Warigeiko - Friday, September 7, 2018

Created: September 19, 2018 4:39 AM
Tags: Sekiiri, Warigeiko
Updated: September 19, 2018 4:57 AM

(First TGIF of class!) - Iwama-sensei

Seki-iri

  • Seki-iri was different. Guest enters, walks to jiku, does all the stuff, then when returning from temaeza, doesn’t go to the back tatami, but rather to the regular okyaku spot, except one shifted over to allow room for the rest of the kyaku. Then, when the last kyaku stands after tokohaiken, all kyaku move.
  • To exit, last kyaku moves from directly in front of the door to the tatami adjacent. First kyaku turns in place to tokohaiken, then does everything else normally. When leaving from temaeza, hit the corner with your left foot, then walk “naturally” to the door.
  • Note: when crossing the diagonal for seki-iri, you should still try to hit two steps per tatami.
  • If the door is shoji and has no handles, it should be left slightly ajar to allow kyaku to open (with two hands). Then on exiting, kyaku should close completely.

Warigeiko/bondemae

  • Folding fukusa to put into kimono was different than Ito-sensei. Hold 3cm in (same). Then bring in. Left hand comes out, then right hand reholds. Left hand reholds on top. Then rinse repeat.
  • Putting fukusa on belt was the same.
  • Folding chakin, you do want to tug a bit at each step to make sure it’s tight.
  • (beginning bondemae now) Hold fukusa 3cm in from the tips. Only thumb and index finger are actually holding fukusa. Bring three fingers in.
  • Here I need work. Going from horizontal to vertical, your body should not move at all. Left hand should come down slightly, then right hand should move to the appropriate position. Fukusa will end up being a little to the left of the knee. Left elbow should be tight against the ribs. Left hand should be pointing straight ahead, and right hand should be flat. Note: right hand flat doesn’t mean wrist straight (ie wrist stable and straight), it means one straight line from your forearms to your knuckles. This actually makes your hand a little below parallel. Still though remember, kamaeru!
  • Go up, pinch, come back down, then return to center. When returning to center, be sure to return to kamaeru. Left hand should be massugu with arm. Fukusa should be parallel to knee line.
  • First, natsume. Tilt fukusa slightly forward and get the rim. Likewise, tilt back and get the rim.
  • Put fukusa flat on lid, tips pointing along the direction of your arm. This part is not a push-rotate, but rather a push-unpush. Think “move it forward straight, then back it up” like you would when you’re doing a 3-point turn. Hand should be completely flat at this point, not curved or following the shape of the natsume. Side note, it seems like most of the time, your hand should be more straight (blade) than curved (ie natural curvature of hand).
  • Pull fukusa away, pretend there is a second natsume distance.
  • Fukusa sabaki.
  • Holding fukusa for chashaku, your left thumb should be right in the center of the fukusa.
  • Pick up chashaku, hold with fingers in straight line (tea hand). Again, treat heavy objects as if they are light, and light objects as if they are heavy.
  • Wiping is the same as usual. Again, it seems to be like cylinder-style rather than pinch-style.
  • Now chasentoshi. Lift somewhat slowly — you’re inspecting it on the way up. Then, pause at the top. Again, you’re still inspecting. Then lower it a little more quickly than when you lifted it up (you already got the useful information out of that position). For bon, left hand should be mostly flat (blade) not curved.
  • Shaka shaka is normal.
  • The circle at the end, you make a little bit of a hiragana no, but the tines of the chasen don’t move too much in the bowl. Rather, this movement is to reposition your hands so you don’t have to fumble with the chasen when you’re putting it down. Use the tilting action to go from shaka-shaka position (beginning) to placement position (when you’re taking it out of the bowl). You shouldn’t have to readjust your hand position after you’ve taken it out of the bowl.
  • Note: left and right hand should meet about at the same time. Left hand should be fairly deep next to the bowl still (ie fingertips shouldn’t be at the rim of the bowl, but maybe midway up on the bowl). Make sure the left and right hands get to their positions at the same time. (I have a tendency for the left hand to be late). Also, pause briefly at the taking-out position. Iwama-sensei says, “This is the picture-taking moment!”
  • Place the chasen on the bon. (note: no particular emphasis was made on how to set it down). Place the chakin on the bon.
    • NOTE ON CHAKIN (and other stuff):  Kind of like bondate, the front of the bowl is the door. Everything must come and go through the door. Nothing can come and go through the window. Make sure the chakin exits and enters the bowl through the door. Also, the chakin should kind of sit against the “wall” of the chawan, not in the middle-ish. This way, the entire bottom of the chasen can touch the chakin, rather than it just touching the bottom tines.
  • Pick up the chawan with right hand, transfer to left, and empty in kensui. Note here: Iwama-sensei held the bowl very deeply, ie hand completely covering the rim. This is the same way we would handle tenmokujawan back at home. It makes the grip a lot more stable (but it breaks my muscle memory).
  • Return chawan completely to center. Bring chakin in, underneath and through the front (door).
  • Still center, push over the mountain (chakin) and lift it out of the bowl. Placing the chakin on the edge of the bowl is when you move the bowl to the side.
  • For positioning, pretend the bowl is a mirror. “I’m so cute, I’m so cute, I’m so cute!”
  • 3 and a half turns. Each turn should end up one chakin-width away from your thumb.
  • At the end, the last half turn returns you to center. The half should be a full half, ie it should end at 3 o’clock.
  • Place chakin into the bowl. Fold over only 1/3 (not half, like I always do). Pinch with thumb and index finger, and wipe yukuri. The guest is going to be drinking from that bowl — you don’t want to be gross and not clean it!
  • Place back on the bon, remove the chakin THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR.