REFINEMENTS AND PASTIMES
permission to join the party. Rikiu consented, but placed him in the lowest seat. In fact, the etiquette of the Cha-no-Yu had precedence of every social code.
The details here set down, elaborate and wearisome as they seem, represent only a fraction of the immense mass of minutiæ that a devotee of the cult was expected to master. But the task had its reward, for skill in the craft constituted an universally recognised certificate of refinement, and the practice of the ceremonial tended to educate serenity of mind as well as to substitute a placid atmosphere of æstheticism and graceful courtesy for the storm of fierce ambitions and feudal struggles that had long swept over the country. The Cha-no-Yu never had more zealous patron than the Taikō. In October, 1585, he organised a grand réunion in the Kitano Pine Forest. It lasted for ten days, and instead of sending invitations to selected individuals, the Taikō caused placards to be posted not only in Kyōtō but also in the distant towns of Nara and Sakai, announcing that every lover of the cha-dō (tea-path) would be welcome, and that all would be free to erect temporary pavilions according to their fancy. During this fête, which became a historical event, the Taikō went from pavilion to pavilion, viewing the objects of virtu that formed part of the tea equipage of each owner, and showing the keenest interest in everything connected with the ceremonial.
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