Tokokazari - February 11, 2016

The hanging scroll in the Yojouhan features the characters 廻心, which means “turn one’s kokoro around” or “convert one’s kokoro around.” It has a Buddhist conversion message, but it also asks us not to let our heart stray away from us.

The hanging scroll in the semi-formal tea room features a painting as below.

The hanging scroll in the formal tea room features a painting with an inscription that says “white cloud embraces lonely rock.” The artist creates the notion of rock and cloud by skillfully playing with the various tonality of ink. The rigidness of a rock and the softness of the cloud not only form a great balance but they also symbolize the complementary relationship between yin and yang.
We can imagine the picturesque image of a white, fluffy cloud engulfing a large, old rock gives the kokoro a sense of calm. Likewise, it can be perceived as something deep and spiritual, like two souls connecting in an irreplaceable bond. Or it can be perceived as just a white cloud covering a lonely rock.

~ Zilin