KERAMIC STUDIO 
149 
tions borrowed from China under theShogounate of Yoshi- 
massa were changed. Later, Hideyoshi (better known as 
Taiko-Sama) promulgated a code of etiquette which served as 
a standard for the social observances of the high aristocracy. 
The articles had been drawn up by a favorite, Senno-Rikin, a 
great amateur of ancient pottery, who gave a direct impulse 
to Japanese keramic art. Authoritative and sensible, they 
have been, with slight exceptions, accepted by five or six 
sects down to the present day. Discussions were strictly lim- 
ited to art ; archaeology, politics, social questions and personal 
recriminations were vigorously excluded. An expert in the 
ceremonial was attached to the society, and the president ex- 
ercised a function much sought after and coveted. To judge 
from a wooden statuette, they united a modest demeanor 
with dignity, subtlety and wit. They were often poets, 
painters, keramic artists, lacquerers, sculptors, or those who 
were skilled in forging blades, or in chiselling the mountings 
of sabres. The meetings were held in a special locality sepa- 
rated from the rest of the house. Most frequently a quiet 
corner of the garden was selected, or a place in the country 
where there was a nice view, near a cascade, or where a cur- 
rent of water furnished an oxygenated stream. 
A tcha-seki comprised a room of about three yards, car- 
peted with tatamis matting, and absolutely without ornament 
other than a kakimono suspended on the wall and a bouquet 
of flowers and leaves. The guests were received in the ante- 
chamber. A cabinet {midsu-ya) contained vases for water and 
all the apparatus. The guests were not to exceed six in 
number. In the same way Brillat-Savarin imposed the rule 
for diners who respected themselves and would talk — "more 
than the Graces, less in number than the nine." Salutations 
exchanged, and the places indicated on the tatamis, entrance 
was made by a very low door, that the salutations might be 
without affectation, low. The host passed in last, and came 
out again in order to take from the midsu-ya the utensils in 
the prescribed order in a basket, pieces of charcoal of pre- 
scribed dimensions, a brush to insure scrupulous cleanliness, a 
fan of three feathers to quicken the fire, pincers, movable 
rings to lift the kettle, a box of perfumes, and a great box 
containing inkstands and papers; and, to conclude, a special 
bowl, with cinders still alive, and a stalk of metal to stimulate 
the perfumes, which covered the smell of the charcoal. 
Then the guests asked permission to examine the box of 
perfumes, verifying its age, beauty, rarity, etc. In summer it 
has to be of faience, in winter of lacquer. Tea is steeped with 
a spoon of bamboo in an earthern vase with an 
ivory cover, enclosed in a pocket of precious mate- 
rials, generally made of portions of ancient and his- 
toric fabric. An earthen pot containing pure 
water is placed on the table, also the tcha-van in 
earth or in porcelain, remarkable for its antiquity, 
and often worth a considerable sum. The emulsion 
of the powder in the boiling water is effected in the 
tcha-van by means of a small rod cut from the bam- 
boo. The bowl is carried with deference by a boy 
to the chief personage of the company, who passes 
it to the second, who returns it. It is washed and wiped with 
a fabric of silk, etc. The party separates. At the ceremony 
of tea in the leaf every guest drinks out of his own bowl. 
4? j? 
Many laws of ornament have unavoidable exceptions, due 
to the creative faculty in the mind of the artist. — Racinet. 
