The ro is the winter fire: a square recess roughly 42 cm on each side cut into the tatami, filled with ash, in which charcoal is lit and over which the kettle hangs. It is one of the two forms fire takes in tea practice, the other being the portable brazier. Placing the fire near the guests conveys warmth in both senses, and it is the organising feature of a cold-season gathering.
History
The form descends from the sunken hearths of Zen temples and farmhouses. Murata Juko is credited with cutting a hearth into a four-and-a-half-mat room in the Muromachi period, and Rikyu fixed the standard dimensions still used. Opening the hearth (robiraki) on the first day of the boar in the eleventh month has been customary since the Edo period; for practitioners the changeover from brazier to hearth amounts to the start of a new year.
Types
The hearth's position varies with the room: yojohan-giri, mukogiri, sumigiri, and daimegiri each place it differently. The wooden frame around it (robuchi) may be lacquered, plain wood, or decorated with maki-e, and is chosen to suit the season and the other utensils. Kettles, ladles, and trivets all come in hearth-specific dimensions and cannot be shared with the brazier.
In practice
The hearth is used from November to April. Its position lets guests take in the charcoal, the steam, and the sound of the kettle together. Shaping the ash (haigata) is specific to the hearth, and the pattern pressed with the ash scoop is one of the things to look for during the charcoal procedure. Guests drink in the warmth of fire and water while attending to the host's handling of both.
Sources
- 炉（改訂新版 世界大百科事典 / ブリタニカ国際大百科事典） / コトバンク
Supports: 村田珠光が囲炉裏に着想を得て、畳の面より釜を低くする茶室の炉を考案したこと。現在標準となっている炉の寸法が一尺四寸（約42.5cm）四方であること
About this article
Edited by the operator of Chaen (a one-person operation) / Last updated:
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Related terms
- Furo (portable brazier)furo
A freestanding brazier set on the mats from May to October, arranged to keep the fire away from guests and suggest coolness.
- Robiraki (opening the hearth)robiraki
Opening the sunken hearth in November — called the practitioner's new year — often held with the jar-opening.
- Fuyu no dogudate (winter arrangements)fuyu no dogudate
Arrangements from the hearth-opening to the deep cold — cylindrical bowls, large kettles, warm colours — built to convey warmth.
- Kama (kettle)kama
The iron kettle that heats the water; the centre of the hearth and the source of the sound called matsukaze.