ホモテナシ

• Preparation of 炭斗: Both in 風炉 and 炉, the coals are in the basket with the broader side, the side closer to the trunk of the tree, on the bottom.
• 手前:
  • When there's actual dirt when cleaning with the feather, clean the dirt first, then perform the ritual cleaning.
  • Always: after お香, 釜 moves (even in 盆香合, where it just moves by 90°)
• Feathers:
  • Touch it only between the two strings.
  • When purifying, don't worry about the tempo or making it look interesting. Just focus on purifying well for the sake of the guest.
  • The feathers have a softer side and a harder side. In 風炉, you want the soft side on the R, in 炉 you want the hard side on R (because here you might need to do some more heavy duty cleaning).
  • In 炉, KM25 keeps her L on the floor for all strokes. CJ, however, only used her L for the far strokes. This seems also what the new books are doing.
• 箸: KM26 told a nice anectode. If you hold the chopsticks close to the front end, it means you'll marry close to home (and vice versa).
• 鐶: 3 lines away from the rim

• Sequence:
  • When guests first arrive, there are only 3 下火 in either 風炉 or 炉 (except in 跡見(あとみ)茶事). In 炉, you'd put 3 練香 underneath those 下火 (KM26).
  • In 炉, first comes 初炭 and then 懐石
  • In 風炉, it's first 懐石 and then 初炭 (and then お菓子).
• There is a difference for 初炭 if it's for 稽古 or for 茶事:
  • In 稽古, you purify and open the lid before leaving the room with the 灰器;

🅰️ The ア doesn't swoop the knob: You gather the dust around the lid, and then swoop it into the L corner (KM25)

• In 茶事, leave the room for 拝見, do 座箒, and when coming back, you purify the 風炉 or 炉縁 with your 帛紗, purify the lid and then open it.
• 座箒: Sit on your heels, hold your L knee. It's always 3 strokes: top R to bottom L, bottom R to bottom L, top L to bottom L. In 炉, the 2^nd stroke of the 2^nd set is bigger, also taking in the area where the 炭斗 lived. At the door, you might have to switch hands depending on the layout of the room (to also purify where the handle of the feather was). Finally, 3 strokes perpendicular to yourself over the threshold, close the door. Open a little window for this purpose, audibly brush the dust out there, then knock the handle of the feather two times against your L to get the dust out of it (again, do it so the guests can hear).
• 炉縁: Draw 口, with your thumb pointing towards the 釜 on the 2^nd part of the 2^nd stroke. Then draw こ on the lid before opening it with the 帛紗 (⁉️ or without if it wasn't used to open it before)?

• 紙釜敷. When packing the 紙釜敷 there are several ways to remember it:
  • In winter, it's cold and you need to wear many layers, so the side of the 釜敷 where you can see the paper layers points to the R. In summer, it's the other way around.
  • HY23: The わさ points towards the 釜 when it's still on the fire, and the broken side points into the direction where it will go at first
  • UH17: put the open side in the 着物 so that it faces in the direction in which you will move the 釜 when putting it back on the fire. That means, for example, that in 中置 it'll have the same direction and facing as in 炉.
  • When collecting the 紙釜敷 after 釜 was on it, the warm side is farther away from the body in the 着物 (UH17)
  • If the 釜 doesn't move while on the paper, go down with the かん on the side that needs help, and push the paper with three fingers, still holding the かん (みねこ on 21 VIII 19)
  • KM25: Make the ポック not too obvious, and it can be twice!
• 棚: 羽 lies with its border on the diagonal of the 棚, the 香合 in front.
• 「お炭をなおさせていただきます」
• In 運, it's: 羽、かん、火箸、香合 for both 風炉 and 炉
  • Unless, of course, you're doing 長板, where the 火箸 are in the 杓立
  • With 棚, it's just 羽・香合, taking the 鐶 only when needed.
• close lid (with or without 帛紗), 鐶 on 釜, 紙釜敷, slide forward, move 釜 (also for both)
  • 拝見:
    • Guest pick up the 香合 once the 灰器 is out, and start with the 拝見 once 炭斗 is gone.
    • This is quite the same for 建水 in 点前.

⚠️ There are 2 positions for the 釜, middle of 畳 or left of it. For 運, it's the latter, otherwise the former. This informs the 香合 position for 拝見.

• The フジ灰 should be a little mount; to make the spoon sit better, compress the lower part of it, then add some more on top to make it look natural.
• When placing 胴炭, use two hands (so that they meet at the coal), retreat L as soon as the 胴炭 is in position.

• Preparation same as in 風炉, but adding a halved long one and a chubby one on the left side.

➡️ I struggle with taking the 火箸 easily. Pinch then together at their thickest part, lift up slightly, and immediately take with ring and little finger (KM25).

• Carry in 香合 on a tray (basically a 香合 飾り)
• It's a bit of an odd 手前, since it's used both for 御由緒(ごゆいしょ) and ご伝来
• This is the only 炭点前 where the incense is taken with the hands (presumably as not to scratch the 香合), for all the others, we use the 火箸.

• Done at long tea gatherings like the after-noon meetings; after 濃茶
• Omitted for after-meal, morning or late-evening meetings; not common in summer.
• The 組み釜敷き needs to glide well over the 畳 . It was Jōō who first used it.
• Prepare a little bowl of water to make the 茶巾 very wet when getting the 水次.

• After sliding the 釜, the guests 「お風炉中の拝見を」, host moves to diagonal side to pick up 灰器.
• Sit in door with 水次 in front until 拝見 is finished.
• Place 水次 facing 釜, 茶巾 on 釜 lid, refill water, then wet lid in two strokes (front and back), then front with 2 straight strokes, and back with mirrored つ.

• Preparation same as for 初炭, but:
  • 3 枝炭 instead of 5, and they are placed inverted at the front right
  • わど炭 replaces どうずみ
  • かん open end down against わど
  • woven くみ釜式
  • incense on 灰匙

• In 風炉, you don't move the 下火, because there's no wet ash. So the guest will lay all the charcoal in one go in 風炉.

• In 風炉, walk straight up in the middle with the 炭斗, then unpack everything remove the 釜. Do the first feather, but put it back on the 炭斗. That's it. Leave to get the 灰器 and leave it in front of the 点前座 together with the 帛紗.
  • 「おもおしあわせの上、お炭をどうぞ」(discuss who'll lay the coal). Guest will get up, tuck in the 帛紗, move the 下火, lay the coal, cut the 灰型. Then they put everything back (turning with the 灰器, according to HY26).
• Guest: おなおしの上、お香をどうぞ. Put the coal directly, receive 拝見 request. Leave with 灰器, come back, move 釜, then receive 「お風炉中の拝見」from the first guest who didn't lay the charcoal.
• 拝見 of 香合 starts after 炭斗 has left (this is a difference to 盆香合, where you start the 拝見 after the cleaning of the 釜, with a special atmosphere elevating the 拝見).

• Enshuu-ryuu uses pine, bamboo and plum for edazumi!