Juko School (Tea Ceremony) (珠光流)
The Juko school is one of the schools of tea ceremony. The Juko school counts Juko MURATA, who was a founder of wabi-cha, as its founder and passes on the ancient style of the tea ceremony, with a unique history that the practices of the tea ceremony were held at Myoshin-ji Temple Keijo Branch Temple in Seoul Special City during the period of Japan's rule. The school is based at Tentakuzan Ryoko-ji Temple in Suzuka City and the ango (name of hermitage) is Manian.
History
Living during the Genroku era, Dogi Bichoan, who was the seventh-generation tea master called as the restorer of the school, left many records of oral teaching; he moved from Kyoto to Owari because of a great fire. Soko Shukan, the ninth master of the school, had a profound knowledge of zazen (Zen sitting meditation) and received the ango 'Manian' from Sohan Kensho. Soon after the death of Soko Shukan, the Juko school was passed on to Sohaku Bishoan,a shihandai (assistant instructor), and moved to Keijo (Seoul Special City) with her. Although the position of the tea master was passed to Sosen Shinjo, a deputy of the chief abbot of Myoshin-ji Temple, and then to Reijo Jinpo, subsequently moving to Ise City with her; however, the practices of the tea ceremony of the school were frequently performed in Keijo, and because of the end of the World War II, the school was evacuated from Keijo.
Characteristics
According to the context of the literature, some ancient styles would be listed among the present-day styles of the Juko school of tea ceremony.
While it is a general preparation for tea ceremony that water utensils are arranged in the way the host would bring them into the tearoom; thus a hishaku (a ladle) and a hutaoki (a rest for the lid of a tea kettle) rest in a kensui (a waste-water container [for tea ceremony]). However, it is the preparation of the Juko school's style that the host enters the tearoom, bringing in a hishaku and a hutaoki with his right hand and only kensui with his left hand in the same way to put these utensils away after the tea ceremony is over.
After sitting the imae position (the correct seating position for the host when performing tea ceremony), the host purifies chaki (tea utensils) and a chashaku (bamboo tea spoon for making Japanese tea) deftly with fukusa (small cloth for wiping tea utensils) and after that, additionally purifies a hishaku.
While koicha (thick tea) is usually prepared by the host in a single bowl from which all guests drink and after savoring it, each wipes the rim of the bowl before passing it to the next guest, a bowl of koicha is individually served to guests in the style of the Juko school.
Another style includes that everytime the tea bowl of koicha is drunk and returned to the host, the host refolds the chakin (tea cloth, a bleached white linen cloth used to dry a tea bowl). Also hot water is used in the tea bowl to rinse the used chasen (tea whisk) before putting the utensils away when the tea ceremony is over.
History
Although 'Juko-ryu kikigaki (dictation of oral narrative, or interview report about the Juko school)' shows the family tree whose founder was Kogyoku Ichijuan, one of the disciples of Juko, written by Dogen NOMOTO, who was a sadoyaku (a tea-server sustaining Japanese tea ceremony of bakufu and domains) during the Genroku period, 'Sado Juko-ryu Keifu (family tree of the Juko school of tea ceremony)' written by Bichoan SUZUKI, the tea master of almost the same period as Dogen NOMOTO, reads that the founder of the Juko school was Juko MURATA and the seventh-generation head of the school was Bichoan SUZUKI.
History of the Juko school