Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Tsukubai, a stone basin in tea-house garden

The other day I introduced a waiting bench in a tea garden. Today, I’ll show you another facility found in the garden. It is a stone basin called tsukubai in Japanese. , At formal tea ceremonies, guests purify their hands and mouth with the water from tsukubai before getting into the tea room.



When the ceremony starts, you leave the bench in the calm green garden and head for the tsukubai. You crouch down in front of tsukubai and take the ladle to scoop the water. You gently pour the water on your hand and then dab some on your lips to purify them. You return the ladle on the basin and leave the tsukubai for the tea room. I think that taking time for this purifying procedure helps your spirit be ready for the coming peaceful moment and tea, and also makes the tea ceremony special.

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