weak matcha

What is Continuous Thinning?

In a tea ceremony, the order of the tea ceremony is koicha, kotan, and usucha. However, in cases where the hostess is in a hurry to return to her home among her guests, or when the hostess has a special intention and wishes to shorten the time, she skips kotan and begins usucha preparation immediately after the second half of koicha, which is called “ku-su-cha” or “continued usucha.
However, among tea ceremonies, morning tea ceremonies and evening tea ceremonies are followed by thin tea.

Continuous thin tool assembly

• For Koicha (thick tea) Tea bowl, Chakin, Chasen, Chashaku (tea whisk), Chashu (tea ladle), Chajiri (tea container), and main confectionery
• water jug
• Tatemizu, lid rest, ladle
• For thin tea: Tea bowls (to be prepared before taking out), thin tea utensils, dried sweets

Points to keep in mind when preparing food

The tea is served as usual until the tea is dispensed.
When Koicha is finished, place the tea bowl on your right hand, hold Kensui in your left hand, and leave the room through the kitchen door.
When starting usucha, place the prepared tea bowl on your right hand and hold tatemizu in your left hand as you enter the tea room.

Aim: Aim for the inside corner
Hakuusan handling: Kusa no shiho handling
Furnace inner lid and inner finish

The point of light tea

• Cushions, tobacco trays, and dried confections are served to guests.
• After entering the seat, the bowl is placed in front of the knees, and the kensui is placed close to the body in the hand. After that, the thin bowl is lowered from the shelf.
  If there is no shelf, place the bowl across your lap and the thin bowl in front of your lap at the same time.
• No passing the chasen through the tea whisk before serving tea, but striking once (only knots, sarasara, and no-no characters).

Preparation before the start of the show

• Fill a tea container with enough tea for the number of guests, place it in a tea caddy, and tie a string around the caddy.
• If there is a shelf, place a tea utensil (jujube) on the top board, a water jar on the base board, and a tea container in front of the shelf.
• The sweets are brought before the tea ceremony, and the guests receive them before the tea ceremony.

Steps to prepare Koicha (thick tea)

• Sit at the entrance to the tea ceremony with the tea bowl in front of your knees, open the sliding door, take the bowl with your right hand, place it on your left hand, and proceed to the tea ceremony.
• Sit at the front of the shelf and temporarily place the tea bowl at the kitchen door by switching the bowl from the right hand side to the left front.
• Place the tea caddy in front of the shelf to the right, and handle the tea bowl with three hands (left, right, and left) to align it with the tea caddy.
• Take the tea set up in the tea room, close the door to the tea ceremony, and sit on the tea-ceremony table in the corner of the room.
• Take the ladle with the left hand and hold it with the right hand (kagami-eh ladle), take the lid rest with the right hand, place it at the right corner of the furnace at three positions, pull the ladle (with a sound), and perform a general bow to the host and guests.
• (Consider placing the ladle at an angle in case of a mid-air break) .
• Place the bowl of tea in front of your left hand, then next to your right hand, a little beyond the front of your knee with two hands.
• Take the tea container with your right hand and place it midway between the bowl and your lap.
• Untie and remove the cord of the cover, and place the tea caddy between the bowl and the lap with the right hand.
• Shape the cover with both hands, hold the right side of the cover with the right hand, strike back toward the fire, and place the Uchidome in front of the jujube on the top board with the right hand, with the Uchidome facing the guests.
• Take the woven silk woven cloth from your waist, handle thegrass in all directions, pick up the tea caddy with your left hand, wipe the lid in front of and behind you, then wipe the woven silk woven cloth over the body of the tea caddy and wipe it out counterclockwise.
• Grip the hakuza and place the tea caddy between the water container and the kettle.
• After cleaning the tea ladle, wipe it three times and place it on the right side of the tea caddy (on the side of the furnace), avoiding the lid pliers.
• Take out the tea whisk and place it on the right side of the tea container.
• If the lid of the mizusashi is a lacquered lid, hold the left hand waku-za in the right hand, fold back and clean the lid of the mizusashi in the character “2”, let the waku-za be held in the left hand, and pull the tea bowl toward you.
  In the case of a tea cup with a lid, there is no need to clean the lid by simply placing a tea towel on top of the bowl after pulling the bowl out.
• Take the tea towel with your right hand and place it on the water finger lid
• Take the ladle and hold it with the index and middle fingers of the left hand, then take the lid of the kettle with the waku in the right hand, and place the waku temporarily on the right knee.
• Fill the tea bowl with hot water, hold up the ladle, take the waku-za, close the lid of the kettle (the middle lid ), place the waku-za again temporarily on the right kneecap, and pull the ladle on the lid rest.
• Thread the tea whisk (twice), discard the hot water into the water, take the tea towel on the mizusashi with the right hand, wipe the tea bowl with the left kneecap, place the tea bowl in front of the knees, and put the tea towel on the original lid of the mizusashi.
• Take the tea scoop with the right hand, hold the tea caddy from the side with the left hand, grip the tea scoop and take the lid off at the left side of the tea bowl, place it at the right side of the tea bowl, scoop in 3 scoops of tea, place the tea scoop over the right shoulder of the tea bowl, turn counterclockwise and open all the tea inside
• Wipe the mouth of the tea container with the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, cleanse your fingers with Kaishi (tea paper), put the lid on the tea container, return the container to its original position with your left hand, skim the tea in the bowl with the tea scoop, strike the scoop lightly on the edge of the tea bowl and return it on the lid of the tea container
• Take the ladle and take the lid of the kettle with the waku-za, place the waku-za by your left knee, draw hot water and pour it into the bowl, return the remaining hot water to the kettle, and keep the ladle face down on the lid of the kettle.
• Knead thick tea
• Take the teacup with your right hand, place it on your left hand, straighten your face, and place it on your seat.
  If it is not a raku bowl, take out the bowl, take out the old wakusa from your pocket with your right hand, place it on your left palm, handle it with your right hand, and put it on the lower seat of the bowl (to the right of the bowl as you face it).

Koicha question and answer and shimai procedures

• The first guest returns to his or her seat to retrieve the tea bowl, and if there is an old silk cloth, he or she places it on his or her right knee next to the edge, places the tea bowl between him or her and the next guest, and bows to all the guests.
• The regular guest thanks and takes a sip. If there is an old silk cloth, it is spread on the left palm, and the bowl is placed on it. No greeting to the host.

• When the guest takes a sip, the owner asks, “How are your clothes?

• The guest receives it with his right hand and takes two and a half mouthfuls afterwards.
• Meanwhile, the next customer says “after you.”
• When the guest has finished eating, he puts the bowl down, takes out a tea towel, and purifies the mouthpiece.
• The customer should turn to face the front of the table and hand the item to the next customer, who should then turn to face the front of the table and give the send-off and receiving salute.

• When the master asks whether he is ready or not, he takes the ladle and readies it, takes the lid of the kettle and closes it, puts the ladle on Tatemizu with his left hand at an angle as his body turns, takes the lid rest with his right hand, places it behind Tatemizu with his left hand ( chushimai) and turns to the guests.

• The first guest is the next guest, and asks for the name of the tea ceremony, the tea ceremony’s ingredients, confectionery, etc.

• The master returns to the front of the house after the last guest has finished eating, takes the lid rest with his left hand and places it in its original position with his right hand, takes the ladle with his left hand, opens the lid of the kettle, takes the waku-za and places it on the lid, and gives the ladle to the master ( unbuttoning the Nakashimai ).

• When using a bowl other than a raku bowl, the youngest guest should place the bowl in front of his/her lap when he/she has finished eating, and fold the old woven cloth and place it on the left inside the rim.
• When the youngest guest has finished his tea and puts down his bowl, the first guest asks to see the bowl.
• The youngest guest receives it, cleanses his mouth, and brings it before the first guest.
• The guest of honor bows next to the bowl of tea and looks at it.
• When the youngest guest finishes praying, he returns it to the first guest at the meeting, and the first guest corrects the front and returns it to the position where it was served.

• Remove the tea towel from the lid of the mizusashi and place it on the lid of the kettle.
• Take the lid of the water jug with two hands, one on the right and one on the left, and hold it against the left side of the jug.
• Take the ladle, pour a ladle of water into the kettle, put the ladle back into the kettle, put the waku-za on your waist, and wait for the bowl to be returned from the guest.
• The master of the tea ceremony takes the bowl with his right hand, handles it with his left, and places it in front of his knees.
  If there is an old woven silk cloth, first take the old woven silk cloth with the right hand, then pocket it with one hand, and then take in the tea bowl.
  At this time, if there is a teacup question, answer this
• Take the ladle, draw hot water, fill the tea bowl, and return the ladle to the kettle.
• Rinse the teacup, dump it into the kensui, and place the teacup in front of your knees with your left hand.

• Before there is a closing greeting here from a regular guest.

If you are asked, “I beg your pardon, but I would like to have a thin cup of sake as it is,” etc., the customer will say, “I am sorry, but I am not interested in your food,
Then he said, “I’ll give you a cup of thin tea to follow your words.”

• Put a tea towel and a tea whisk in the rinsed tea bowl.
• Place the teacup on your right palm, hold the kensui in your left hand, and leave the room through the kitchen door.

Steps to prepare thin tea

• The owner of the house brings out a tray of cigarettes, etc., and recommends it, followed by carrying out dried confections.
• Entering the seat with the tea bowl prepared for thin tea in the right hand and the kensui in the left hand at the same time.
• Sit in front of the living room and place the tea bowl in front of your knees with the kensui in front of your hands.
• Take a jujube from the shelf and place it between the tea cup and your lap.
• Take the hakuza, wipe the jujube, and place it on Kensui’s shoulder.
• Putting the hakuusa in your left hand, and producing the tea whisk.
• Pull the tea bowl toward you, put the tea towel out on the lid of the kettle, and place the waku-za, which you had been holding in your left hand, on your waist.
• Take a ladle and draw hot water, pour it into a tea bowl, take a tea whisk, strike once and rinse (do not raise the tea whisk, omit it).
• Take the teacup with your right hand, switch to your left, and pour the hot water into the kensui.
• Take a tea towel with your right hand and wipe clean
• Take the chashaku from the tea caddy with your right hand and offer “sweets, please”.
  
• The guest accepts the confectionery, bows, pushes the bowl, takes out a piece of kaishi paper, puts the confectionery on the kaishi paper, and then sends the bowl to the next guest. (Rei when the confectionery is on the left, move to the center of the room to receive it, and then move to the left.)

49. Holding the jujube from the side with the left hand, grasp the tea scoop in the right hand and take the lid, place the lid in front of the right knee, scoop two scoops of tea into the tea bowl, replace the tea scoop and strike gently on the edge of the tea bowl to dispel tea, grasp the tea scoop and put the lid on the jujube, and with the tea scoop in the right hand, return the jujube to its original position with the left hand and put the tea scoop back on the tea container.


50. Fill the tea bowl with hot water, pour it into the bowl, pour the tea, and with the front of the bowl facing the guest, hold it out with the right hand slightly above and to the side to the right of the lid of the kettle.