AUTUMN GINZA 2015

The foundation for this school was established by Sosa Koshin, the third son of Sotan, grandson of Sen Rikyu. Sosa learned the ways of Rikyu passed down the Senke line from his father, Sotan, and described them in a written record. He did so in an attempt to preserve the gradually receding image of the founder of their school to the greatest extent possible for the Sen family. Sosa then entered the service of the Kishu Tokugawa family as its professional tea master. Shortly after starting, Sotan retired in 1646, transferring the headship to Sosa. In the more than 400 years since, the school of Omotesenke has continued passing on this “heart of tea.” Instead of simply succeeding a fixed model, it is inherited as living culture infused with the new life of the times through which it passes. “Natural like the flow of water” is a distinctive characteristic of the Omotesenke Way of Tea.

When Sotan, grandson of Sen Rikyu, handed over the headship of the Sen family to his third son, Sosa Koshin, he moved to a tea-ceremony house at the back of the premise with his fourth son, Soshitsu Senso. That was the start of Urasenke, and his successors served the Maeda family of the Kaga Province and the Matsudaira family of Matsuyama in Shikoku. Based on the spirit of the Four Principles of Tea (harmony, respect, purity and tranquility) maintained since Sen Rikyu’s time, Urasenke carefully nurtures the relationships between people. For the Kyoto Exposition (1871), Seishu Gengensai, the 11th head of Urasenke created the “ryureishiki” style of tea ceremony that allowed foreigners and others not used to kneeling in the seiza position to sit on chairs accompanied by a special table. He thus strove to popularize and further develop tea ceremony culture in line with the times, while carefully preserving its traditions. The 16th head, Zabosai, is actively spreading the “heart of tea” widely to schools and workplaces and carrying out activities to nurture new tea ceremony students and clearly define tea ceremony culture.

This school was established by Ichio Soshu, the second son of Sotan, Rikyu’s grandson. Soshu temporarily left his father’s home to work as a lacquer-ware artisan, taking on the name Jinuemon Yoshioka. Upon the advice of his brothers, he conceded his work to Nakamura Sotetsu and returned to the Senke family. Soshu served the Takamatsu Matsudaira family and became the tea ceremony instructor of the Takamatsu Domain. Later, the Mushanokoji family worked actively to spread the Way of Tea. For example, Jikisai, the 7th generation head was an adoptive son from a samurai family but, along with Joshinsai, the 7th head of the Omotesenke school, and Itto Soshitsu, the 8th head of the Urasenke school, who were his contemporaries, he developed the Iemoto System whereby he took in many students and created a period known as the resurgence. The school’s traditions have been passed down the line to Futetsusai, the current and 14th head of the school.

Kawakami Fuhaku (1716–1807), founder of Edosenke, was a leading disciple of the 7th generation head of the Omotesenke school. In 1750, at the young age of 32, he was instructed by his teacher Joshinsai to move to Edo to spread the Senke Way of Tea. After moving to Edo and becoming independent, Fuhaku spread the practice of tea ceremony to high-ranking officials of the bakufu, feudal lords, merchants, persons of culture, and even workers in the downtown area. People were moved by his dynamism and freedom, and tea ceremony spread on a nationwide scale. It is now separated into a number of schools, but each school strives to preserve the teachings of the founder. The Edosenke Kibe school was founded by Fuhaku’s leading pupil, Kibe Senzan, and has been supported by many tea ceremony masters over the generations.

Enshu-ryu Chado is a samurai style of tea ceremony that was founded by Kobori Enshu, a feudal lord that was active in the early Edo period. Enshu was the official tea ceremony instructor of the Tokugawa Shogun family. As the “sakuji bugyo” (commissioner of buildings), he left behind a great legacy of buildings and landscape gardens, including the Nagoya castle tower and Sento Imperial Palace. He was also proficient in tanka poetry, traditional incense-smelling ceremony, and construction of ceramic tea bowls, and contributed to the development of tea ceremony culture in Edo as composite art. The essence of Enshu-ryu Chado lies in “Kirei Sabi,” or gracefulness and simplicity, in which a quality of dignity was added to the spirit of wabi, the beauty to be found in spareness and simplicity, and sabi, the quality of subdued refinement, to create objective aesthetics with sophistication. Some 430 years later, the Enshu Chado school is now led by Kobori Sojitsu, the 13th grand master, who works widely throughout Japan and the rest of the world with the motto, “Enrich your mind with tea ceremony.

Sencha was brought over from China in the Edo period. In the 18th century, Baisao, an Obaku Zen Buddhist priest said to be the founder of Sencha-do, opened teahouses around Kyoto and preached about the ideal way of life and other teachings through tea. A unique Japanese version of Sencha-do was later established by writers and artists. Sencha-do does not have strict rules. The host and guest share time together over tea, enjoying first-brewed tea. The Wakei Chado Club carries out activities as an NPO aimed at pursuing the joy of tea and spreading the excellence of tea culture that is a pride of Japan, exceeding boundaries of type of tea (sencha or matcha) and school of tea ceremony.