8/16/2009

Sake no Hosomichi

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. sake 酒 ricewine .
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"The Narrow Roads of Ricewine"
(Sake no Hosomichi)


酒のほそみち / 酒のほそ道
This is the title of a long-running weekly manga series by
Razuweru Hosoki ラズウェル細木 Rozwell Hosoki
Razu san ラズさん Roswell Hosoki Roswell
日本文芸社




He walks along small roads in Japan (like old Basho), meets people, visits various restaurants, samples seasonal food, gives recipies and finishes with a haiku.
Each episode is about 4 - 6 pages long.
The hero of the stories is Iwama Sotatsu 岩間宗達, a normal salaried worker and evening gourmet 飲兵衛

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

shuukan manga 週刊漫画 weekly manga


From Hachinohe in Northern Japan



describing the sabasushi 虎鯖 棒すし



. . . CLICK here for Manga Photos !


Reference : ラズウェル細木 Photos.
Rozwell Hosoki was born in 1956 in Yamagata. He was a student at Waseda University in Tokyo.





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Hosoki has written more manga about food

Taberu Kado ni wa Fuku Kitaru 食べる門には福来る
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



大江戸酒道楽 ~ 肴と酒の歳時記
Saijiki about good food and drink of Edo


魚心あれば食べ心(つりコミック連載)
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


ひまじん酒場 酔庵夜話
美味い話にゃ肴あり

旅する胃袋 (a travelling stomach)
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


月右衛門覚帳

Oh! Bentoo 弁当

風流つまみ道場 Fuuryuu tsumami doojoo

ラ寿司開店 La Sushi Kaiten
. . . CLICK here for Photos !




nonbee 呑兵衛 (のんべえ) Nonbei,
nombei, drinker, alcoholic
Trinker, Alkoholiker
nombei yokochoo 飲兵衛横丁 road with drinking restaurants



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Things found on the way


Sakaba no hoorooki 吉田類の酒場放浪記
Walking along the sake spots of Tokyo
A popular TV series, BS TBS. with Yoshida Rui
Rui Yoshida no Sakaba Horoki
He visits local izakaya, talks to the proprietor and other guests, samples drinks and food and ends up in a small street, reciting a haiku about the evening.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



sakaba saijiki 酒場歳時記
Saijiki of sake drinking spots
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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Soba no Hosomichi そばのほそ道
The Narrow Roads of Buckwheat Noodles
宮下武久・著 Takehisa Miyashita
信州そば 面白美味街道
Shinshū soba omoshiro bimi kaidō
2000, Kawabe Shorin (Nagano)


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. Shoojoo 猩猩 /猩々 Shojo, a legendary drunkard
and an amulet from Shiga prefecture


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HAIKU and SENRYU


CLICK for original LINK ... newcity.keikai.topblog.jp
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八戸の 鯖黒々と 冬の海
Hachinohe no saba kuroguro to fuyu no umi

the mackerels of Hachinohe
are black, so black -
ocean in winter




冬晴れや 鯖青々と 飯の上
fuyubare ya saba aoao to ita no ue    

fine winter day -
the mackerels are so blue
on the chopping board


Sotatsu 宗達 (his manga alias)

source : ラズウェル細木 俳句


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Related words

***** WASHOKU
DRINKS SAIJIKI



***** . Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .
Hokku about sake and drinking by the Master himself!


***** . Oku no Hosomichi - Matsuo Basho .
奥の細道 - おくのほそ道
The Narrow Road to the Deep North


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. sake 酒 ricewine .

. kazaridaru 飾り樽 Sake barrel offering .
komodaru 菰樽 / sakegomo 酒薦(さかごも)


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- #sake #reiswein #miki #kazaridaru #sakegomo -
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8/15/2009

Kitaoji Rosanjin Utsuwa

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The UTSUWA うつわ【器】, vessel or dish
in which the food is served, is as much of importance to washoku as is the cooking itself.

Rosanjin was known for making his own pottery vessels to fit his food.
He even made some dishes with Japanese poetry inscriptions.


© PHOTO :utahito takakiyo

Most famous restaurants have a separate ... Storehouse, warehouse (kura, dozoo) ... , where they keep different dishes for all seasons, sometimes different one's for every month.

When I learned kaiseki cooking in Kamakura, my teacher had different dishes for every month and some extra for special monthly celebrations like the Boy's Festival or Chrysanthemum Watching.

Here I want to introduce an important person of Japan, whith a great influence on the UTSUWA culture.


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Kitaoji Rosanjin (北大路魯山人)
(1883 – 1959)

Kitaooji Rosanjin
a calligrapher, ceramicist and restaurateur in Japan during the first half of the twentieth century. Born in the village of Kamigano he founded the Bishoku Club (Gourmet's Club) in 1921. It became a private restaurant. The Great Tokyo earthquake of 1923 destroyed most of his ceramics collection, and he began making pottery to replace it. He also became a scholar of antique pottery publishing his work during the 1930's. Isamu Noguchi lived on his property for a while during the 1950s.

Rosanjin was mentioned several times on the Japanese TV show Iron Chef as the "mentor" of the "Chairman Kaga" character.

Kaiseki Chef, Yasushi Naoe (born in Oono, Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan in 1935) used Rosanjin's museum dishes for very special occasions at Kawai Ryokan in Toyama, Japan.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


! Photos !

CLICK for more English Information

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Mountain man who walked the path of art

"Born alone, will die alone;
come alone, will be gone alone;
study alone, walk alone."


This is said to be the mantra of one of Japan's greatest 20th-century artists, the boisterous, arrogant and brilliant Rosanjin Kitaoji.

MORE
source :  www.e-yakimono.net / Robert Yellin



External LINS about Rosanjin

http://shofu.pref.ishikawa.jp/portal/syoku-e/culture/rosanjin/index.html

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CLICK for more photos

Wa no Utsuwa, 和の器 Japanese Vessels
wafuu ustuwa 和風器 Japanese plates and dishes

yooki 容器 container, vessel
Gefäß; Behälter

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various kinds of plates and bowls
Teller, Schale, Schüssel

CLICK for wafuu plates
sara, ban さら 【皿・盤】 plate, dish, saucer, platter

ashizuki kaku daizara 足付角大皿 large square plate with small legs (for kaiseki meals)
daenkei torizara 楕円取り皿 oblong plater (for indivitual helpings)
fukazara 深皿 dish (deep plate)]
hassunzara, hassun sara 八寸皿 Hassun-plate for kaiseki (about 24 cm long)
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
haizara はいざら【灰皿】 ash tray (Aschenbecher)
hiratai 平たい皿 flat dish/ plate
hirazara ひらざら【平皿】 flat dish. flache Platte, flacher Teller
kakunagazara 角長皿 long square plate. lange viereckige Platte
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
kareezara カレー皿 plate for curry rice. usually oblong and rather deep.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
kashizara 菓子皿 plate for sweets
kakuzara かくざら【角皿】 plate with four corners. viereckige Platte, viereckiger Teller
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
kozara 小皿 small plate . kleiner Teller, kleine Schüssel
nagakakuzara 長角皿 square long plate (for grilled fish)
oogi hirazara 扇平皿 flat dish in the shape of a handfan
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
oozara 大皿 platter. großer Teller, große Schüssel
pureeto プレート plate (western style)
sakanazara, sakana sara 魚皿 plate for a fish, often with a fish pattern or itself in the form of a fish
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

CLICK for more sashimi plates
sashimizara, sashimi sara 刺身皿 plate for sashimi, often with a small extra dish for the sauce.
sankakuzara 三角皿 plate with three corners
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
shikakuzara 四角皿 square plate
soosaa ソーサー saucer, western-style plate
sushizara, sushi sara 寿司皿 plate for sushi, sometimes with a cover for a kaiten zushi.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
suupuzara スープ皿 soup plate
teshiozara 手塩皿 small plate for table salt
torizara 取り皿 small plate (for your individual helping). kleiner Teller, um Essen für alle zu verteilen
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
ukezara 受け皿 saucer (also used for flower pots). Untertasse
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
ukezaratsuki kappu 受け皿つきカップ cup with saucer. Tasse mit Untertasse



CLICK for more photos
saramawashi さらまわし【皿回し】 spinning plates on a stick
Tellerjonglieren


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hachi はち【鉢】 bowls of all kinds

asabachi 浅鉢 shallow bowl. flache Schale
chawan 茶碗 ricebowl. lit. "tea cup". Reisschale, Schüssel
chuubachi 中鉢 bowl of middle size
daenbachi, daen hachi 楕円鉢 oblong bowl
daibachi 大鉢 big bowl. grosse Schale
donburi どんぶり【丼】 bowl, usually with a lid of the same pattern. Donburi-Schüssel
donabe 土鍋 earthware pot. irdener Kochtopf
futatsuki wan 蓋付き碗 bowl with a lid (often for chawan mushi)
fukabachi 深鉢 deep bowl. tiefe Schale
guratan sarabachi グラタン皿鉢 bowl for gratin (usually heat-proof)
kakubachi 角鉢 square bowl. viereckige Schale
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
katakuchi bachi 片口鉢 bowl with a spout on one side. Schale mit Ausguss an einer Seite
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
kobachi 小鉢 small bowl. kleine Schale
mamebachi 豆鉢 very small bowl
meshiwan めしわん【飯椀/飯碗】 bowl for rice. Reisschale
sankaku asabachi 三角浅鉢 shallow bowl with three corners

CLICK for more photos
tonsui とんすい small bowl with a handle (to take your own portions from a larger pot)
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
..... tetsuke tonsui 手付とんすい with a handle. Portionsschale.
It often comes with a small saucer


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kigo for all summer

. suzu no hachi 錫の鉢 (すずのはち) small pot of tin  
suzu no sara 錫の皿(すずのさら)plate of tin



. kiriko 切子(きりこ)cut glass  
..... kattogurasu カットグラス
..... gyaman ギヤマン (diamant)
..... biidoro びいどろ (vidro)
For small pots and plates, glasses and more



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WASHOKU
sawachi ryori 皿鉢料理
Ceremonial Food from Tosa.
Festessen von Tosa
"lit. food served on plates and bowls


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cups : kappu カップ cup

chawan 茶碗 tea cup for the tea ceremony. Teetasse
guinomi ぐい呑, ぐい飲み extra large sake cup. großer Sakebecher
koohii kappu コーヒーカップ coffee cup. Kaffeetasse
sakazuki 杯/ さかずき small cup for hot sake. Trinkschale für Reiswein; Sakeschälchen
tei kappu, tii kappu テイーカップ tea cup. Teetasse fuer schwarzen Tee
tii kappu チーカップ tea cup (not very commonly uses)
yunomi 湯のみ(湯呑み) small tea cups. Becher, meist fuer Tee.
(lit. drinking hot water)
. . . CLICK here for yunomi Photos !

. Teacups 湯のみ yunomi with Daruma .


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Compiled by Larry Bole

Kigo Hotline, February 2012

sarabachi mo honoka ni yami no yoisuzumi
--Basho

plates and bowls too
faint in twilight:
evening cool

Tr. Barnhill

plates and bowls
dimly in the darkness
evening cool

Tr. Reichhold

plates and bowls
dim in the twilight--
the evening cool

Tr. Ueda


sara o fumu nezumi no oto no samusa kana
--Buson

Treading on the dishes,
rats make a noise
of coldness!

Tr. Sawa & Shiffert

The sound
Of a rat on a plate,--
How cold it is!

Tr. Blyth


akikaze ya moyoo no chigau sara futatsu
-- Sekitei Hara (1889-1951)

autumn wind--
with different patterns
two plates

Tr. Ueda


shirasara no fureau oto no yoru no aki
--Yoshiko Yoshino

the sound of white plates
clinking together--
a night in autumn

Tr. Ueda


mo no ie no mashiroki sara no mugetsu kana
--Yoshiko Yoshino

The pure white dishes
of a house in mourning--
harvest moon unseen

Tr. Gurga & Miyashita


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source : facebook
セルヴィス・ランベール 「平皿 海老に鯛図」
Homage to Hokusai and Hiroshige 北斎、広重へのオマージュ


My Articles on Japanese Pottery
start from here:

Yakimono 焼物  Daruma in and on pottery    


WASHOKU ... Tableware and Tools

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8/08/2009

Daruma Food LINKS LIST

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Daruma Food LINKS




Akachochin CHOOCHIN, lanterns 提灯とだるま
Ame, dagashi <> Sweets  飴、駄菓子
Anko, sweet bean paste Daruma 餡子だるま , だるまあん

Azuki Daruma 小豆を「達磨」made from Red Beans

Bentoobako ― Lunchbox with Daruma Bentoobako 弁当箱
Bon, 盆 a tray

CHA 茶 The world of TEA and Daruma

Coasters
Cookies だるまクッキー
Daruma sweets

Cups and Mugs
..... Guinomi ぐい飲み Tea Cups
Cup soup <> カップラーメン Cup Ramen, Cup Raamen
Curry from GLICO グリコカレー / glico カレー職人 Gookaku 合格 to pass the examination

Fukudama Fukudama 迎春福玉 Sweets
Fukutoku Senbei - Waffles for Good Luck from Kanazawa
福徳せんべい

Gokoku hojo .. 五穀豊穣 (gokoku hoojoo)
Prayers for a Bountiful Harvest of the Five Grains

Hamburger Cotelettes KATSU Daruma Food
..... 合格祈願エビカツバーガー to pass examinations
Hashi, O-Hashi ... Chopsticks お箸 おはし
Hashi oki ... chopstick rests 箸置き
Himedaruma, Hime Daruma sweets 姫達磨 姫だるま


Juken Food 受験フーズ Examination Hell Food, January 2007

Kabocha Daruma as Pumpkinかぼちゃ達磨, かぼちゃだるま
Kagome Food for Exam Students カゴメ 
Kashigata 菓子型 <> Cake Molds from wood
..... Kashigata 菓子型 Cake mold from iron
..... Kashi bin 菓子ビン <> Glass for cookies
Katsuobushi kezuriki かつおぶし削り器 cutter for bonito flakes
Keeki だるまケーキ Cakes decorated with Daruma

Maekake ... Apron 前掛け
Masamune
Daruma Masamune 達磨正宗 Aged Rice wine
Mito Kōmon .. 水戸黄門 Tokugawa Mitsukuni 徳川 光圀

Nabe ... だるま鍋 ... Cooking pot and restaurant
Natto 納豆 ... Fermented Beans
Noren ... Door Curtains 暖簾 のれん


Pan, Daruma pan だるまパン Daruma bread and
Daruma monaka だるまもなか Daruma wafers

Parfait Daruma ..... パフェだるま Food Art

RESTAURANTS . . . More . . . DARUMA Restaurants

Sable Cakes from Kawasaki 川崎大師名物 大人気 元祖ダルマサブレー
Salt and Pepper Shaker Shio Koshoo Ire . 塩コショウ入れ. 塩胡椒入れ

Sake, Ricewine and Daruma 酒.....
Sakazuki 杯 small cups / 達磨タンブラー . Tumbler Daruma

Sankuro, Dondo Yaki and Spring Fire Ceremonies 三九郎とだるま 
(Sankuroo)
Sara - Plates お皿にだるま
Senbei だるませんべい Rice Crackers
Sencha 煎茶 <> Tea with Daruma see > CHA
Shamoji しゃもじ <> Rice Spoon, Ladle
Snacks with Daruma スナック Food
Soba 蕎麦 そば <> Daruma Eating Buckwheat Noodles
SUSHI . Daruma Sushi だるま 寿司

TABEMONO More about FOOD with Daruma

Taiyaki たい焼き waffle in form of a sea bream
Tamago ... 卵だるま, たまごだるま, タマゴダルマEggs and Daruma

TEA and Daruma : Cha
The world of TEA and Daruma Introduction

Tokkuri ― Drinking Hot Sake with Daruma  徳利とだるま
Tsumayooji (tsumajoji) 爪楊枝 つまようじ <> Toothpicks-holder

Udon Noodles with Daruma 達磨にうどん ウドン

Vinegar Tasters, The three Vinegar Tasters of Chinese Art

Wasabi わさびだるま  Japanese Horseradish called "Daruma"

wine 達磨寺ワイン Darumadera Red Wine

Yunomi ― Drinking Tea with Daruma  湯のみとだるまさん/ Guinomi




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Daruma (16 subjects in this BLOG)


MORE
Genral Information Articles


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8/07/2009

Kurofune Monaka

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- - - Commodore Perry, see below
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Black Ship Wafers (Kurofune Monaka)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity


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Explanation


Kurofune monaka 黒船最中 wafers
黒船 QULOFUNE

CLICK for more photos

A handmade type of wafer with white shiroan bean paste.


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Monaka 最中 waffles, wafers

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quote
The Black Ships (in Japanese, 黒船, kurofune) was the name given to Western vessels arriving in Japan between the 15th and 19th centuries. In particular, it refers to Mississippi, Plymouth, Saratoga, and Susquehanna, that arrived on July 14, 1853 at Uraga Harbor (part of present-day Yokosuka) in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan under the command of United States Commodore Matthew Perry.
The word "black" refers to the black color of the older sailing vessels, and the black smoke from the coal-fired power plants of the American ships.


Commodore Perry's fleet for his second visit to Japan in 1854.

The following year, at the Convention of Kanagawa, Perry returned with eight ships and forced the shogun to sign the "Treaty of Peace and Amity", establishing formal diplomatic relations between Japan and the United States. Within five years, Japan had signed similar treaties with other western countries. The Harris Treaty was signed with the United States on July 29, 1858.

The surprise and confusion these ships inspired are described in this famous kyoka (a humorous poem similar to the 5-line waka):

泰平の . . . Taihei no
眠りを覚ます . . . Nemuri o samasu
上喜撰 . . . Jōkisen
たった四杯で . . . Tatta shihai de
夜も眠れず . . . Yoru mo nemurezu

This poem is a complex set of puns (in Japanese, kakekotoba or "pivot words"). Taihei (泰平) means "tranquil"; Jōkisen (上喜撰) is the name of a costly brand of green tea containing large amounts of caffeine; and shihai (四杯) means "four cups", so a literal translation of the poem is:

Awoken from sleep
of a peaceful quiet world
by Jokisen tea;
with only four cups of it
one can't sleep even at night.


However, there is an alternate translation, based on the pivot words. Taihei can refer to the "Pacific Ocean" (太平); jōkisen also means "steam-powered ships" (蒸気船); and shihai also means "four vessels". The poem, therefore, has a hidden meaning:

The steam-powered ships
break the halcyon slumber
of the Pacific;
a mere four boats are enough
to make us lose sleep at night.


© More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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- quote -
Illustration of Foreign Ships from North America
In June 1853 (6th year of Kaei), the American East Indies fleet commanded by Admiral Perry which included four ships two of which were steamships, arrived in Uraga and hastened the Bakufu Administration to open up the country. This work depicts the black ships at that time.
There remain many single sheet paintings and booklets depicting the arrival of the black ships. The shock of such an event must have been truly great to many of the people.
This work depicts Perry's fleet's route and their landing at Kurihama (Yokosuka city, Kanagawa prefecture). Explanations are added to detailed images of the ships painted from the front, behind and the side, including sailboats as well as steamships.
he steamships painted here are known as the "black ships". In Japan at that time only sailboats were used so this was the first time Japanese laid eyes upon steamships. It was for this very reason that people reacted with both a sense of horror and curiosity. After this, the clans of Japan purchased steamboats or otherwise found the means to construct their own as the Satsuma domain did. The arrival of the black ships also brought a large influence on Japan's military preparation.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library -

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了仙寺宝物館/黒船美術館 Black Ship Museum
Shimoda 下田市七軒町3-12-12
source : Black Ships in Shimoda



source : facebook - yokai

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- quote -
Illustration of Armor from the fifth volume of
"Rakuyoshu" 落葉集 -(Fugu no Zu 武具之図)

This is a picture satirizing the attempts to protect the country against the arrival of Perry's ships. It is an elaborate design, and there is a play on words involving the words armor (bugu) and puffer fish (fugu). The stone wall underneath the helmet represents a fort.
Due to Perry's landing, the shogunate, wishing to pour its power into coastal defense, ordered all the clans to send people to coastal areas and set up forts and batteries. In this picture, three crests are depicted showing the Matsudaira of the Kawagoe clan, Mori of the Choshu clan and Hosokawa of the Kumamoto clan and it is assumed that the feudal lords who guarded the coast of the Miura peninsula were placed side by side. The landing of Perry's fleet did not only impact the Bakufu but it was also for the clans, a serious event that could shake away their foundations.
'Rakuyoshu' in which this picture is printed is an essay compiled by Mokitsu Hachiya, a retainer of Tayasu household, one of the three Lords, and materials such as earthquakes and fires are compiled by theme into nine volumes in total. In the fifth issue, choosing the Perry's landing as a theme the pictures of Black Ship, kyoka (satirical poems) and otoshibanashi (stories ending in a funny pun) etc are gathered and this picture is also filed here.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library -


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quote
The Black Ships and Earthquakes

The year of Perry's return visit saw more than its share of major earthquakes. In addition to Odawara, two magnitude 8.4 earthquakes with offshore epicenters shook a vast area along the Pacific coast of Japan on consecutive days. The Ansei Tokai Earthquake shook a region extending south from the outskirts of Edo to Ise Bay Ise Bay on the fourth day of the eleventh month. The next day, the Ansei-Nankai Earthquake shook a wide area of the coast further south, centered approximately on the Osaka. Both earthquakes generated tsunamis, the first of which severely damaged the Russian warship Diana, which had sailed into Shimoda (near Yokohama) to negotiate a treaty. Estimates of the death toll from each quake vary, but 3,000 apiece is a typical figure.

When Edo shook in 1855, prominent bakufu official Matsudaira Shungaku (1828-1890) reacted in part by writing a memo to Abe Masahiro (阿部正弘 (1819-1857), the de facto leader of the bakufu. Matsudaira listed recent earthquakes, other natural disasters, and the unwelcome visits of American, Russian, and British naval vessels. Together with the present disaster in Edo, these events "definitely constitute a heavenly warning," he concluded. The Edo popular press and the namazu-e also retroactively linked the Ansei Earthquake with the series of severe earthquakes going back to 1847 and the recent arrival of Perry's so-called "black ships. Prevented by censorship regulations from stating the same explicit conclusion as did Matsudaira in his memo, the popular press and makers of namazu-e left such conclusions to readers' imaginations.

Shaking up Japan:
Edo society and the 1855 catfish picture prints.

source : www.thefreelibrary.com


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Daruma Museum
Hyootan, Namazu and Daruma -
The Gourd, the Catfish and Daruma


なまず絵 namazu-e "catfish pictures"


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'The Mission of Commodore Perry to Japan' (1854)



quote
Scroll displays the human side of Perry’s arrival

“It’s come pretty much out of nowhere,” says British Museum curator Tim Clark, placing a small wooden box on the table — it’s about the dimensions of a shoebox, slightly weathered and lightly inscribed with fluid kanji characters. “It was in Japan until last summer, where it belonged to a dealer, and before that, we don’t know. In fact there’s still a lot about it we don’t know.”

And with that, he takes out a compact bundle, loosens the silk cord around the worn cloth cover, and lays the Japanese section’s latest, almost half-a-million-pound (¥75 million), acquisition gently down on the table and starts unrolling it. I have my dictaphone running, and when I listen back there’s almost a minute when I’ve gone completely silent as I watch Clark reveal this treasure — which goes on display to the general public on April 18.

The piece is a jawdroppingly fine, 15-meter-long handscroll depicting the arrival in Japan of Commodore Matthew C. Perry and the nine famous black ships in February 1854. It was Perry’s second visit, and culminated in the signing of the Convention of Kanagawa on March 31, which effectively ended Japan’s centuries of sakoku (closed country) diplomatic seclusion.

The scroll opens, like many a Hollywood movie since, with a wide panorama. “There were two fiefs which were charged with the defence of Japan: Kokura and Matsushiro, so we begin with the panning shot of the defensive forces in all their glory,” explains Clark. “This is what’s going to be the treaty house where they do the negotiations; this is the local shrine, still completely undeveloped.”

Cinematically, this magnificent opener is succeeded by more focused vignettes. “We’re now zooming in from the wide-angled shot,” says Clark. “Here are Perry and (Commander Henry) Adams coming up the beach. It’s like Nixon coming down the stairs of the aircraft to greet Zhou Enlai.”

Clark’s scene-by-scene commentary, as he rolls the scroll up at one end and out at the other, is likely just how the scroll would have been used by its first owner. Notably, there is no explanatory text in the scroll itself, just an introductory preface. This suggests that the scroll’s owner was someone who needed no explanation — in other words, someone who was present at the events depicted, and would tell the story himself to the favored guests who were permitted to view the work. So who was that owner? And, indeed, who was the artist? These are, it turns out, two more of the things we don’t precisely know about this remarkable piece.

Since — and before — acquiring the scroll, Clark has been doing some sleuthing, with the assistance of Japanese scholars, in particular those of the Reihaku, the National Museum of Japanese History. We know who wrote the preface, an eminent poet of the Chinese style named Onuma Chinzan (1818-1891), “so the scroll’s owner was obviously moving in high literary circles in the city of Edo,” explains Clark. “Chinzan writes: ‘Mr Maruyama had an artist paint this.’ But he doesn’t” — Clark gives a laugh of gentle exasperation — “say who the artist is.”

Maruyama’s own identity is also vague — after all, the name is not uncommon. But one of Clark’s Japanese correspondents showed him a poetry diary entry for 1858 — the year of the scroll’s completion — in which Chinzan goes mountain climbing with a Mr. Maruyama. The diary locates the pair inside the Matsushiro fief — one of the two tasked with Japan’s national defence, as shown in the scroll’s opening scenes.

Here’s where the detective work steps up a gear: the Sanada family ruled Matsushiro, and Clark has been directed to an obscure 1930s journal article which reproduces sketches made by a mid-19th century artist retained by the Sanada that are near-identical to scenes in the British Museum’s scroll. The article (authored by the artist’s son) at last gives us a name: Hibata Oosuke (1813-1870). “We can’t be totally certain yet,” says Clark, “but everything triangulates.”

As the scroll unrolls to reveal further gorgeous — and surprisingly lively — scenes of banqueting, dancing, of amazed American sailors patting the bellies and squeezing the muscles of sumo wrestlers, it is hard to understand why Japan let such a treasure go, even though other pictorial versions of the event do exist in locations within and outside Japan. “For the British Museum, with its ambitions to tell the big picture in history,” says Clark, “it is almost like our Japan Galleries were set up waiting for something of this importance and great historical and artistic interest.”

From April 18, for six months, the scroll will be displayed at the center of the gallery, a few meters visible at a time — repeat visits will be necessary to savor the full magnificence of the piece. The theme of the surrounding gallery exhibition, “The Making of Modern Japan,” provides excellent context — there are, for example, lithographs that comprise the American record of Perry’s visit.

And herein lies the historical value of the scroll — for the insight it gives into Perry’s visits as viewed by the Japanese. We’re used to a narrative of shock and awe: the Americans arriving by steamship, Commodore Perry dropping not-so-subtle hints about the offensive capability of his shell guns. The scroll tells a very different story: American officers inspect the chinaware at the treaty banquet, sneak food out in their hats to share with those too junior to attend, have their hand wrung painfully by a sumo wrestler.

“It’s the kind of thing you don’t get in the American lithographs, where everything’s going like clockwork,” says Clark. “Throughout, you get this human detail. What attitude does that actually reveal toward to Americans? It doesn’t seem to see them as a threat, more a curiosity — these people who do things differently. This scroll gives us another side of the story.”
by Victoria James
source : Japan Times, April 18, 2013

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- quote
Encounters: Facing “West”
... There was, moreover, no counterpart on the Japanese side to the official artists employed by Perry—and thus no Japanese attempt to create a sustained visual (or written) narrative of these momentous interactions. What we have instead are representations by a variety of artists, most of whose names are unknown. Their artistic conventions differed from those of the Westerners. Their works were reproduced and disseminated not as lithographs and engravings or fine-line woodcuts, but largely as brightly colored woodblock prints as well as black-and-white broadsheets (kawaraban). - source : ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027


Kawaraban on the arrival of Perry
MORE
- source : library.brown.edu/cds/perry

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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


Streetlights:
Poetry of Urban Life in Modern English Tanka

an industrial town
soaked to its bricks with the stink
of the river
where Black Ships tied to piers
whispered of elsewhere


Gary LeBel
source : www.simplyhaiku.com


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HAIKU and SENRYU


observance kigo for early summer

kurofune matsuri 黒船祭 (くろふねまつり)
festival of the Black Ships



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下田黒船祭り

Shimoda Kurofune masturi 下田黒船祭(しもだくろふねまつり)
Festival of the Black Ships in the town of Shimoda

Kurihama Kurofune Matsuri 久里浜黒船祭(くりはまくろふねまつり)
Festival of the Black Ships in the town of Kurihama

Perii sai, periisai ペリー祭(ぺりーさい) Perry Festival


Matthew Calbraith Perry
(April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858)
was the Commodore of the U.S. Navy who compelled the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


Reference : Kurofune Matsuri : Black Ships Festival


At the port of Yokosuka, there is an annual Haiku Meeting for the Kurofune Festival
黒船祭俳句大会

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黒船が再来してる沖縄に
kurofune ga sairai shiteru Okinawa ni

the Black Ships
came back to Japan
in Okinawa


Matsumoto Takayuki 松本孝行
(14 years)
source : www.itoen.co.jp


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Related words

***** SWEETS ... SAIJIKI

***** .SAIJIKI ... OBSERVANCES, FESTIVALS
Kigo for Summer

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[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
- #perry #kurofune #blackship -

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8/01/2009

Tenzo, the Zen Cook

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO TOP . ]
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Tenzo, the Zen Cook

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity


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Explanation


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Tenzo is the name for the cook in the kitchen of a Zen temple in Japan.
How he should conduct his work has been laid down by Dogen Zenji 道元(Doogen どうげん) in the following.

tenzoo 典座 the Zen cook


absorbing wisdom -
I do the dishes
with a sponge

Gabi Greve, February 2014




. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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Tenzo kyokun 典座教訓: Instructions for the Tenzo
by Eihei Dogen 道元禅師

Translated by Yasuda Joshu roshi
and Anzan Hoshin sensei
(published in Cooking Zen, Great Matter Publications, 1996)

The text was copied from the
White Wind Zen Community Website at

http://www.wwzc.org


From ancient times communities of the practice of the Way of Awake Awareness have had six office holders who, as disciples of the Buddha, guide the activities of Awakening the community. Amongst these, the tenzo bears the responsibility of caring for the community's meals. The Zen Monastic Standards states,
"The tenzo functions as the one who makes offerings with reverence to the monks."

Since ancient times this office has been held by realized monks who have the mind of the Way or by senior disciples who have roused the Way-seeking mind. This work requires exerting the Way. Those entrusted with this work but who lack the Way-seeking mind will only cause and endure hardship despite all their efforts. The Zen Monastic Standards states,
"Putting the mind of the Way to work, serve carefully varied meals appropriate to each occasion and thus offer everyone to practice without hindrance."

In times past such great masters as Guishan Lingyu, Dongshan Shouchu, and others have served in this post. Although this is a matter of preparing and serving meals, the tenzo is not just "the cook."

When I was in Song China, during spare moments I enquired of many elder monks who had served in the various offices about their experience. Their words to me were from the bone and marrow of the Awakened Ancestors who, having attained the Way, have passed it through the ages. We should carefully study the Zen Monastic Standards to understand the responsibility of the tenzo and also carefully consider the words of these senior monks.


The cycle of one day and night begins following the noon meal. At this time the tenzo should go to the administrator and assistant administrator and procure the rice, vegetables, and other ingredients for the next day's morning and noon meals. Having received these things, you must care for them as you would the pupils of your own eyes. Thus Zen master Baoning Renyong said, "Care for the monastery's materials as if they were your eyes."
The tenzo handles all food with respect, as if it were for the emperor; both cooked and uncooked food should be cared for in this way.

Following this all of the officers gather in the kitchen building in order to carefully consider the next days meals with regard to flavourings, vegetables to be used, and the kind of rice-gruel. The Zen Monastic Standards states, "In deciding the morning and noon meals, the amount of food and number of dishes, the tenzo should consult the other officers. The six officers are the administrator, assistant administrator, treasurer, disciplinarian, tenzo, and head caretaker. After the menu is decided post it on boards by the abbot's residence and the study hall." Following this the morning gruel may be prepared.


Do not just leave washing the rice or preparing the vegetables to others but use your own hands, your own eyes, your own sincerity. Do not fragment your attention but see what each moment calls for; if you take care of just one thing then you will be careless of the other. Do not miss the opportunity of offering even a single drop into the ocean of merit or a grain atop the mountain of the roots of beneficial activity.

The Zen Monastic Standards states,
"If the six flavours are not in harmony and three virtues are lacking, then the tenzo is not truly serving the community."

Be careful of sand when you wash the rice, be careful of the rice when you throw out the sand. Take continuous care and the three virtues will be naturally complete and the six flavours harmonious.


Xuefeng once practiced as tenzo under Zen master Dongshan. Once when he was washing rice, Dongshan said, "Do you wash the sand away from the rice, or the rice away from the sand?"
Xuefeng said, "I wash them both away together?"
Dongshan said, "Then what will the community eat?"
Xuefeng overturned the washing bowl.
Dongshan said, "You should go and study with someone else. Soon."


Senior students, from ancient times, always practiced with the mind which finds the Way and so how can we of later generations not do the same? Those of old tell us,
"For the tenzo, the mind which finds the Way actualizes itself through working with rolled up sleeves."

You yourself should examine the rice and sand so that rice is not thrown out with sand. The Zen Monastic Standards states,
"In preparing the food, the tenzo is responsible for examining it to ensure that it is clean."
Do not waste grains of rice when draining off the rinsing water. In olden times a cloth bag was used as a filter when draining the rinse water. When the rice is placed in the iron cooking pot, take care of it so that rats do not fall into it or idlers just hang around poking at it.

After cooking the vegetables for the morning meal and before preparing rice and soup for the noon meal bring together the rice pots and other utensils and make sure that everything is well-ordered and clean. Put whatever goes to a high place in a high place and whatever goes to a low place in a low place so that, high and low, everything settles in the place appropriate for it. Chopsticks for vegetables, ladles, and all other tools should be chosen with great care, cleaned thoroughly, and placed well.

After this, begin work on the coming day's meals. Remove any weevils, lentils, husks, sand, and pebbles carefully. While you are selecting the rice and vegetables, the tenzo's assistants should chant the sutras to the shining being of the hearth. When preparing the vegetables or ingredients for the soup which have been received from the office do not disparage the quantity or quality but instead handle everything with great care. Do not despair or complain about the quantity of the materials. Throughout the day and night, practice the coming and going of things as arising in the mind, the mind turning and displaying itself as things.

Put together the ingredients for the morning meal before midnight and begin cooking after midnight. After the morning meal, clean the rice cooking pots and soup pots for the noon meal. The tenzo should always be present at the sink when the rice is being soaked and the water measured. Watching with clear eyes, ensure that not a single grain is wasted. Washing it well, place it in the pots, make a fire, and boil it. An old teacher said,
"Regard the cooking pot as your own head, the water your own life-blood."
Place the cooked rice in bamboo baskets in summer and wooden serving buckets in winter and set these out on trays. While the rice is boiling, cook the soup and vegetables.

The tenzo supervises this personally. This is true whether the tenzo works alone or has assistants to tend the fire or prepare the utensils. Recently, Zen monasteries have developed positions such as rice-cook and soup-cook who work under the tenzo. The tenzo is always responsible for whatever is done. In olden times the tenzo did everything without any assistance.


In preparing food never view it from the perspective of usual mind or on the basis of feeling-tones. Taking up a blade of grass erect magnificent monasteries, turn the Wheel of Reality within a grain of dust. If you only have wild grasses with which to make a broth, do not disdain them. If you have ingredients for a creamy soup do not be delighted. Where there is no attachment, there can be no aversion. Do not be careless with poor ingredients and do not depend on fine ingredients to do your work for you but work with everything with the same sincerity. If you do not do so then it is like changing your behaviour according to the status of the person you meet; this is not how a student of the Way is.

Strengthen your resolve and work whole-heartedly to surpass the monks of old and be even more thorough than those who have come before you. Do this by trying to make as fine a soup for a few cents as the ancients could make a coarse broth for the same amount.


The difficulty is that present and the past are separated by a gulf as great as between sky and earth and no one now can be compared to those of ancient times. However, through complete practice of seeing the nature of things you will be able to find a way. If this isn't clear to you it is because your thoughts speed about like a wild horse and feeling-tones careen about like a monkey in the trees. Let the monkey and horse step back and be seen clearly and the gap is closed naturally. In this way, turn things while being turned by them. Clarify and harmonize your life without losing the single Eye which sees the context or the two eyes which recognize the details.

Taking up a vegetable leaf manifests the Buddha's sixteen-foot golden body;
take up the sixteen-foot golden body and display it as a vegetable leaf.

This is the power of functioning freely as the awakening activity which benefits all beings.


Having prepared the food, put everything where it belongs. Do not miss any detail. When the drum sounds or the bells are struck, follow the assembly for morning zazen and in the evening go to the master's quarters to receive teachings. When you return to the kitchen, count the number of monks present in the Monks' Hall; try closing your eyes. Don't forget about the senior monks and retired elders in their own quarters or those who are sick. Take into account any new arrivals in the entry hall or anyone who is on leave. Don't forget anyone. If you have any questions consult the officers, the heads of the various halls, or the head monk.

When this is done, calculate just how much food to prepare: for each grain of rice needed, supply one grain. One portion can be divided into two halves, or into thirds or fourths. If two people tend to each want a half-serving, then count this as the quantity for a single full serving. You must know the difference that adding or subtracting one serving would make to the whole.


If the assembly eats one grain of rice from Luling, the tenzo is the monk Guishan. In serving a grain of that rice, the tenzo sees the assembly become the ox. The ox swallows Guishan. Guishan herds the ox.


Are your measurements right or are they off? Have those you consulted been correct in their counting? Review this as best as you can and then direct the kitchen accordingly. This practice of effort after effort, day after day, should not be forgotten.

When a patron visits the monastery and makes a donation for the noon meal, discuss this with the other officers. This is the tradition of Zen monasteries. Other offerings to be distributed should also be discussed with the other officers. In this way, the responsibilities of others are not disrupted nor your own neglected.

When the meal is ready and set out on trays, at noon and morning put on the wrap robe, spread your bowing mat, offer incense and do nine great bows in the direction of the Monks' Hall. When this is done, send out the food.

Day and night, the work for preparing the meals must be done without wasting a moment. If you do this and everything that you do whole-heartedly, this nourishes the seeds of Awakening and brings ease and joy to the practice of the community.

Although the Buddha's Teachings have been heard for a long time in Japan, I have never heard of any one speaking or writing about how food should be prepared within the monastic community as an expression of the Teachings, let alone such details as offering nine bows before sending forth the food. As a consequence, we Japanese have taken no more consideration of how food should be prepared in a monastic context than have birds or animals. This is cause for regret, especially since there is no reason for this to be so.


When I was staying at Tiantong-jingde-si, a monk named Lu from Qingyuan fu held the post of tenzo. Once, following the noon meal I was walking along the eastern covered walkway towards a sub-temple called Chaoran Hut when I came upon him in front of the Buddha Hall drying mushrooms in the sun. He had a bamboo stick in his hand and no hat covering his head. The heat of the sun was blazing on the paving stones. It looked very painful; his back was bent like a bow and his eyebrows were as white as the feathers of a crane. I went up to the tenzo and asked,
"How long have you been a monk?"

"Sixty-eight years," he said.
"Why don't you have an assistant do this for you?"
"Other people are not me."
"Venerable sir, I can see how you follow the Way through your work. But still, why do this now when the sun is so hot?"
"If not now, when?"

There was nothing else to say. As I continued on my way along the eastern corridor I was moved by how important the work of the tenzo is.


In May of 1223 I was staying aboard the ship at Qingyuan. Once I was speaking with the captain when a monk about sixty years of age came aboard to buy mushrooms from the ships Japanese merchants. I asked him to have tea with me and asked where he was from. He was the tenzo from Ayuwang shan.

He said, "I come from Xishu but it is now forty years since I've left there and I am now sixty-one. I have practiced in several monasteries. When the Venerable Daoquan became abbot at Guyun temple of Ayuwang I went there but just idled the time away, not knowing what I was doing. Fortunately, I was appointed tenzo last year when the summer Training Period ended. Tomorrow is May 5th but I don't have anything special offerings for the monks so I thought I'd make a nice noodle soup for them. We didn't have any mushrooms so I came here to give the monks something from the ten directions."

"When did you leave Ayuwangshan?" I asked.
"After the noon meal."
"How far is it from here?"
"Around twelve miles."
"When are you going back to the monastery?'
"As soon as I've bought the mushrooms."
I said, "As we have had the unexpected opportunity to meet and talk like this today, I would like you to stay a while longer and allow me to offer Zen master tenzo a meal."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I just can't. If I am not there to prepare tomorrow's meal it won't go well."

"But surely someone else in the monastery knows how to cook? If you're not there it can't make that much difference to everyone."

"I have been given this responsibility in my old age and it is this old man's practice. How can I leave to others what I should do myself? As well, when I left I didn't ask for permission to be gone overnight."

"Venerable sir, why put yourself to the difficulty of working as a cook in your old age? Why not just do zazen and study the koan of the ancient masters?"

The tenzo laughed for a long time and then he said, "My foreign friend, it seems you don't really understand practice or the words of the ancients."

Hearing this elder monk's words I felt ashamed and surprised. I asked, "What is practice? What are words?"

The tenzo said, "Keep asking and penetrate this question and then you will be someone who understands."

But I didn't know what he was talking about and so the tenzo said, "If you don't understand then come and see me at Ayuwang shan some time. We'll talk about the meaning of words." Having said this, he stood up and said, "It'll be getting dark soon. I'd best hurry." And he left.


In July of the same year I was staying at Tiantong shan when the tenzo of Ayuwang shan came to see me and said, "After the summer Training Period is over I'm going to retire as tenzo and go back to my native region. I heard from a fellow monk that you were here and so I came to see how you were making out."

I was overjoyed. I served him tea as we sat down to talk. When I brought up our discussion on the ship about words and practice, the tenzo said, "If you want to understand words you must look into what words are. If you want to practice, you must understand what practice is."

I asked, "What are words?"
The tenzo said, "One, two, three, four, five."
I asked again, "What is practice?"
"Everywhere, nothing is hidden."

We talked about many other things but I won't go into that now. Suffice it to say that without this tenzo's kind help I would not have had any understanding of words or of practice. When I told my late teacher Myozen about this he was very pleased.

Later I found a verse that Xuedou wrote for a disciple:

"One, seven, three, five.
What you search for cannot be grasped.
As the night deepens,
the moon brightens over the ocean.
The black dragon's jewel
is found in every wave.
Looking for the moon,
it is here in this wave
and the next."


What the tenzo said is expressed here in Xuedou's verse as well. Then it was even clearer to me that the tenzo was truly a person of the Way.

Before I knew one, two three, four, five; now I know six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Monks, you and those to follow must understand practice and words through this and from that. Exert yourself in this way and you will practice the single true taste of Zen beyond words, undivided into the poisonous five flavours. Then you will be able to prepare food for the monastic community properly.


There are many old stories we can hear and present examples of monks training as tenzo. A great many teachings concern this because it is the heart of the Way.

Even if you become the Abbot of a monastery, you should have this same understanding. The Zen Monastic Standards states, "Prepare each meal with each detail kept clear so that there will be enough. Make sure that the four offerings of food, clothing, bedding, and medicine are adequate just as the Generous One offered to his disciples the merit of twenty years of his lifetime. We ourselves live today within the light of that gift because the energy of even a white hair between his brows is inexhaustible." It also says, "Just think about how to best serve the assembly without being hindered by thoughts of poverty. If your mind is limitless, you enjoy limitlessness." This is how the abbot serves the assembly.


In preparing food, it is essential to be sincere and to respect each ingredient irregardless of how coarse or fine it is. There is the example of the old woman who gained great merit through offering water in which she had rinsed rice to the Thus Come. And of King Ashoka creating roots of wholesomeness through offering half a mango to a monastery as he lay dying. As a result of this he realized the deathless in his next life. Even the grandest offering to the Buddha, if insincere, is worth less than the smallest sincere offering in bringing about a connection with awakening. This is how human beings should conduct themselves.

A rich buttery soup is not better as such than a broth of wild herbs. In handling and preparing wild herbs, do so as you would the ingredients for a rich feast, wholeheartedly, sincerely, clearly. When you serve the monastic assembly, they and you should taste only the flavour of the Ocean of Reality, the Ocean of unobscured Awake Awareness, not whether or not the soup is creamy or made only of wild herbs. In nourishing the seeds of living in the Way rich food and wild grass are not separate. There is the old saying, "The mouth of a monk is like a furnace." Bear this in mind. Wild grasses can nourish the seeds of Buddha and bring forth the buds of the Way. Do not regard them lightly. A teacher must be able to use a blade of wild grass to benefit humans and shining beings.

Do not discriminate between the faults or virtues of the monks or whether they are senior or junior. You do not even know where you stand, so how can you put others into categories. Judging others from within the boundaries of your own opinions, how could you be anything other than wrong? Although there are differences between seniors and juniors, all are equally members of the assembly. Those who had many faults yesterday may be correct and clear today. Who can judge "sacred" from "common." The Zen Monastic Standards states,
"Whether foolish or wise, the fact that one trains as a monk provides for others a gift that penetrates everywhere."

If you stand beyond opinions of right and wrong, you bring forth the practice of actualizing unsurpassable Awakening. If you do not, you take a wrong step and miss what's there. The bones and marrow of the ancients was just the exertion of such practice and those monks who train as tenzo in the future realize the bones and marrow of the Way only through just such exertion. The monastic rules set forth by great master Baizhang must always be maintained.


After I returned to Japan I stayed at Kennin-ji for around two years. They had the office of tenzo there but it was only nominal because no one actually carried out the real activity of this training post. They did not understand it as the activity of Awake Awareness so how could they have been able to use it to express the Way? Truly, it was very sad. The tenzo there had never encountered a living one who could use the office of tenzo as the functioning of Awake Awareness and so he carelessly idled away, breaking the standards of practice.

I watched the tenzo there quite closely. He never actually worked at preparing the morning and evening meals but just ordered about some rough servants, lacking in intelligence and heart, leaving to them all the tasks whether important or not. He never checked on whether they were working well or not, as if it would be shameful to do so like peeping into the private quarters of a neighbouring woman. He just hung about in his own rooms, reading sutras or chanting when he wasn't lying down or chatting. Months would go by before he would even come close to a pot, let alone buy utensils or make out a menu. He did not understand that these activities are the exertion of Awareness.

The practice of donning the wrap robe and offering nine bows before sending out the food was something he would never have even dreamed of; it just wouldn't have occurred to him. As he himself did not understand the office of tenzo, when it came time for him to teach a novice how to carry out the office what understanding could be passed on? It was very regrettable. Although one might have the fortune to hold this post, if one is without the mind which uncovers the Way and fails to meet with one who has the virtue of the Way, it is like returning empty-handed after climbing a mountain of treasure or entering an ocean of jewels.

Although you might not have the mind which uncovers the Way, if you meet one manifesting the True Person you can then practice and unfold the Way. Or, even if you cannot meet with one who is the display of the True Person, by yourself deeply arousing the seeking for the Way, you can begin the Way. If you lack both of these, what is the point?

In the many monasteries of the mountains of Song China that I have seen, the monks holding the various offices train in these posts for a year at a time, each of them in each moment practicing by three standards.
Firstly, to benefit others benefits yourself.
Second, make every effort to maintain and renew the monastic environment.
Third, follow the standards set forth by the examples of excellent practitioners of past and present and come to stand with them.

You should understand that foolish people hold their practice as if it belonged to someone else, wise people practice with everyone as themselves.

An ancient teacher said,

"Two-thirds of your life has passed
without clarifying who you are.
Eating your life,
muddling about in this and that,
you don't even turn when called on.
Pathetic."

From this verse we can see that if you have not met a true teacher, you will just follow the lead of your tendencies. And this is pathetic. It's like the story of the foolish son who leaves his parent's home with the family treasure and then throws it away on a dung heap. Do not waste your opportunity as that man did.

Considering those who in the past made good use of their training as tenzo, we can see that their virtues were equal to those of their office. The great Daigu woke up while training as tenzo and Dongshan Shouchou's "Three pounds of flax," occurred while he was tenzo. The only thing of value is the realization of the Way, the only time that is precious is each moment of realizing the Way.

Examples of those who long for the Way are many. There is the story of a child offering the Buddha a handful of sand as a great treasure. Another is of someone who made images of the Buddha and had reverence for them and thus had great benefit follow them. How much more benefit must there be in fulfilling the office of tenzo through actualizing its possibilities as have those excellent ones who have practiced before us?

When we train in any of the offices of the monastery we should do so with a joyful heart, a motherly heart, a vast heart. A "joyful heart" rejoices and recognizes meaning. You should consider that were you to be born in the realm of the shining beings you would be absorbed in indulgence with the qualities of that realm so that you would not rouse the recognition of uncovering the Way and so have no opportunity to practice. And so how could you use cooking as an offering to the Three Jewels? Nothing is more excellent than the Three Jewels of the Buddha, the Teachings, and the Community of those who practice and realize the Way. Neither being the king of gods nor a world ruler can even compare with the Three Jewels.

The Zen Monastic Standards states, "The monastic community is the most excellent of all things because those who live thus live beyond the narrowness of social fabrications." Not only do we have the fortune of being born as human beings but also of being able to cook meals to be offered to the Three Jewels. We should rejoice and be grateful for this.

We can also reflect on how our lives would be were we to have been born in the realms of hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, or jealous gods. How difficult our lives would be in those four situations or if we had been born in any of the eight adverse conditions. We would not then be able to practice together with the strength of a monastic community even should it occur to us to aspire to it, let alone be able to offer food to the Three Jewels with our own hands. Instead our bodies and minds would be bound within the limits of those circumstances, merely vessels of contraction.

This life we live is a life of rejoicing, this body a body of joy which can be used to present offerings to the Three Jewels. It arises through the merits of eons and using it thus its merit extends endlessly. I hope that you will work and cook in this way, using this body which is the fruition of thousands of lifetimes and births to create limitless benefit for numberless beings. To understand this opportunity is a joyous heart because even if you had been born a ruler of the world the merit of your actions would merely disperse like foam, like sparks.

A "motherly heart" is a heart which maintains the Three Jewels as a parent cares for a child. A parent raises a child with deep love, regardless of poverty or difficulties. Their hearts cannot be understood by another; only a parent can understand it. A parent protects their child from heat or cold before worrying about whether they themselves are hot or cold. This kind of care can only be understood by those who have given rise to it and realized only by those who practice it. This, brought to its fullest, is how you must care for water and rice, as though they were your own children.

The Great Master Shakyamuni offered to us the final twenty years of his own lifetime to protect us through these days of decline. What is this other than the exertion of this "parental heart"? The Thus Come One did not do this hoping to get something out of it but sheerly out of munificence.

"Vast heart" is like a great expanse of ocean or a towering mountain. It views everything from the most inclusive and broadest perspective. This vast heart does not regard a gram as too light nor five kilos as too heavy. It does not follow the sounds of spring or try to nest in a spring garden; it does not darken with the colours of autumn. See the changes of the seasons as all one movement, understand light and heavy in relation to each other within a view which includes both. When you write or study the character "vast," this is how you should understand its meaning.

If the tenzo at Jiashan had not thus studied the word "vast," he could not have woken up Elder Fu by laughing at him. If Zen master Guishan had not understand the word "vast," he would not have blown on dead firewood three times. If the monk Dongshan had not understood the word "vast," he could not have taught the monk through his expression, "Three pounds of flax."

All of these and other great masters through the ages have studied the meaning of "vast" or "great" not only though the word for it but through all of the events and activities of their lives. Thus they lived as a great shout of freedom through presenting the Great Matter, penetrating the Great Question, training great disciples and in this way bringing it all forth to us.

The abbot, senior officers and staff, and all monks should always maintain these three hearts or understandings.

Written in the spring of 1237 for those of coming generations
who will practice the Way by Dogen, abbot of Kosho-(Horin-)ji.



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CLICK for more photos


more translations
source : Tenzo kyokun


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Worldwide use

Anweisungen für den Koch
Zen für Küche und Leben:
Zen-Meister Dogen


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Things found on the way



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HAIKU and SENRYU


CLICK for crumbs of wisdom

tenzoo cooking -
we eat the crumbs
of wisdom

Nakayama Ishino, 1995


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mindful eating -
the Zen cook gets
an extra bite


Gabi Greve
February 2012

. Mindful Eating .


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rooshi 老師 Roshi, Zen Master
"old master"

I eat breakfast
and wash the dish -
my old Zen Master

breakfast -
before I finish drinking
my coffee mug empty


25 years ago, during my Sesshin ( a period of intensive meditation) in a Zen Monastery near Jerusalem, the Zen Master was quite old. He was from Kyoto. We called him Roshi.

After breakfast, wash your dish!
- Shared by Freddy Ben-Arroyo -
Haiku Culture Magazine, 2013


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Related words

***** Eihei-Ji Temple 永平寺

Fucha ryori, fucha ryoori 普茶料理 Chinese monk quisine
Temple Manpukuji

Vegetarian Temple Food (shoojin ryoori 精進料理)

Kaiseki Ryori 懐石料理 Kaiseki Meal

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[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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AUGUST NEWS

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO TOP . ]

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AUGUST ... hachigatsu 八月

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.............. August 6, 2009

Asahi First Brewery in Japan to Produce
Beer with Green Power

Asahi Breweries, Ltd., a major Japanese brewer, announced on April 16, 2009, a plan to manufacture its main product -- Asahi Super Dry Beer (350 ml size) --and other beers included in gift sets using power from green sources such as wind and biomass energy. This is the first time in the Japanese food industry that a manufacturer uses green electricity to produce products in-house.

The company entered into a contract with Japan Natural Energy Co. to purchase 40 million kilowatts of renewable energy per year. This is the largest green power purchase contract so far in the Japanese food industry. Under the contract, the company expects to reduce its emissions by about 18,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), which is equivalent to the annual emissions of 4,500 households.

Asahi Breweries plans to print the Green Energy Mark logo on applicable products from all nine of its breweries in late May 2009 as proof of its green power usage. The company is going to switch half of its total electricity consumption, usually produced from non-renewable energy supplied by power utilities, over to green-sourced power, and ...
source : www.japanfs.org


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.............. August 7, 2009

Due to the long rainy season and not enough sunshine and heat, many vegetables are now getting more expensive! Peaches in Okayama are not sweet enough for shipment and are given away for free or thrown away.


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.............. August 14, 2009




The white guy in the photo above is Mr. James, the mascot for 4 new burgers of McDonald’s “Nippon All-Stars” series. Residents of Japan who have been riding JR trains or passing by McDonald’s restaurants have probably already seen his face on advertisements. In his TV commercials, Mr. James speaks annoying foreigner Japanese (not unlike the wacky foreigner who spoke NIPPONGO in a recent Sony Commercial). Print advertisements convey his goofy gaijin Japanese by rendering everything he says in katakana.

Mr. James has an official blog chronicling his love for Japan and McDonalds. Its blog posts, no doubt written by a Japanese employee of McDonald’s Japan’s marketing department, put everything in a mix of katakana and hiragana.
source : www.japanprobe.com




ウシクダイブツにつづいて、カナガワのカマクラにいきましたよ!
In Kamakura !
NIPPON ALL STARS Mr.ジェームスの食べある記
日本マクドナルド
http://mcdonalds.dtmp.jp/blog/



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.............. August 28, 2009

Sushi Chef Examination
The All Japan Sushi Association intends to give online examinations about how to prepare sushi and if you pass, you can print out your own certificate about it.
全日本寿司協会 Yamagata Tadashi
national union of sushi chefs


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.............. August 31, 2009


After the elections

Hatoyama saburee / 鳩山民衆サブレー / 鳩山サブレー
. WASHOKU
Hatoyama bisquits / Yukio Hatoyama
 


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Related words


JANUARY ... ichigatsu 一月

FEBRUARY ... nigatsu 二月

MARCH ... sangatsu 三月

APRIL ... shigatsu 四月

MAY ... gogatsu 五月

JUNE ... rokugatsu 六月

JULY ... shichigatsu 七月

AUGUST ... hachigatsu 八月


NOVEMBER ... juuichigatsu 十一月  

DECEMBER ... juunigatsu 十二月  



***** WASHOKU ... SEASONAL DISHES SAIJIKI


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