Japanese Traits and Foreign Influences by Inazo Nitobe

Author:Inazo Nitobe [Nitobe, Inazo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Asia, Japan, Reference, General, Social Science, Ethnic Studies, Regional Studies
ISBN: 9781136925115
Google: pALHBQAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2010-10-18T01:16:03+00:00

paid for vessels of fantastic shapes and ancient make. The few ships that visited foreign ports in those days could bring back nothing more precious than bizarre utensils that could be put to the service of the tea ceremony, whatever might have been their original uses in the countries where they were made. But who decided that a certain pot, say from Borneo or Sumatra, was fit for use in cha-no-yu? Who was the judge of the right colour of stoneware to grace a tea-room? Thus was to be established a new æsthetic standard.

It was only natural that Rikyu was looked upon as the highest authority to refer to in questions of propriety and taste. It is said that as a connoisseur, he made a fortune and that he was guilty of mean tricks, which so easily tempt the connoisseur in his calling. When in 1591, he was so suddenly condemned to death by Hideyoshi, it was rumoured that dishonest monetary dealing was the cause. His admirers whispered other reasons, one of which hinted that Hideyoshi was enamoured of his daughter and asked him to put her in his service, but that on persistently refusing the offer and the command, the poor father was charged with some vague crime of which he was innocent. The death warrant ran that “He would graciously be given death,” which means that he could put an end to himself by his own hand. He was then 69 years old. On the day appointed he had his favourite sanctuary, the tea-room, cleaned and he himself attended to its decoration by a few dainty sprays of flowers. He made ready by burning incense for the final purification, and by putting on a new garment. Shutting himself in, he bade a dignified farewell to life befitting a brave samurai, an enlightened Buddhist and a consummate artist.

Whatever his real guilt may have been, his end hallowed the art he founded. He left the impression that he had sealed his teaching with his blood. Did his master “give” him death, that his name and his art be made immortal?

The memory of Rikyu is held in deep veneration with us. His name deserves to be known everywhere by those kindred spirits who bewail the havoc wrought by luxury and extravagance, who loathe the horrors of war and disdain the devastating influence of materialism, who long for the simple habits and the enjoyment of nature, who yearn for the quiet communion of souls, and who, while enjoying the countless blessings of this world, have still their gaze turned upon those of the next. For such spirits, another “ism” may not prove too onerous an addition to their vocabulary.

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