- Used in large rooms
- 16 lines away from middle of 畳
- If the wood grain is visible, the base of the tree is on the side farther away from the guest (so it cannot be really used for 逆勝手)
Types
Today, there are 'five canonical 台子', which are the 真台子, 及台子, 竹台子, 高麗; 爪紅（つまぐれ）; but of course, there are also a bunch more.
- 真 台子 in 利休型; made from ヒノキ lacquered in 真塗; with square posts of 2.4 cm. Top shelf is 91.5 ╳ 42.4 ╳ 1.8 cm and larger than the bottom, which is 90 ╳ 42.6 ╳ 4.2, height is 66.7 cm.
- 及台子（きゅう）, because it looks like a gate to pass through. 2 legs with decorations; top shelf may have ふでがえし to prevent brush from falling off. Upper shelf is smaller than lower one, which is 90.6 ╳ 42.4 (again), and the whole thing is 55.4 cm high.
- 高麗（こうらい）, Korean, favoured by Sōtan because the king of りゅうきゅう gave him one like this; he used it with a peach motif 皆具 he had from 利休. It 68.2 ╳ 36.4 ╳ 32.3 in total (which seems super small!)
- 竹, made of paulownia. All plates are 75.1 ╳ 38.6; height is 54.8; originally only intended for 炉; in 風炉 a small 風炉 must be used.
- 爪紅（つまぐれ） (red fingernail) with red lacquered edges
- Also, the 長板 goes in this category; it's conceptually the bottom shelf of the 真台子. In 風炉, it's 84.8 ╳ 36.4 ╳ 1.8; in 炉 its 72.7 ╳ 30.3 ╳ 1.2. You can use the 長板 with only a 水指 rather than the “full display”, but you should only do this if the 水指 is 名物.
点前
- Differences between 濃茶 and 薄茶 are pronounced: In the former, you cannot move the 釜 lid with the 柄杓 in hand, with the latter you can. With the former, 拝見 begins when 建水 is back; in the latter, host comes in with 建水 for the conversation.
- When picking up 火箸, turn them so your palm faces up. R, L up, then R bottom to turn. Keep tips together until you reach the 杓立て.
取合わせ
- In the old times, it was preferable to have a 皆具 with all different metals.