作客丹下明月家

2005年11月，正是漫山遍野楓葉紅了的時節，應靜岡縣日中友好協議會邀請，我們在東瀛作了為期半月的友好訪問。其間受中國國際茶文化研究會名譽會長王家揚先生委托，我們到日本著名的歷史古城倉，拜訪了國際茶道·香道丹月流宗家、浙江樹人大學客座教授、日本著名茶人丹下明月女士。

倉位于神奈川縣東南部，是一座具有800多年悠久歷史的文化古城，它三面環山，一面臨海，以美麗的海上風光和溫和宜人的氣候以及遍布各地的寺院、神社使它成為日本著名的觀光地之一。鐮倉時代(公元1192—1333年)初期，日本的榮西禪師兩度來到中國學禪，他不僅潛心鉆研禪學，而且親身體驗了宋朝的飲茶文化及其功效，回國之后撰寫了日本第一部茶書《吃茶養身記》。此后日本的茶道日漸普及，榮西既是日本的禪宗之祖，也是日本的“茶祖”。而茶道更是包含了禪、文學、書法、插花、陶藝、建筑等生活藝術，成為一種文化習俗。

我們一行三人從靜岡的浜松出發輾轉到達倉時，丹下明月女士和她的丈夫立山尚明先生已在車站等候多時。朋友相見自是欣喜萬分，立山先生親自駕車沿著海濱前行，不一會兒就到了他們的府第。

丹下明月女士的家坐落在北倉的明月院明月谷中，幽靜而古樸，遠離城市的喧鬧。從外表上看，這里與普通人家的住宅無異，但入得門廳進入里間，方覺得別有洞天。透過書房的窗戶可以看到庭院里濃濃的秋意，更妙的是整個茶道丹月流道場丹月庵就建造在山腳下，蜿蜒的小路一直延伸到山上。院子布置得古樸典雅，綠蔭樹下陳設著抹茶席位，頂上懸掛著茶道·香道丹月流的燈籠，青苔鋪地，錯落有致地散布著石板、經幢、蓄水池，處處充溢著山野情趣。丹下明月女士和立山先生興致勃勃地帶著我們在院子里轉悠，并說他們暇時常坐在庭院里品茗敘談和沿著山腳散步、爬山，享受著大自然的天趣。

作為茶道丹月流宗家，丹下明月女士多次訪問中國，十幾年來，她不辭辛勞，遠渡重洋，不僅積極參與中國各地的茶文化活動，尤其是與西子湖結下不解之緣。我們在她的家中感受到一股濃濃的書韻，各個房間及走廊掛滿了國際茶人們送給她的翰墨畫卷，書房及外間還擺放著琳瑯滿目的各類茶具和瓷器古玩，令人目不暇接。她的學生說得好：“如果不是先生幾十年來積極參加國際交流和努力貢獻，再加上她獨特的個人魅力，又何以有如此多的饋贈呢?！?/p>

為了招待我們這些遠方來的客人，她的女兒大島麗月副教授（也即是她現在教授茶道的助手）親自下廚為我們做了豐盛的日本料理，還考慮到我們的口味專門為我們炒了中國菜熱情款待我們。席間，丹下明月女士向我們介紹了日本茶道的由來以及她創建國際茶道·香道丹月流的經過。她對茶道傾注了全部的熱情，視茶為生命的延續，有許多日本婦女跟她學習茶道和香道。為了更好地傳播茶文化，她還特意掏錢購買表演茶道的物品，每月到鐮倉小學去輔導孩子們表演茶道。

丹下明月女士向我們解釋道，“茶道有‘一期一會’的說法，也就是說兩個人一生中可能只能見到一次，所以日本人通過茶道來了解對方和向對方表示尊重，這也就是為什么對于茶道日本人這么看重的原因?！睂τ诓韬投U的關系她也有獨到的看法，在她看來“茶是禪的一種延伸，茶道的目的和最重要的意義就是禪的一種解釋?！彼运恢痹跒檫@個目標而努力，希冀熱愛茶的人越來越多，讓茶成為人類的共同愛好，用茶架起國際間文化交流的橋梁。

作為一名傳播茶文化的使者，她曾經說過，“世界各國人民如果都能平等、和平地飲茶敘情，世界上就不會有紛爭。茶，給所有的文化以深遠的影響。茶文化作為和平的象征，將指引人們在世界和平的大道上闊步前進。”

對于國際茶文化協會名譽會長王家揚先生，丹下明月女士更是將他視為兄長，言談之間充滿了敬仰之情。我們也告訴她，作為著名“龍井茶”發源地的杭州人與茶結下了不解之緣，每逢周末或是節假日，許多人總是舉家出動，在美麗的西子湖畔和杭州茶鄉龍井、梅家塢喝茶賞景，流連忘返，茶已經和我們的生活聯結在一起。她聽了我們介紹近期杭州市政府作出了“茶為國飲，杭為茶都”的舉措并努力把杭州打造成國際茶都的信息，更為興奮。

飯后我們將帶去的禮物——為慶賀《文化交流》雜志創刊20周年特制的茶葉罐和收錄了她文章的《歲月如歌》一書贈送給丹下明月女士時，她非常欣喜，表示一定要珍藏起來，作為兩國茶文化交流友誼的見證。

在我們互贈禮品時，丹下明月女士告訴我們，她懷著對茶圣陸羽的崇敬之情和對茶的故鄉中國的深厚感情，一直將我們贈送給她的每一期《文化交流》雜志都仔細地閱讀，并將她精心收藏的《文化交流》雜志拿出來給我們看。她還回憶起2004年到中國來的時候，曾在樹人大學老師的陪同下特意來我們雜志社參觀的經過。

我們去時正好碰上樹人大學的兩位老師在跟丹下明月女士學習日本茶道，在丹下老師的指導下，兩位端莊而漂亮的姑娘為我們作了精彩的茶道表演。表演時只見丹下明月女士鄭重地取出了一個錦匣，輕輕地把它放在榻榻米上，呈現在我們的眼前的是一只釉色滋潤的青瓷碗，這是她來中國時，天臺國清寺方丈贈送給她的宋朝哥窯荷瓣形青瓷碗，她一直珍藏著，輕易不拿出來?？粗媚飩兊牟璧辣硌?，喝著沏出來的抹茶，吃著茶點，我們也沉浸在茶文化的濃濃氛圍之中。

臨別之時，讀著書房壁上掛著的一位中國澳門茶人撰寫的詩句“蓮茶一盞塵心凈，半壁山房映月明。留得千秋茶味在，倉鏡海續茶經?！边@讓我們不禁浮想聯翩，這正是丹下明月女士推動中日兩國茶文化交流的真實寫照!

A Visit to Tea Master Tange Meigeisu

By Du Xiaoying， Wang Xidong

In November 2005 we paid a friendly visit to Japan for half a month at the invitation of Shizuoka Japan-China Friendship Association. Entrusted by Wang Jiayang， honorary president of China International Tea Culture Research Institute， we visited Tange Meigeisu at her home in Kamakura.

Tange Meigeisu is a celebrated Japanese master of tea ceremony (Chado) and guest professor of Zhejiang Shuren University. Kamakura is a city that shares the name of Kamakura period (1192-1333) in Japanese history. Today， the ancient city attracts a lot of tourists with its enchanting scenery and a great variety of historical and cultural interests such as Buddhist temples and shrines. It was in the early years of Kamakura period that a Japanese monk came to China for studies of Zen and brought Chinese tea rituals to Japan. The monk wrote a book and introduced Chinese tea ceremonies and rituals to his fellow countrymen. The popularity of Chado (Japanese and Chinese pronunciations are highly similar) started in those years. Today tea and Chado are an important part of Japanese culture.

When we arrived at Kamakura， Tange Meigeisu and her husband Tateyama Shomei were waiting for us at the station. The delight of meeting friends was beyond description. Mr. Tateyama Shomei drove along the seafront highway and pretty soon we arrived at their home.

The house was located in Bright Moon Valley in north Kamakura， far from the noise of the downtown. At first sight the house did not looked special from the outside. But once we went through the hall， we felt it was extraordinary. Through the windows of the study we were able to glimpse into the courtyard in rich autumnal tints. The Chado site was at the foot of the hill. A winding path extended up into the hill. The courtyard was neatly arranged: seats under the lush trees， lanterns on the trees， slabs thickly covered with green lichen， a script pillar and a pond. They took us around the courtyard and told us how often they would enjoy nature and tea there.

As a tea master who presides at a Chado school with a large international following， Tange Meigeisu has visited China many times.Her daughter， an associate professor as well as assistant to her mother， prepared a big dinner for the occasion. During the dinner， Tange Meigeisu talked about the origin of Japanese Chado and that of her international Chado.Many Japanese women take lessons from her.

She explained to us that Japanese people attach great importance to tea rituals because they understand that any meeting between any two persons may occur only once in a lifetime. On such an occasion， tea is a passport to understanding each other and showing respect to each other. She further explained Chado in terms of Zen: “Tea is an extension of Zen. The purpose and highest significance of Chado is to provide an interpretation of Zen.”As an ambassador of tea culture， she often says. “Tea is universal. If people of all countries can sit down to enjoy tea together in peace and equality， there will be no dispute in the world.”She believed that tea could exert profound influence on all cultures and that as a symbol of peace， tea culture can direct people to a path to world peace.

Tange Meigeisu regards Mr. Wang Jiayang as her elder brother. She talked of him with reverence. We also talked about tea events in Hangzhou. Having a cup of tea with family members or friends in a scenic rural environment is now a vogue in Hangzhou， home of Dragon Well Tea. At weekends， local residents go to Dragon Well Village and Plum Valley Village， two most favorable sites， and enjoy tea there. She was excited to learn that Hangzhou， the tea capital of China， was doing its best to promote tea as the national drink.

After dinner， gifts were exchanged. We presented the master with a tea caddy that was custom-made in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Cultural Dialogue and an anthology of articles published in the periodical in the past 20 years. The anthology has a story written by Tange Meigeisu. She told us that she read every issue of Cultural Dialogue and all the issues were kept well in her library. She recalled her special visit to our editorial office when she was in Hangzhou in 2004.

(Translated by David)