I became popular after the live broadcast of raising cubs deep in the mountains

Chapter 145 - Tea Fighting Conference

As a representative of the Satosen family, Ichiro Nomura has led members of the Satosen family to various countries around the world for cultural exchanges dozens of times in the past half century, and he has also been met by heads of state from various countries.

Nomura Ichiro's tea ceremony is located next to Daitokuji Temple in Kyoto. It is a very simple Japanese-style courtyard, but most of the people who come in and out of it are politicians and artists from all over the world.

The president of a certain country once said that whenever he visits Japan, no matter how busy he is, he will take time to drink a bowl of tea at Ichiro Nomura's teahouse to calm his troubled mind.

The influence of Ichiro Nomura can be seen from this.

The next day.

On the plane flying to Kyoto, Ye Zhen once again checked some historical materials about tea fighting.

In the world of Japanese tea ceremony, there is a popular anecdote: One day, Murata Shumitsu, who was revered as the founder of Japanese tea ceremony by later generations, ordered tea with his favorite tea bowl at Daitokuji Temple in Kyoto, and when he was about to drink it, his The teacher Ikkyu Sojun (the prototype of Ikkyu in the cartoon "Smart Ikkyu") suddenly raised the iron stick and shouted loudly, smashing the tea bowl in Murata Zhuguang's hand to pieces. The tea soup spilled on the floor, and the fragrance suddenly overflowed.

Faced with this sudden "good drink", Murata Zhuguang remained calm and said calmly: "The willows are green and the peach is red."

Ikkyu Sojun highly appreciated the profound and transcendent tea environment of Murata Pearl.

Later, he passed on the ink mark of the "Yin Kezhuang" (similar to a graduation certificate) awarded by the eminent Song Dynasty monk Enwu Keqin to his disciple Huqiu Shaolong, a Japanese monk, to Murata Zhuguang as a token of recognition of Zen meditation and the inheritance of tea ceremony.

From then on, Murata Shuguang hung this magic treasure that reflected the artistic conception of Zen tea in the niche of the tea room. He admired the Zen spirit all day long and concentrated on ordering tea. He finally realized the principle that "Buddhism exists in the tea soup" and founded the Japanese tea ceremony. The original form was "Cao'an Tea".

He also served as the tea ceremony teacher of Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the eighth shogun of the Muromachi period, and reformed the then-popular Shoin Tea Party, Cloudfoot Tea Party, Drenched Tea Party, and Fighting Tea Party, and created the Japanese tea ceremony.

In fact, tea fighting originated in China. Tea fighting was pioneered in the Song Dynasty. Tea fighting first appeared as an entertainment among literati.

The teahouses used in tea fights were generally two-story buildings and were called tea pavilions at the time.

The guests first wait in the guest hall downstairs, and when invited by the owner of the tea pavilion, go to the terrace pavilion on the second floor for a tea fight.

There are windows on all sides of the pavilion, allowing you to overlook the outdoor scenery.

Paintings by famous artists are hung on the indoor screen. The table in front of the screen is covered with brocade, with incense burners, vases and candlesticks placed on it.

A pair of decorative cabinets are placed in the west wing, filled with luxurious prizes. The winner can become the owner of the prizes.

The tea battle adopts the "four kinds of ten servings" method. Each contestant drinks ten servings of four kinds of matcha, and then tells the "original nature" and "water quality" of the tea. The winner is determined by the number of points scored.

The "original" nature of tea refers to local tea leaves and non-local tea leaves, and "water quality" refers to the quality of the water used to make tea, that is, the source of the water.

From the Northern and Southern Dynasties (1336) to the middle period of Muromachi (the middle period of the [-]th century), the methods of tea fighting and tea pavilions were almost completely imitated in China.

However, after the Muromachi period, the Chinese-style tea pavilions were abolished and used instead as meeting halls for performing kado and rengedo.

The fun of tea fighting has gradually become Japanese. People no longer pay attention to luxury, but pay more attention to elegance and taste.

The Chinese representatives who came to participate in the tea fighting conference this time were Duan Guolin and Ye Zhen, as well as three assistants and translators who accompanied them.

Kyoto in autumn is actually not suitable for doing serious business.

Bai Juyi wrote, "If you don't play in spring, you may be an idiot." Compared with the spring scenery, Kyoto's gloomy autumn scenery seems to be less worthy of being let down.

This time the tea fighting conference was held at Dade Temple.

On the way to Dade Temple, Ye Zhen was able to take a good look at Kyoto, which was three parts red, three parts golden, and one part warm white.

There are many famous temples in Kyoto, but Daitokuji Temple located in the north of Kyoto is not among the most famous.So it is extremely quiet, but it is the center of Japanese tea culture and Zen culture.

It is for this reason that Ichiro Nomura chose to create a tea ceremony site near Daitokuji Temple.

After passing through the deserted Dade Temple, Ye Zhen and Duan Guolin found Nomura Ichiro's 'Xingan' behind a pine forest.

From the outside, it looks like a very ordinary courtyard, but after you open the door, you will see the deep and mysterious scenery of the courtyard. Green pines and river maples form the basis of the courtyard at the entrance. There are pools and ponds under the trees. Flowers and plants.

The landscaping in the garden all reflects Japanese delicacy and divine will.

Under the leadership of disciples of Ichiro Nomura, Ye Zhen and Duan Guolin walked through trees and rocks, and arrived at the teahouse after moving back through the winding path.

It was different from what Ye Zhen had imagined. It was a short and small thatched cottage, only about the size of four tatami mats, and it was so small that only children could enter straight up.

"Japanese tea houses are small, because they are small so that people can focus on the tea ceremony." Duan Guolin explained softly.

During the talk, the disciple standing in front of them knelt down at the door, then crawled into the teahouse with his knees bent.

Ye Zhen's face was troubled, and she was also a little unhappy. As a Chinese who had finally stood up, it was difficult for her knees to bend down. Even if she paid homage to the master, she could not do as the Romans did.

Duan Guolin naturally knew what she was thinking, and explained softly: "This design is not to show off to the guests, but no matter who comes to visit, he must put aside his worldly identity and walk on his knees with a selfless state of mind. , which embodies the Buddhist idea that all living beings are equal."

The truth is the truth, but Ye Zhen couldn't kneel down after all, so she bowed and followed Duan Guolin into the tea room.

There was no one in the teahouse, but the mountain spring water in the teahouse was already hot.

After entering the tea room, Duan Guolin knelt down and sat in front of the niche, and began to admire the hanging scroll on the niche and the flower arrangement under the hanging scroll.

There are no calligraphy or paintings on the hanging scroll, just a circle drawn with a brush. There is no difference in height. However, the morning glories planted in old fish baskets under the hanging scroll are very unique, and they look like flowers in the wild.

Duan Guolin admired it quietly for a moment and then got up and walked to the tea banquet to sit down and wait.

Ye Zhen followed the same instructions throughout the process.

They sat for a while, and then a black figure entered the tea room from the tea ceremony entrance dedicated to the master.

Ye Zhen couldn't help but look up and saw that it was not Ichiro Nomura who came in, but a boy of eighteen or nineteen years old.

The young man looks very handsome, and his expression is clear but not cold. He looks particularly dignified and clean against the backdrop of a black kimono.

The person's temperament is very similar to Ye Sheng's, if only his appearance were better.

Ye Zhen couldn't help but take another look, lowered her eyes and thought to herself, she didn't know who this young man was, but at such a young age he was able to use Nomura Ichiro's tea room and entertain guests on his behalf.

The young man walked slowly to the tatami in front of him and bowed to them.

Ye Zhen, Duan Guolin and the others returned the gift, and the young man presented the snacks he had prepared.

After taking a rest in meditation, the young man led them to the tea ceremony venue of the tea fighting conference.

In the quiet and solemn Buddhist hall, fifty tea masters who had flown in from all over the world were sitting quietly and orderly.

(End of this chapter)