Saijiki for December

A saijiki (歳時記) is an almanac of seasonal words for haiku poets. These words are also useful as names for chashaku.

Poetic words to use for gomei in the month of December or winter in general:

• Oo-yuki, taisetsu (大雪): heavy snow
• Touji (冬至): winter solstice
• Rouhatsu (臘八): the Zen name for the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, now celebrated on December 8th, the day on which the Buddha became enlightened
• Fuyugodachi (冬木立): barren trees in winter
• Fuyugomori (冬篭): hibernation; staying indoors during winter
• Tanjitsu (短日): the short days of winter
• Kogarashi (木枯し): cold, wintry wind
• Toujigayu (冬至粥): azuki bean rice gruel eaten on the day of the winter solstice (to chase away demons that spread contagious diseases)
• Toujikabocha (冬至南瓜): custom of keeping a pumpkin or squash during the winter and eating it on the day of the winter solstice
• Hatsugo’ori (初氷): first ice of winter
• Usugo’ori (薄氷): thin ice
• Hyouka (氷花): literally “ice flowers,” but referring to water that freezes on trees and other plants, making them look like they have white flowers made of ice (it’s worth doing a Google image search of this word, as it’s a beautiful phenomenon)
• Kazabana (風花): winter wind which brings scattered snowflakes or raindrops

Basic Haiken for Thin Tea

Haiken (拝見) is the close-up, ceremonial viewing of the utensils used to make tea.

Haiken dialogue for usucha:

O-kyaku-sama:
"Douzo, o-natsume o-chashaku no haiken onegai itashimasu?"
"May I please have a closer look at the tea container and tea scoop?"

The host purifies the implements and leaves them for the guest to examine. When the host returns:

O-kyaku-sama:
"O-natsume no katachi wa?"
"What type of tea container is this?"

Teishu:
"Rikyuu-gata chuu natsume de gozaimasu."
"It is a Rikyu style tea container of the middle size."

O-kyaku-sama:
"O-nuri wa?"
"What is the style of the lacquer work?"

Teishu:
"Sotetsu de gozaimasu."
"The lacquer work is in the style of the Sotetsu family."

O-kyaku-sama:
"O-chashaku no saku wa?"
"Who made the tea scoop?"

Teishu:
"Zabousai o-iemoto de gozaimasu."
"It was made by Zabosai, the head of the Urasenke school."

O-kyaku-sama:
"Go-mei wa?"
"What is the name of the tea scoop?"

Teishu:
"Wakei/Buji chashaku de gozaimasu."
"The name of the tea scoop is harmony/peace"

O-kyaku-sama:
"Arigatou gozaimashita."
"Thank you."

The type of natsume, its lacquer, and the maker and name of the tea scoop will obviously vary depending on circumstances. You can choose a gomei to reflect the season or occasion.

Aisatsu

Aisatsu are the greetings and salutations at the beginning and end of class.

Teishu (host) to sensei (teacher):
Sensei, usucha hirademae no o-keiko onegai itashimasu.
Sensei, please be so kind as to teach me the "hira" procedure for making thin tea.

Teishu to o-kyaku-sama (guests, singular or plural): O-kyaku-sama, yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.
Difficult to translate, as yoroshiku onegaishimasu is a conventional greeting, though it means something like "please take care of me." Japanese people say it to each other upon first meeting. In a tea ceremony, the host and guests say it to each other, reflecting their mutual desire to have a favorable experience.

Shokyaku (first guest) to sensei:
Sensei, kyaku no o-keiko onegai itashimasu.
Sensei, please teach me the guest role.

Shokyaku to shoban (second guest):
Go-isho-ni, yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.
Let’s enjoy tea together.

The 'go' in go-isho-ni is identical to the 'o' honorific in words like o-temae. It is generally used instead of 'o' in words of Chinese origin.

Teishu to sensei:
Sensei, usucha hirademae no o-keiko arigatou gozaimashita.

Teishu to o-kyaku-sama:
O-kyaku-sama, arigatou gozaimashita.

Shokyaku to sensei:
Sensei, kyaku no o-keiko arigatou gozaimashita.

Shokyaku to shoban:
Arigatou gozaimashita.

Basic Terms

• Host: teishu (亭主)
• Guest: o-kyaku-sama (お客様)
• Thin tea: usucha (薄茶)
• Thick tea: koicha (濃茶)
• Procedure for making tea: o-temae (お手前)
• Lesson: keiko (稽古)

In Japanese, an 'o' preceding a word is an honorific. For example, the word mizu means water. To be polite, however, you would refer to someone else’s water, perhaps when asking what they would like to drink, as o-mizu. You would not refer to your own water this way. Similarly, the word for guest is kyaku. When referring to someone else who is your guest, you call that person o-kyaku-sama, whereas, for example, when thanking your teacher for your lesson when you are a guest yourself, you would say kyaku no o-keiko arigatou gozaimashita. The -sama suffix is similar to the -san used when addressing or referring to people by name (e.g. Morita-san, Yamaguchi-san, Suzuki-san, etc.), except it is even more polite. All customers in Japan are addressed in stores, banks, etc. as o-kyaku-sama, though it is not otherwise used in normal conversation.