The washing facility for the tea ceremony, comprised of a group of key stones with a water basin (chōzubachi). It is thought to have developed as an independent form during the late Muromachi to the Azuchi-Momoyama periods, out of springs used for the preparation of tea such as Ryūensui at Saihōji temple, or Gingasen at Rokuonji temple (Kinkakuji), both in Kyoto. There are several types of crouching basin arrangements: nakabachi tsukubai in which the basin is enclosed by key stones and round stones, mukōbachi tsukubai in which the basin is part of the enclosure formed by such stones, the sunken basin arrangement (ori tsukubai) placed at a level below the surrounding ground, the stream basin arrangement (nagare tsukubai) in which the basin is located in a stream, and so on.
Japanese Garden Dictionary: A Glossary for Japanese Gardens and Their History
(C) 2010 by Ono Kenkichi and Walter Edwards. All rights reserved.
