No flowers, no tinted leaves.
Photo by Gabriella Clare Marino on Unsplash
Born a year before the death of Murata Juko, Takeno Jōō (武野 紹鴎, 1502–1555) was a tea master who developed further the concept of “wabi” in the Japanese tea ceremony.
Jōō was born to a wealthy merchant in the town of Sakai and spent his youth studying poetry in Kyoto. At the same time, he also practiced tea ceremony and became to be known as a master.
Out of so many classic poems that he studied, Jōō used to recite one particular poem that was written by Fujiwara no Teika (1162-1241), because in this poem he found the essence of “wabi,” the very concept that he pursued in tea ceremony.
見渡せば Miwataseba
花も紅葉も Hanamo momiji mo
なかりけりNakari keri
浦の苫屋のUrano tomaya no
秋の夕暮れ Akino yugure
The English translation of this poem is introduced in Kakuzo Okakura’s The Book of Tea as below:
“I look beyond;
Flowers are not,
Nor tinted leaves.
On the sea beach
A solitary cottage stands
In the waning light
Of an autumn eve.”
Among us, tea ceremony practitioners today, this poem is a must to recite. No flowers, no leaves. You see only “no-thingness.” Can you see the essence of “wabi” spirit in this poem?
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Thank you so much for your comment.
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