YABUUCHI SHOCHI AND THE INCENSE-BURNER
藪内紹智と香炉
Yabuuchi Shochi was one Sen-no-Rikyu's pupils.
藪内紹智は千利休とは武野紹鴎の兄弟弟子です。
He had many names, for he was known as Sochusai, Kenchu, Enan and Insai.
彼は沢山の名前を持っていて、藪中齋、剣仲、燕庵それに子的などです。
At the request of Ronyo Shonin he went and lived at the Hongwanji.
Ｒｏｎｙｏ上人の求めによりＨｏｎｇｗａｎ寺へ行き留まったりもしました。
As the house of Sen was in the north of Kyoto and Yabuuchi in the south the former was commonly known as the Upper School and the latter as the Lower.
千家は京都の北に位置し藪内家は南にあって、茶道流、前者は上流として後者は下流として知られています。
Now Shochi had an incense burner called Shimei which he used as a brazier for lighting his pipe.
紹智はＳｈｉｍｅｉと言う香炉を所持していて、たばこの為の火鉢として使っていました。
And it chanced that he produced it one day when a certain priest named Rokan came to see him.
ある日、Ｒｏｋａｎと言う和尚が彼のもとを訪れることになり、それを見せる機会がありました。
Rokan took it into his hands admiring it and smoothing it caressingly and eventually he said: Why is it that you see such a precious thing as a brazier?”
Ｒｏｋａｎは香炉を手にとり賞賛して、可愛い子を撫でる様にしながら言いました。
「こんな高価な物をなぜ火鉢にしてるんですか？」っと尋ねました。
Shochi laughed.
宗知は笑って
“It is because I use it in this way that you notice it and think so much of it.
If I put it in the Tokonoma and used it as an incense burner you would take it for granted.”
「こうやって使うのは、ごらんの通り使いやすいからですよ」「もし床の間に飾って香炉として使っていたら貴方はそのように扱うでしょ」
It needs taste to use a thing naturally as Shochi did.
紹智の審美眼はとても自然でした。
For one must know when to stop.
けして踏み込まなかった逸話もあります。
If a thing is used too much it loses power to attract and becomes dead.
もし一つの事で何かを得るために力を使いすぎると死にいたる。
In painting a tiger one must be careful not to paint it like a cat.
虎を書くのは注意深くして、猫の様に書いてはいけない。
The house of Yabuuchi never became attached to any great family, but remained ordinary Tea masters.
藪内家はけして名門な家柄に属すことはありませんでしたが、茶人として残りました。
Consequently the same misfortune did not befall them as happened to Rikyu, though they remained comparatively little known.
結果として、よく知されている利休の不幸な出来事と比較して、藪内家にはそれは降りかからず継承して行ったのです。
But on the other hand this family collected and still possesses an unrivalled collection of famous Tea utensils formerly belonging to Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Hideyoshi, Hidenaga, Rikyu, Oribe and so on, such as no other school has retained.
他方で、藪内家は他の流派が持たない様なこの上ない茶道具、足利義政、秀吉、秀長、利休、織部が所持していた道具類を収集しています。
In their Buddhist Shrine is a figure of Daruma brought from China by Eisai Zenji, supported on each side by statues of Shochi Kenchu and Rikyu.
藪内家菩提寺には栄西禅師が中国から持ち帰った達磨像が安置され、利休と剣仲紹智それぞれ建立した姿像もあります。
And in the hood on the head of Rikyu there is a lock of hair which he himself gave to his friend Kenchu before he died.
そして、利休が死ぬ前に友人剣仲に贈ったとされる頭に被る頭巾の中に一房の髪の毛も残されています。
The Yabuuchi house have always been in close connection with the Higashi Hongwanji temple and have been instructors to those of the Lord Abbots and high priests who were interested in Cha-no-yu.
藪内家は東本願寺と関係が深く、僧侶や神官たちへ茶の湯の教授をして来ました。
Once Rikyu dropped in unexpectedly on his friend Yabuuchi Shochi, and Tsubouchi had no flower for his Tokonoma, so he immediately went out to his vegetable garden and got a piece of Himeuri which he put into vase.
ある時、利休が藪内紹智の家へぶらりと立ち寄りました。あいにく床の間に何も飾っていなくて、彼はすぐ畑に行き姫瓜を一つ取ってきて水盤の中 に 入れ飾りました。
Rikyu was so pleased that he named the vase Himeuri in honor of the occasion, and it is still among the treasures of the house of Yabuuchi.
利休は大変喜んでその水盤に 「 姫瓜 」 と言う名を付けたそうですが、今でも藪内家には家宝として残っているそうです。
Speaking of incense-burners, there was in Nagasaki a woman who cast very fine ones in metal.
その香炉について、長崎に鋳物を上手に作る一人の女職人がいました。
She had learned the art from her father and behaved herself just like a man.
彼女は父からその技を学び、男性の様に振る舞っていました。
She liked men's company, had a frank and lively nature and was fond of liquor.
彼女はこの仕事が好きで、男社会になじみ、お酒も飲み始めました。
She never had any money, but that did not trouble her.
貧乏でしたが何の気苦労も有りませんでした。
If anyone ordered an incense-burner and paid, it might be twenty or thirty pieces of gold, she would spend it in fish and drink and invited all the neighborhood, and they would go on feasting and guzzling for days before she even think about starting the work.
もし誰かが香炉を注文すると二三十両の金が入るので、彼女はそれを見込み、近所の皆を集めて大宴会、飲んだくれてしまいます。
The Bugyo of Nagasaki once ordered one, and six months went by without any sign of it.
ある時、長崎奉行が香炉を注文し、半年無催促でおりました。
Then, as his term of office was nearly due to expire he pressed her to hurry and she promised it for just before his departure, but still nothing happened.
奉行職任期満了の日が近づいてしまい、彼は彼女に催促し出立までに仕上げる約束をしました。が、音沙汰が有りません。
One day she stood for house with a big iron tube in her hand blowing up the fire and starting into it thinking hard for an idea for this incense-burner, but as none came to her she suddenly seized an axe and smashed it into fragments at none blow.
彼女は、炉の炭に火を入れ大きな鉄管で空気を吹き込みながら香炉の創作活動を開始、しかし、良いアイデェアが浮かびません、、。彼女は突然斧を手に持ち、全部をこっぱ微塵にたたき割ってしまいました。
And the Bugyo had to go back without it after all.
その後、奉行の元へ作品が届く事はありませんでした。
The name of this woman craftsman was Kamejo (Madame Tortoise).
その女職人の名はＫａｍｅｊｏ（Ｍａｄａｍｅ Ｔｏｒｔｏｉｓｅ）と言いました。