You may have heard of "Yin Yang" but how about "The Five Elements"? Perhaps you might be familiar with "I Ching" or "Feng Shui". In ancient China, they created an astrological system, a calendar, geomancy and fortune telling based on the philosophy of "Yin Yang" . This philosophy states that first there was one force in the Universe. Then it was separated into two energies; yin and yang. Yin means moon or earth and yang means sun or heaven. Yin and yang energies influenced and mixed with each other and created the other planets. On the earth they became five elements which are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.

Yin and yang were made from the same energy, therefore they tend to be harmonious. The five elements are also related in that wood creates fire, fire creates ashes (earth), earth creates metal in it, metal forms dew (water) and water nourishes trees (wood). They also interact in a negative way in that roots (wood) cut into the earth, the earth absorbs water, water extinguishes fire, fire melts metal and metal cuts trees (wood).

Eight Trigrams were created from the yin yang philosophy too. As shown below, these eight trigrams have symbols,

and compass headings associated with them.

Around the 6th or 7th century, Japan adopted this idea and modified it in their own way. Chanoyu was influenced by this philosophy too. Let me introduce you to some of examples in the Urasenke School.

Daisu shelf: You put a brazier (yang) on the left and a water jar (yin) on the right on a "ji ita" (bottom board) of the shelf which makes the yin-yang harmonious. Further you put a tea bowl (yin) above the brazier and a tea container above the water jar on a "ten ita" (upper board) which also makes the yin-yang in balance for the above and below and right and left aspects. "Ji" means earth and "ten" means heaven. Therefore the shelf itself has a harmonious yin-yang balance too.

Gogyo dana: Gogyo dana can be translated as "Five element shelf" (illustrated at right). The 11th Urasenke Grand Tea Master, Gengen sai, preferred this shelf. The Gogyo dana shelf is made out of cedar and bamboo. You must use a "doburo" (brazier made of clay) which is then placed on the ji ita of this shelf. Hence this shelf has a harmonious yin-yang balance as well as the five elements; wood for the shelf, fire in the brazier, earth in the clay of the brazier, metal of the kettle and water filling the kettle.

Furo (brazier): Since you put fire in a brazier, you need water to keep it balanced. When you finish an ash form, draw a symbol of water (kan) with the fire chopsticks (which are used to pick up the charcoal) in the center of the surface of the ash form.
- Doburo: You decorate a formed ash in a doburo with a "makibai" or scattered white ashes. This decorative ash is said to represent snow (water). You don't, however, use the makibai for an "Uroko bai" which is the fish scale-ash form because it already represents water.
- Some karakane buro or metal braziers do not require makibai because of the "metal creates water" idea.
- Tetsu buro or an iron brazier requires the design of lots of vertical lines on the surface of the ash form. This lines represent a stream.

Tea room: The ideal tea room has an alcove in the North side and a nijiri guchi (a crawling entrance) in the South. The honorable guest sits facing towards the South while the host sits facing North. This is because guests are "yin" so they sit in a yang place while the host is "yang" therefore he/she sits in an yin place. Since a four tatami mat-room is square, it can be shown with the eight trigrams which has a center as shown below.

Hakke bon (Eight-Trigram tray): Gengen sai's favorite. This round tray has a design with the eight-trigram symbols on it. The symbol for water (KAN) represents North. Even though a tea room is not facing North, by using this tray, the tea room is considered to be facing North. The Hakke bon represents a tea room as the universe.

Other examples in chanoyu that relates to this yin-yang philosophy may be introduced later.