Tea Ceremony (Tamagawa Enshu School) - How to Fold the Fukusa During Temae - Fine Details Not Found in the Densho

⭐ Pulling it out from below the obi

・Grasp the fukusa with your right hand, fold it once in a valley fold as if making a running stitch, and pull it out from the obi.

⭐ Where to brush off dust

《Koita, Nagaita, Oita》

・When performing Temae with a furo on a koita, nagaita, or oita, quietly brush off the dust from the fukusa at a position outside your left knee, to the left of your body's center (the side furthest from the guests).

⭐ Ro

・When refolding the fukusa in front of you, such as when cleaning the ro-buchi, perform the task that is usually done on the left knee side instead on the right knee side (the side furthest from the guests) to quietly brush off the dust.

⭐ Having the left hand hold the fukusa

・Use your "right hand" to place it into your [left hand]. (Let the front of the two triangular layers be ①.)

・With the fingertips of your "right hand," hold the front layer ① of the two triangular layers, move your [left hand]'s index finger into the space between the triangles ②, and slowly move your "right hand" to the right side.
・Slide your [left hand]'s thumb and index finger along the fabric to move and hold the left side.

⭐ Holding with both hands

・Using your fingertips as if picking up a pinch of salt, hold the right side with your "right hand" and the left side with your [left hand].

⭐ Bringing both hands together in a fist-like shape

・While holding the fukusa with both hands, bring them together.

⭐️Open slowly

・Once brought close, use your fingertips as if picking up a pinch of salt to release the fukusa with both hands and open it quietly to create a "straight line" (ichimonji). (When making the "straight line," do not make any sound - instruction from December 2024)

・Also, bring the fukusa close while holding it with both hands.

⭐Support with the left hand while letting it hang

・Keep the fukusa held in your "right hand" as is, and while supporting the fukusa with your [left hand], quietly lower your [left hand] along the fukusa until it reaches about halfway, as if letting it slide down. (Instruction from February 2025) (This has the meaning of brushing away dust.) Then, use your [left hand] to support the hanging fukusa.

・Move the fukusa to the front of your body and fold in your thumb. Turn your [left hand] 90 degrees.

⭐Turn the left hand 90 degrees

・With the palm of your [left hand] facing upward, only your thumb is visible. Fold the fukusa in half with your "right hand" so as not to break the flow of the temae.

・This is an image of it folded in half.

・This is what it looks like from the back.

⭐Use the left little finger as an axis

・Using the little finger of your [left hand] as an axis, move your "right hand" along with the fukusa to the underside of your [left hand]. ⏫️

⭐Fold in half again

• Fold it in without letting go of the fukusa with your "right hand" so as not to break the flow of the temae. ⏫️

・This is an illustration showing only the left hand folding it in.

・This is an image of the fukusa folded in, seen from the back side.

・This is the hand position following the folding of the fukusa, seen from the back side. Can you tell the difference?

⭐Finally, fold it in half again.

⭐Items to be purified with the right hand

・Natsume, koita, ooita, nagaita, kettle lid, ladle, water jar lid

⭐Items to be purified with the left hand

・Chashaku (tea scoop)

⭐️[Simplified way to fold the fukusa]

• Before pulling the fukusa from the obi, use the index finger of your "right hand" to bend it, and fold ① in the direction of the arrow. ⏫️

• Once folded, the rectangularly folded fukusa will hang below the obi. ⏫️
• While pulling that rectangle downward, fold it using only your "right hand," and then fold it in half again using only your "right hand." ⏬️

Thank you for reading until the end.