Tea Gardens

Development of Roji (Rustic Tea Garden):

Historical Background

Tea gardens were developed as entry spaces leading to rustic teahouses (soan). In fact, in their earliest form, the was no "garden" at all, only an antechamber before entering the teahouse, tsubo no uchi, and a narrow alleyway that lead back to the rear of property, roji.

Tsubo no uchi

Enclosed next to a four-and-a-half mat teahouse was a small, clay-plaster walled space that acted as a terminus for the alleyway entry and as a place to provide water for the ritual cleansing of mouth and hands. Similar in function were unwalled earth-floored spaces under wide eaves known as doma hisashi.

Roji

The word roji, historically, was written with several different characters and had various meanings
1. Barren ground
2. Camp (while hiking, army camp)
3. Path
4. a. uncovered ground; b. path within a property; c. alleyway between properties
5. a. as 4a, 4b, 4c above; b. Buddhist sacred ground outside the "Burning House"; c. a tea garden

The roji was developed from its highly rarefied beginnings into a garden-like space intended to evoke the feeling of the aforementioned "hermitage in the city." This required that the garden contain nothing that would "catch the eye of the guest" (disturb their concentration): no special trees, no flowering plants, no special garden rocks.

Within the context of Zen Buddhism, the tea gathering was seen as a means of developing a perception beyond day-to-day reality and the roji was seen as a path outside of that reality ("the path beyond the transient world"). In fact, the word roji is found in the Lotus Sutra in which it refers to a green, "natural" place (Sanskrit, abhyavakasika; symbolizing the enlightened world) in opposition to the kataku, "burning house" (Sanskrit, adiptagara; symbolizing the unenlightened world)

Important Components of a Roji

• Outer Gate (soto mon)
Defines the threshold between the "outer," profane world, and the "inner," sanctified space.

• Waiting Bench (koshi-kake machiai)
Simulates a place to rest partway along a journey away from town toward a mountain hermitage. Functionally it allows guests a chance to pause and prepare themselves, inwardly and outwardly.

• Middle Gate (chumon)
In a "two-layer" garden (niju-roji), the middle gate separates the inner and outer portions. It is not a functional, protective gate, but rather a symbolic marker of passage.

• Water Laver (tsukubai, chozubachi)
Usually made of carved granite (sometimes a natural bowl-shaped stone, or a wooden bucket), the water laver allows guests to ritually cleanse their hands and mouth before entering the tea house.

• "Dust" Pit (chiri-ana)
The "dust" pit was a functional element of gardens in which swept garden debris would be temporarily stored. In the tea garden, the host places an evergreen branch and a pair of "twig-pickers" (chirihashi, large, fresh-bamboo chopsticks) in the dust pit symbolizing the preparations he or she has made for the gathering.