Tsukubai
In Japan, a tsukubai (蹲踞) is a wash basin that is provided for visitors at the entrance of a holy place to purify themselves through ritual hand washing and mouth rinsing. This type of ritual cleansing is a custom for guests attending a tea ceremony or visiting a Buddhist temple . The name comes from the verb tsukubau , which means "squat" or "bow" (a sign of humility). Guests attending a tea ceremony crouch and wash their hands in a tsukubai set in the tea garden before entering the tea room.
Tsukubai are usually made of stone and usually provide a small trowel for use. A water supply can be provided through a bamboo cane called a kakei .
The well-known tsukubai shown here is located on the property of the Ryōan-ji Temple in Kyoto and was donated by the feudal lord Tokugawa Mitsukuni . The kanji on the surface of the stone have no meaning by themselves. But if you read each of them in combination with 口 ( kuchi ) - the shape of the central bowl - the characters become 吾, 唯, 足, 知, which literally translates as "I only know a lot" (吾 = ware = I, 唯 = tada = only, 足 = taru = a lot, 知 = shiru = to know) means. The underlying meaning, often translated as "what you have is all you need" or "just learn to be content," reflects the most basic anti-materialist teaching of Buddhism .
credentials
- ↑ a b Must See in Kyoto . Japan Travel Bureau, Inc, Kyoto 1991, ISBN 4-533-00528-4 , p. 107.
- ↑ a b Einarsen, John: Zen and Kyoto . Uniplan Co, Inc, Kyoto 2004, ISBN 4-89704-202-X , p. 133.
- ^ A b c d Kojima Setsuko, Gene A Crane: Dictionary of Japanese Culture , 1st American. Edition, Heian, Union City, CA 1991, ISBN 0893463361 , pp. 369-70, OCLC 23738000 .
- ↑ a b Einarsen, John: Zen and Kyoto . Uniplan Co, Inc, Kyoto 2004, ISBN 4-89704-202-X , pp. 90-91.
- ↑ a b Tsukubai and Zenibachi, the Japanese Water Basin . Retrieved March 3, 2016.
Web links
- Tsukubai Design & Construction - Tea teacher Elliot Mitchnick discusses the design and construction of a Tsukubai arrangement.