From Suzuki Soukei Sensei, 2023-04-24-CU-Tankokai-20th
Sukigi-gama is typically done in April (after Tsurigama in March) as a way of covering the heat for the guest.
Sukigi
Sukigi themselves are the wooden blocks upon which the sukigi-gama hane rests. There are four (maybe more?) kinds of sukigi:
- Kiri (Sotan konomi)
- Magnolia (Rikyu konomi)
- Cherry (Chikuso konomi)
- Plum (Ennosai? konomi)
Smaller sukigi exist for furo. (We didn’t discuss exactly how it’s used, but I believe there are sukigi-gama that can sit atop douburo like kirikake?). These are used in the peak of summer, when you really want to eliminate heat for the guest.
Sukigi handling
- Previously, it used to be that one sukigi turned inward, the other turned outward.
- Now (recent change), sukigi are always turned L to R, like opening a Japanese book.
- This is even true for the end of temae when “undoing” the flip.
- After taking them out of the rodan, the burnt sides should face the right, stacked on top of each other.
- Take R sukigi first, put it on palm. Flip it L over R.
- Take L sukigi and stack onto flipped R sukigi.
(Note: Last two points, “take R… take L…” may not be correct. This is from our recollection. We should check temae notes before doing this.)