji

  It is said that Rikyu loved Room of Koma. Because the tea ceremony that he wanted to be is that a visitor communes with a owner through tea directly. Actually, since so-called  Souan style tea ceremony room is very simple and inconvenience, the space is completely cut off with the outside world - it is only said that a man in the room feels it to the last. As for Tai-an - Rikyu's famous tea ceremony room, the characteristic emerges well.

Tai-an

The entrance not tobe able to go through when I do not stoop down called Nijiriguchi, 2-mat very small space, unaffected simple rom. It is just the tea ceremony room which emdodied in wabi-cha.

Nijiriguchi

 These are the basic knowledge of tea ceremony room. On the next article, I will introduce  some example of famous tea ceremony room.
 

#4 About Japanese Tea

 In this country, Japanese tea means "The tea made in Japan" or "The tea drunk well in Japan".There are many kinds of Japanese tea, used in the tea ceremony or drunk everyday life and so on. Today, I'll show you the examples.
 Sen-tea is the most popular tea in Japan. "Sen " means "steamed" , in short , Sen-tea is steamed tea. This is very rare. Actually, it is only Japan that people make tea with steam and drink it in the world. In addition, Sen-tea in the meanings of the narrow sense is the tea which is made using the sprout which I cultivated without shutting out the sunlight. So Gyokuro is a kind of Sen-tea, but not Sen-tea. 
 Gyokuro is high-quality tea. The biggest difference with the general Sen-tea is to cut off sunlight for two weeks at least before harvested. Gyokuro's feature is its sweetness. The most delicious temperature of the tea is around 60 degrees. In Sen-tea ceremony, they base on this property. At first, they pour low temperature hot water into the tea pot and taste sweetness. And second, they pour high temperature hot water and taste bitterness. This way of making tea called "Nisendasi" .
　Ban-tea is a kind of Sen-tea too. Ban-tea is made with bigger leaves than the leaves which is used  with Sen-tea. For this reason, bitterness is less than Sen-tea, but acerbity is more than that. Unlike Gyokuro, Ban-tea is popular and inexpensive tea. "Ban" means ordinary in Japanese.　Ban-tea is very popular tea to be used in a proverb as a pronoun of universality.
 Next, I'll show you the other kind of tea, Mattya.Mattya is not drunk in everyday life, but it is used in the Japanese tea ceremony. The way of making Mattya is very different of the way making Sen-tea. Mattya is called powdered green tea. It is made with leaves of tea woods which is steamed and ground called Ten-tea. To tell the truth, Mattya is the thing which processed Ten-tea. Ten-tea is the same as Gyokuro and is cultivated with the sunlight cut off. Because it is dried much, it resembles green lavers in appearance. Ten-tea, also Mattya have high-ability to relax people in Japanese tea. I think that is the reason to be used in the tea ceremony. 
  These teas are not all of the Japanese tea. But these are very major teas. If you have a chance to drink one of the these teas, please recall today's blog.

#3 The Main Styles of Sadou

 There are three major styles in Japanese tea ceremony. Omote-Senke, Ura-Senke and Musyakouji-Senke. They called San-Senke, which means three Sen family. 

Fushin-an　cf.http://www.omotesenke.com

　Omote-Senke is the head style of three Sen family. The originator is Sen no Rikyu. This style was born after Rikyu's death. To tell the truth, A style of the origin became the head family as a result that two different styles were created from the tea ceremony that Rikyu made. It is children of Sen Sotan - the third head of Sen family- that they made Three Sen family. In the case of Omote-Senke, it is Sen Sosa who is the third son of Sen Sotan to have succeeded birthright. The Omote Senke estate, known by the name of its representative tea room, the Fushin-an, was where Sen no Rikyu's son-in-low, Sen Shoan, reestablished the Kyoto Sen household after Rikyu's death. It is located on Ogawa street in the Kamigyo word of Kyoto.

Konnichi-an

  

　Ura-Senke was made by Sen Sositu who is the fourth son of Sen Sotan. After having been retired, Sen Sotan prepared a new tea room into the back of Fushin-an. The name of tea room is Konnichi-an. When de died, his son Sositu succeeded the tea room, and Sositu made a new style of the tea ceremony. That is just Ura-Senke. Ura means back in japanese. Then why is that Ura? Because Konnichi-an was built at the back of Fushin-an ! Ura-Senke is now the most famous style of tea ceremony.

Kankyu-an

  Musyakouji-Senke's originator is the second son Ichiou Sosyu. Originally he adopted into other family. But when he was about 60, he backed to Sen family.　In later years of Sotan, Sosyu made his tea room. As a result that he talked with his father, the name of the tea room became Kankyu-an. Sosyu's another name is Jikyusai, mean "similar to Rikyu". He was a master of tea ceremony who pursued Rikyu most.

 These are the most famous styles of tea ceremony. But there are more styles. However, there is one thing which is common regardless styles of tea ceremony. That is heart to love tea. Through drinking tea, we can talk easily each other and forget the noise of the world. Once-in-a-lifetime chance - this is Rikyu's words. It is the essence of the tea ceremony to take good care of the encounter with the person , and to spend that time pleasantly.

#2 About Sen no Rikyu

About Sen no Rikyu

Sen no Rikyu

  Sen no Rikyu is the father of Japanese tea ceremony "Wabicha". He was born in Izuminokuni - current Osaka- in 1522 as the child of merchant. His father's job is warehouse business, but he didn't inherit the job. His childhood name is Yosirou. He enjoyed the tea ceremony from youth and in his 17, he started to change the tea ceremony with his master Takeno Jyouo. His great sense and passionate about the tea ceremony made his name famous. By the way, Sen no Rikyu is not his name. His name is Housennsai . It is something like his title that given by Oogimachi emperor. Because those days, people of merchant rank cannot attend the tea party. But a person who has a title, he can join the tea party. And, he was employed as a master of tea ceremony by Nobunaga Oda. After Honnoji incident, he served Hideyoshi toyotomi. He began the use of bamboo flower cases, making of tea bowl and creation of Soan tea room and leaves for the completion of Wabicha. That is in his 60. 1591, Rikyu touched the wrath of Hideyoshi, he forced to perform hara-kiri. He died, at his 70.
 Then what is Rikyu's Wabicha? The base of Wabicha is universality. He denied established sense of values  to respect a noted product. He removed the decoration of tea tools and used the tea tool which was not expensive at all. It is thought that his this sense of values was influence of his master Jyouo. He thought that the most beautiful thing is imperfection, anhe called it Wabi. But this is only about tea tools. Sen no Rikyu extended an object of wabi in the structure of the tea-ceremony room and a style of whole tea party including the manners of tea serving as well as a tea tools. Whem he was asked by pupil with the secret of the tea ceremony, he answered that "It is basic". When you treat a guest, the expensive thing showing off your authority is not necessary. The necessary thing is the space where the guest settles, a tea and a heart of motenashi. Why did he take good care of a guest as it? Because he thought the time when he and his guest meet it this way is holy quality to never come. This is spirit of so-called Ichigoichie
 After his death, but his wabicha didn't die. His pupils succeeded tea by each way of thinking.

#1 The History of Sadou

The History of Sadou

 The custom of drinking tea was handed down from China in 8^th century. Those days, Japan had sent many priests to Tou - in 8^th century, China’s name is “Tou” – and one of those priests brought the tea which was drunk in china to Japan. The tea called Dancha. This is the most ancient tea for Japan, and this is the first introduction. The second introduction was Kamakura period. Priest Eisai brought the book which explains how to drink the tea as a medicine. This custom spread out among the priests and the nobility. In addition, this custom spread out to the people in the form called Toucha – the tea competition in Muromachi period. The tea competition was a gamble to guess taste of tea right – What is the name of the tea? Where is the tea from? And so on - , and this became popular among samurais. As the tea competition became popular, it has the need to secure a place to perform the tea competition. This is the tea ceremony room in the back. Order and courtesy were gradually made to performing the tea competition, and this became the beginning of manners of the tea ceremony in the back.

  The form of the tea ceremony called wabicha was completed in Azuchimomoyama period by the famous Sennorikyu. His wabicha spread out to samurais, and various styles of tea ceremony were born. It called samurai family tea ceremony or daimyo tea in particular in the present age.

  By the time of Edo first period, the population of the tea ceremony was limited quality constructed by a daimyo and a big merchant mainly. But in the middle of Edo period, the merchant rank grew up economically, the population of tea ceremony increased explosively. And it was central three styles of the tea ceremony called sannsennke that accepted such merchant as a pupil. In this way, the tea ceremony spread out in the all over Japan. But this let the tea ceremony popularize, and the common people enjoyed the tea ceremony as pleasure not as a mental thing. That’s because common people cannot understand the spirit of wabisabi. On the other hand, the beauty of the heart to treat a person which is an original purpose of the tea ceremony comes to ne emphasized. Is is said that the spirits of wakeiseijyaku that is the motto of the Rikyu styles was made then. In this way, the current form of   Japanese tea ceremony was completed.