THE KWANRYO'S BRAZIER

環了の火鉢

The Kwanryo of the temple of Chorakuji on Higashiyama in Kyoto to had a brazier of Sentoku bronze that he greatly prized, and which he was always rubbing with a silken cloth and polishing with his sleeve, seldom letting in out of his sight.

京都東山の長楽寺に環了と言う坊がいました。彼は中国景徳鎮窯の有名な宣徳火鉢を所有して、常に絹の布で撫で袖で磨いていたそうです。

One day he had a guest to whom he was serving a bowl of Koi-cha, and the two of then were deeply absorbed in some interesting conversation when the guest took the fire-tongs and scraped a hole in the ashes of this precious brazier, in spite of there being a tabaco-box by him, and was just going to spite into it.

ある日一人の客人がやって来て、彼は客人にお濃茶を一服差し上げ会話を始め二人は夢中になっていると、、その客は火箸を持ち宣徳火鉢の灰を掘り始め、煙草盆が側に有るにもかかわらず痰を吐こうとしました。

When the Kwanryo saw this he was “Oh, please wait a moment. There is a spitting-tube in that tabaco-box. Please use that.”

それを見た環了は「まって下さい！煙草盆に痰壺が有りますからそちらでお願いします。」っと注意しました。

The guest reddened. “Dear me,” he exclaimed, “pray excuse me. The fact is that I have got into the habit of doing this at home and so I went to do it here without thinking.”

客人は赤面して「これは失敬！」と叫び、「お許し下さい、我が家での習慣でついつい何も考えず失礼しました。」とあやまりました。

If he had studied Tea he certainly did not put it into practice ordinarily.

もし彼が茶の湯を嗜んでいたら、この様な事はけしてしなかったでしょう。

When the Kwanryo told this story to another Chajin Yanogisawa Gien, his comment was: “Ah, I wonder whether it is better to press your forehead with your finger, or not to do so.”

環了がこの話を茶人の柳沢淇園にすると、彼は「茶人として注意すべきか否か、、難しい問題ですね。」っと言ったそうです。