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This is a really fun little
棚! Originally, it was used in the 水谷, but
利休 took it to the Odawara campaign in 1590, and that's that.
Now we use it often in March or April. It's so big that it wouldn't be very suitable for
風炉, but it gives an outside feeling, so late
炉 is a good time to use it. (At least that was my thinking. Hiromi 25, however, said that March / April is the time when lots of kids in Japan change school and thus many families
move, and that's why she likes to use it this time around.)
Still, the books say you could also use it in
風炉.
遠州流 use the 短冊箪笥 similarly, and that one seems more suitable to use in
風炉 (in fact, I've done that for one of the early konomi presentations 🤫)
Make
It is usually made of paulownia (which is what
利休 would've used), but there are also models made of
桑, lacquered ones with maple leaves (淡々斎） or, very pretty, one made from cedar and reed covers (玄々斎好み, of course).
It has two boards in it:
仙叟 preferred a style with only one board that both held the 薄茶器 and
柄杓.
Similarities
👆 Difference: with the 旅箪笥 in 薄茶, it stays open longer still, so you can put the 薄茶器 in it; in 紹鴎棚 you close the door always after the 水次. The 紹鴎棚 then has the funny afterlude where you put the 柄杓 and 蓋置 away, though I have this from a 淡交テキスト, and I don't trust it fully.
Opening
L holds the top left corner of the door. With R, remove the pin, insert it from the side, then pull the door forward. L holds the lower L part of it, R moves to hold the upper L part of it. With both hands, lean it against the L side of the box.
I've not seen this documented somewhere, but I presume if there was a calligraphy at the back of the lid, you could lean it against the R side (probably holding L upper left, R upper right, L lower right).
手前 & 点前
炭:
香合 and
羽 are on the 箪笥, in the character 八 form.
濃茶: Door is already open,
水指 half-way out (similar to 紹鴎棚).
The
仕覆 lives in the middle of the 天板 (that means, on top of the box, in plain sight — I find this a pity, you could use the
柄杓 board for it; but it's consistent with the 徒然棚, for example. But what if you had a pin instead of a board…? 😎)
Remember that in
濃茶 with a
棚, the
柄杓 and
蓋置 first go near the wall, and get placed on the
棚 after the 拝見物 are sorted.
Leave the box open and the
水指 out! After the 水次 (3 hands, resting the lid on the front side of the
水指), put the
水指 in, and close the 箪笥. Then leave with the 水次.
薄茶: Come in with
茶碗 (separated from
建水, which I find a pity). Open door, and, if not doing 芝点, get the
水指 out. Then arrange 薄茶器 and
茶碗. All remains the same, except that you
don't close the door after 水次, but only put the
水指 back! After
拝見, you put the
茶杓 on the
棚 temporarily, then put the 薄茶器 where it needs to go, close the 箪笥 and leave with the
茶杓.
総荘:
茶碗 and 薄茶器 go on the middle board after
柄杓 and
蓋置 have been put where they need to be put. Then come back with the 水次. It is interesting: The book sais to leave the
帛紗 even when you've used the 水次, and to leave it on the
水指 if it has a lacquered lid (and on the top shelf otherwise, I presume?).
芝点（じてん）: For
薄茶, you can either leave the middle board in, in which case you need to pull the
水指 forward before getting out the 薄茶器; or you can leave the
水指 where it is and remove the board before purifying the 薄茶器 to use as a space to put 薄茶器 and
茶筅 on similar to
茶箱! For
濃茶, you can't do 芝点.
You don't use the
古帛紗 for the
茶碗 with this
棚 (according to the book, I need to verify that 🤩).
道具
Since the
蓋置 lives near the
水指, and you need to be able to pull out the
水指 without moving the
蓋置, best to pick a more slender
水指.
Still, I used a 平水指 once, and it still worked, giving a bit of a 紹鴎棚 feeling with the big ass lid being rested against the wall. In a video, I saw the
蓋置 being taken out, then
水指 being moved for the 水次. The books don't confirm this, but it seems to be a good idea to deal with a big
水指; or you could even do it like with the 八千代 棚.
Since you'll often find this in March or April, the 五徳
蓋置 should be common here.
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