Ofudesaki 02:003

Ofudesaki
Author: Miki Nakayama Date Published: 1998 Pages: 486 (English ed.) Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 unnumbered set

Ofudesaki 02:003 is a verse from the Ofudesaki. The English translation below is the sixth edition translation.

Content

After the tea is picked and the plants are trimmed,	cha tsundeato kari toriteshimota nara	ちやつんで　あとかりとりて　しもたなら
the Joyous Service will follow.	ato i deru no wa Yōki Zutome ya	あといでるのハ　よふきづとめや

Alternate English translations

Third Edition

When you have finished nipping the buds of the tea plant and mowing the leaves, then the Yōki-Zutome,* the Joyous Service, will begin.

Inoue/Eynon

After the season when the tea leaves have been picked and plants trimmed, the Joyous Service will be initiated.

Commentary

This section contains translated material that has not yet been subjected to peer-review to check for accuracy and clarity. While the translator(s) have given their best effort to render Japanese text into English, we would like readers to keep in mind that the present translation may require further revising and refining. Any input to improve the present translation is greatly welcomed. Translator(s): Roy Forbes

Ofudesaki chushaku

2:3 After the tea leaves have been picked and trimmed, I shall finally make preparations for the Joyous Service. *Note: The picking of tea leaves in the region surrounding Jiba was usually done during the fifth lunar month.

『おふでさき註釈』、pp. 18–9 三、茶の葉を摘みあと刈りそろえて了ったならば、それから先は、いよいよよふきづとめに取りかかるのである。 註　この附近で、茶摘みというのは、大体陰暦五月、九十八夜頃である。

Commentary by Yoshitaro Ueda (2008)

From Michi no dai: Foundation of the Path 32:48

II:3 Tea-picking takes place in the lunar fifth month, which is to say, around the ninety-ninth day after the beginning of spring according to the lunar calendar. If we trim tea plants neatly after tea-picking, fresh buds will sprout. It is around that time that the Joyous Service will be taught. Perhaps the sprouting of fresh buds, or shin-me, poetically suggests the start of the teaching of the Joyous Service, Yoki-zutome. Thus, the verse is saying that around the time when the tea plants are neatly trimmed following tea-picking, God will teach the Joyous Service or undertake the Joyous Service.

This is the first time the term “Joyous Service” has been used in the Ofudesaki. The “Kagura Service” was already used in Part I. The four terms referring to the Service – the Kagura Service, the Joyous Service, the Salvation Service, and the Service of the Kanrodai – appear in the Ofudesaki in that order. The term “Joyous Service” is used most frequently of all.

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