Wakei Seijaku (和敬清寂)

Wakei Seijaku (literally meaning harmony, respect, purity and tranquility) is a slogan emphasized in Sado (Japanese tea ceremony), which is particularly respected in the House of Sen through the 'Shiki' (Four Principles of Tea) as laid down by SEN no Rikyu. This slogan, however, is not academically accepted as being directly attributable to Rikyu, because there is no description about it in any credible material compiled in the period contemporaneous with Rikyu.

The recent study by Chuzo MACHIDA, 'The Background of the Establishment of the Nanpo-roku (the Secret Book of Rikyu) and the Birth of the Rikyu Myth' (reported in "No.9 of Chanoyu Bunka-Gaku (The Study of the Culture of Tea Ceremony), 2004), pursues the possibility that the term 'Wakei Seijaku' should be attributed to Daishin Gito (1657 - 1730), the 273rd chief priest of Daitoku-ji Temple.

Note: The four-Chinese character idiom Wakei Seijaku (和敬清寂) is often mistakenly written as 和敬静寂.

[Original Japanese]