ITAKURA SHIGEMUNE GRINDS HIS OWN TEA
板倉重宗茶臼で茶を挽く
The Kyoto Shoshidai Itakura Suwo-no-kami Shigemune was very fond of Cha-no-yu, and used to grind his own tea while sitting in the Court as Judge.
京都所司代の板倉周防守重宗は茶の湯に精通していて、職務中に茶臼を置き自分で挽いていました。
And the reason was this.
理由はこうです。
He once asked a friend of his who was his companion in Cha-no-yu, a tea merchant named Eiki, to tell him frankly what was public opinion about him.
彼はある時、茶の湯仲間であるＥｉｋｉと言う茶人に自分に対する街の評判を尋ねました。
“Well,” said Eiki, “they say that you get irritated with those who don't give their evidence very clearly and scold them, and so people are afraid to bring law suits before you and if they do the truth does not come out.”
「う〜ん」と Eiki は言い、「皆、殿は詮議もろくにしないでガミガミ怒ってばかりいる、公平では無くお裁きを怖がっています。」と言いました。
“Ah, I am glad you have told me that,” replied Shigemune “for now I consider it I have fallen into the habit of speaking sharply to people in this way, and no doubt humble folk and those who are not ready in speech get flurried and are unable to put their case in the best light.
I will see to it that this dose not occur in future.”
「正直に言ってもらってかたじけない」と重宗は言い、「私のきつい性格が萎縮を誘い、人々は自分の思った事を十分に言えないようになっているのだろう。今のままでは公平な審理は見込めないでしょうね。」
So after this he had a tea mill placed before him in court and in front of it the paper-covered Shoji were drawn to, and Shigemune sat behind them and ground the tea and thus kept his mind calm while he heard the cases.
その後彼は仕事場において、自分の傍らに茶臼を置き前に障子を立て茶を挽き始めます。それは、精神を落ち着かせて冷静になる為でした。
And he could easily see whether his composure was ruffled or not by looking at the tea, which would not fall evenly ground to the proper consistency if he got excited.
茶の湯によって、冷静さが乱れる事を容易に察っせられることは無くなり、激情によって物事を裁く事が無くなりました。
And so justice was done impartially and people went away from his court satisfied.
よって、お裁きは公平に行われ人々は安心したそうです。
In the third year of Keian (1651) Itakura Shigemune retied and was received by the Shogun Iemitsu.
慶安三年（１６５１）板倉重宗は引退を将軍家光より申し渡されます。
The Shogun ordered Mastudaira Nobutsuna to take two bags of the finest tea from the two tea jars called Sutego and Nue and to have them conveyed to Shigemune by the hand of Kuse Yamato-no-kami Hiroyuki, with the message that he had heard that Shigemune liked Tea now that he was growing old and that this was a fine variety and he hoped he would enjoy it.
将軍は松平信綱（老中）に命じ、「捨子」と「鵺」と言う茶壷から最上級の茶葉を袋に詰めて重宗に進呈するように、久世大和守広之（老中）の使いによって渡されました。将軍から、高齢になりそろそろ引退されこの茶葉で茶の湯三昧をいたすがよろしいとの言葉も添えられたのです。
Shigemune was overjoyed at the honour, and wishing to have it handed down for posterity he prevailed on Hayashi Doshun to give it a place in his historical records.
重宗はこの上ない名誉を感じ、林羅山へ後世に残すべく歴史書にこの出来事を一項記すように頼みました。