Chapter 4 third quarter

"Was that the Ruixiang room just now?" I asked when I caught up with Father Tang Jianmu and walked side by side with him. "No, no. Ruixiang House refers to this large area, including the workshop, the dormitory behind it, as well as the kiln and the timber room." Father Tang Jianmu turned the upside-down bamboo broom on his shoulder.I just remembered that I haven't seen a bamboo broom for a long time. "The fence at the entrance is so high." "It's not just the entrance, it also surrounds the entire Ruixiang House. Since ancient times, those fences have been used to block the mountain wind blowing down from the mountains. If there were no fences, it would be absolutely cold in winter."

We walked on the small stone passage that divided the entire area vertically in half, and the width of the passage was just enough to accommodate two adults walking side by side.Parallel to the gravel road, there are two rows of long cedar boards extending forward like railroad tracks, which may be used for transporting materials. On both sides of the passage is very neatly trimmed grass.The area of ​​the Zuixiang House seems to be quite large. Several kinds of deciduous trees, black pine, yew and hinoki are planted on the lawn, and they are very far apart, as if you are in the garden of a Kyoto temple.The most eye-catching ones are the maple and zelkova trees. Most of the red leaves on the trees have withered. In autumn, the scenery here should be very pleasant.The branches and leaves of every tree in the garden are trimmed very neatly, and you can tell that someone is caring for them at a glance.

"What were they doing in the workshop just now?" "It's an annual practice to make small amulets. We also call it the one-inch Buddha here. Would you like to see the finished product?" As he spoke, he was about to turn around, "Ah, here's one." After speaking, he reached into the pocket of his overalls and took out a piece of wood. "This was done last year. How is it—isn't it beautiful?" "yes." One side of the wood chip is carved with the whole body of the Buddha, and the carving is exquisite and delicate.The face of the Buddha statue is only a little bit big, and many small faces are carved on the forehead, and each face is carefully carved with expressions.

"Isn't there going to be a Sakyamuni Enlightenment Meeting on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month? I'll send it to everyone at that time." "Shakya—what?" Father Tang Jianmu yelled "Huh!", opened his eyes wide and stopped. "So famous, don't you know?" When I asked him for clarification, he gave a mock nod. "December 8th is the day when Sakyamuni Buddha became enlightened, and the Sakyamuni Enlightenment Association is to express gratitude for this. Doesn't Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto select every year's Chinese characters and use a big pen to write what? 'Tiger' or 'disaster' or something like that? That's one of the activities of the Shakya Enlightenment Association."

I've seen that on TV several times. "There are many ways to hold Sakyamuni enlightenment meetings all over the country. In addition to writing Chinese characters like that, everyone eats radishes together...In the Buddhist activities in December, in addition to the enlightenment meeting, there is also a method called the Buddha's name meeting. It is used to repent the sins of the past year. Because monks are busy attending these two pujas, December in Japanese is also called 'Shi Zou' - how, do these little common senses help you? use?" "Well, it has benefited me a lot."

"That's what everyone says." Tang Jianmu's father opened his nostrils contentedly, and took another step. "When our temple holds the Sakyamuni Enlightenment Meeting, believers will gather here, and the abbot will preach the Dharma, and finally give this small amulet to everyone." "Isn't that a lot to do?" "The number is quite astonishing, because in addition to the believers, they will also bring back to their family and relatives, so everyone will bring a lot home. Besides, because they are Bodhisattvas, they can't just carve them randomly—is there a smell in the workshop just now?" Murderous look? It’s like this every year, especially the owner of Songyue, whose eyes are no different from that of a devil.”

Tang Jianmu's father stopped specially and showed me that kind of look. "Isn't Master Satsuki in the workshop now?" "Yes, he was the one wearing the white overalls standing on the side of the workbench just now." "Oh, so it's that woman—" "No, no," Father Tang Jianmu shook his hand vigorously and said, "You must never say such things again." His tone was very serious.However, I couldn't understand what he meant. Seeing my confused expression, Father Tang Jianmu lowered his voice and said softly: "The owner of Songyue is a man, but anyone who sees him for the first time will mistake him for a woman."

——I was surprised from the bottom of my heart. "Ah, he's a man, yes, so he's a man, so that's why..." It was hard for me to get those words out.I asked his age by the way, and was even more surprised to hear that he was over fifty.It is rare to see such a big gap between someone's appearance and actual age. I asked Father Tang Jianmu if Songyue was his real name, but it turned out that was not the case.Every generation of homeowners will be given the title of Songyue, that woman—no, that gentleman is the sixth generation of Songyue. "Sixth generation, it can be seen that this Buddha workshop has a long history."

"It's almost two hundred years old, as long as the temple—by the way, have you ever been to a temple? Ruixiang Temple." "No, not yet. Is there a Ruixiang Temple?" It didn't occur to me that the "our temple here" he just mentioned refers to a specific temple. "Of course there is, it should be said—it was originally a Buddha workshop dedicated to carving Buddha statues for Zuixiang Temple. However, it has now accepted orders from all over the country. If you take a taxi from the direction of Lake Biwa, then come here In front of the small road, you should be able to see the herringbone fascia of the temple."

"Gabled fascia—oh, you mean the roof? I didn't notice." "Really? Guaranteed to be a shocker if you've been there. The abbot there is very funny looking, and although he has a big face, the eyes, nose and mouth will be squeezed in the middle like this. You wait and see for yourself You know. If you live here tonight, you can wait until tomorrow to see it." "I'm definitely going. Is it near?" "Are you asking about his eyes and nose?" "No, I'm asking about the distance to the temple. I'm wondering if I can get there on foot."

"Of course, it's only ten minutes' walk from the path next to the dormitory. What's your plan? If you go today, I can take you there." I glanced at my watch.It's 4:15 and it's going to be dark soon. "No, we'll go tomorrow. Let's take a brief tour of the workshop today." Halfway through the garden, there is a T-junction on the left.Looking in that direction, I found a big hole suddenly sunken in the ground ten meters ahead, and there was a huge gray object on the slope. "Is it a monster that looks like a woodworm?" Father Tang Jianmu followed my line of sight and explained to me. "There is a kiln, called a stepped kiln. Use the slope to connect several kilns obliquely. There are five kilns in total, and the one you see here is the top one." "A stepped kiln—?" I've never heard this name. “This is a very traditional kiln in Japan. Although it is not easy to control the temperature, it is different from the current gas kiln and electric kiln—how should I put it—it can produce very flavorful ceramic works. We also produce Shigaraki here. Burnt Buddha statues, however, are basically wood carvings, so orders are rarely received. It should have been exactly one year since the last production." "That's right—the only Shigaraki decorations are foxes?" "If the owner of Songyue hears you calling the Buddha statue a decoration, he will scold you bloody." As we stood watching, we saw a plume of white smoke rising from the chimney beside the kiln. "By the way, Mr. Wei Ze said today that he will go to the kiln..." I heard from Tang Jianmu's father that one of Songyue's apprentices, a Buddhist statue maker named Wei Zeliangzhi, is currently firing a kiln under the kiln, but we can't see it from our position.The two people who were sculpting in the workshop just now are also Matsuzuki's apprentices. The fat one is called Okajima Soichi, and the thin one is called Torii Shinta. "Weize, Okajima, Torii, and Maya—Matsutsuki has four apprentices." "I see. Is that apprentice named Wei Ze in charge of firing the kiln this time?" "No, for three consecutive days from today, except for Maya, the other three will take turns firing the kiln." "Three people take turns to burn the kiln for three days?" "Yes, the kiln needs to be fired continuously for three days and three nights, and small amulets need to be made. It's really too busy." Father Tang Jianmu shook his head sympathetically, and turned to look straight ahead. "Then put your luggage back in the dormitory first, there is no way to take a good look at it with so many things." The dormitory is the big Japanese-style house in front of us.

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