The hishaku is a bamboo ladle with a cup and a handle, used to draw hot water from the kettle and cold water from the jar and to pour into the bowl. It moves with the host's hand more than any other utensil. Cup size, handle length, and the position of the bamboo node differ between hearth, brazier, and dual-purpose ladles.
History
Water-drawing implements from Shinto ritual and the kitchen were adopted directly, and the present proportions were settled around Rikyu's time. The ladle is a consumable: the convention is to replace it before it darkens with use, and a formal gathering calls for a new one of white bamboo. Ladles made by successive head families exist, but the object is understood as something to be used up.
Types
Hearth ladles have a slightly larger cup and shorter handle, suiting the longer water use of winter. Brazier ladles have a smaller cup and longer handle, proportions chosen for a cooler look. A dual-purpose ladle (sashitoshi) appears in abbreviated procedures and in thin tea.
In practice
Where the ladle is set — laid across the kettle lid, hooked on the lid rest, or placed cup down — marks the divisions of a procedure. The hand turns differently for hot water and for cold, the angle of the cup matters, and so does the way it returns to the kettle; because all of this is visible, it is taught with unusual care. Near the end the cup is set face down with the handle toward the guests, signalling that the procedure is closing.
Sources
- 柄杓（複数辞典） / コトバンク
Supports: 柄杓が水や湯を汲む道具で、竹・木・金属の筒状または椀状の容器に柄を付けたものであること。語源が「ひさご（瓠）」で、漢字は当て字であること
About this article
Edited by the operator of Chaen (a one-person operation) / Last updated:
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Related terms
- Mizusashi (fresh-water jar)mizusashi
The vessel holding clean water for the kettle and for rinsing; the utensil offering the widest freedom of material and form.
- Kama (kettle)kama
The iron kettle that heats the water; the centre of the hearth and the source of the sound called matsukaze.
- Futaoki (lid rest)futaoki
A small stand for the kettle lid and the ladle; the utensil in which a host's playfulness shows most freely.
- Mizutsugi (water replenisher)mizutsugi
A vessel with a spout used to add cold water to the kettle after the charcoal procedure.