Sen no Rikyū

Sen no Rikyū (1522 – 1591) is considered the foremost tea master of the late Sengoku Period and the Azuchi-Momoyama Period, whose Zen Buddhist philosophy and concepts of wabi-cha (from wabi-sabi or rustic simplicity) profoundly influenced chanoyu, the “Way of Tea.”

Sen no Rikyū’s childhood name was Yoshiro. His grandfather was Sen’ami Tanaka who was a dōbōshū, a special retainer who practiced the tea ceremony, for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa. Names were rather fluid in those days. He was often known as Koji, which was a Buddhist name granted to him by Emperor Ogimachi, so that he, being a mere townsman, would be allowed to enter the imperial palace to join the Kinchu tea ceremony in 1585. As a tea master, he generally called himself “Soeki.” He used Rikyū in his later years.

Rikyū’s father was Tanaka Yohei, a renowned merchant in Sakai, Izumi Province (present-day Osaka Prefecture). He grew up in Sakai a port city that flourished through trade with Ming Dynasty​ China, and with Spain and Portugal from the mid-sixteenth century. There merchants and samurai mixed and oftentimes small groups gathered to drink tea, with matcha being the overwhelming favorite. Matcha is powdered green tea whisked in a bowl, which was came to Japan from the Song Dynasty China (960 – 1279) in the late twelfth century. Tea aficionados both from Europe and Japan prized tea utensils, especially those utensils coming from China. So it is no surprise that Rikyū developed an interest in tea.

Rikyū began his study of tea at an early age in Sakai under the tutelage of Dōchin Kitamuki, and later, at 19, he began study under Takeno Jōō, who is credited with the development of wabi aesthetic in the tea ceremony. He studied Rinzai Zen in Nanshū-ji temple in Sakai and often visited Daitoku-ji temple (the head temple) in Kyoto.

Rise of Rikyū

Sen no Rikyū rose to power and fame through his associations with two very powerful warlords who would be two of Japan’s great unifiers, Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Nobunaga appointed Rikyū as Saju (the person who is in charge of the tea ceremony). After Nobunaga’s death, Rikyū continued serving Hideyoshi. His relationship with Hideyoshi quickly deepened, and he entered Hideyoshi’s circle of confidants, effectively becoming the most influential figure in the world of chanoyu. It did not hurt that Hideyoshi loved tea utensils and Rikyū was quite the tea utensil innovator. Rikyū aided Hideyoshi by encouraging daimyō to join Hideyoshi’s army and to bequeath to Hideyoshi expensive gifts of tea utensils. He worked alongside of Hideyoshi’s half-brother, Hidenaga, to promote the regime. Hidenaga reportedly stated, “I will take care of all the official business, and Soeki will handle all personal matters.” He profited well, he took up residence in the Hideyoshi’s Juraku-jo Castle, got involved in designing the garden of the castle, and received a fief of 3000 koku (a measure of wealth in medieval Japan based on rice), as well as many other rewards and emoluments. In 1585, he served in the Kinchu tea ceremony for Emperor Ogimachi hosted by Hideyoshi. He helped Hideyoshi host the Grand Kitano Tea Ceremony, at Kitano Tenmangū, which is probably the largest tea gathering of all time. 

Development of the Tea Ceremony

“Though you wipe your hands and brush off the dust and dirt from the vessels, what is the use of all this fuss if the heart is still impure?”

During Rikyū’s rise, especially in his later years, he continued to develop the tea ceremony. Rikyū preferred simple, rustic Japanese-made tea implements, rather than the expensive ones made in China that were fashionable. Some of his innovations include the tearoom, sōan (grass hermitage) teahouse, and many implements for the tea ceremony, including Hana ire (flower vase for tea ceremony), tea scoops, bamboo lid rests, and Raku tea bowls. He used everyday objects for the tea ceremony, often in novel ways. Together with his beliefs and teachings, his version of the tea ceremony became known as sōan-cha.

Rikyū brought the tea ceremony from a pleasant social event where the host could display his wealth through his collection of tea utensils, to one of profound spiritual and artistic expression of wabi-sabi. Rikyū did not invent wabi-sabi, but he brought it to the tea ceremony where it spread through society. His sōan teahouse had a very small intimate tearoom and the windows were covered with thin translucent shōji paper and flimsy walls. The Japanese do not see a great separation between humans and nature and the sōan tea house not only brought the guest and host in close proximity to each other but also fostered a connection with the natural environment.

There is a known surviving example of one of his tearooms. It is called Tai-an at the Myōki-an temple in Yamazaki, a suburb of Kyoto. Hideyoshi used to visit there while on campaigns.

Rikyū collaborated with the tile-maker/potter Raku Chōjirō to create Raku tea bowls. This use of Japanese ceramics instead of Chinese bowls was another innovation. The Raku tea bowls were made by hand rather than a wheel and fit better in the hand for a tea ceremony. (Raku ware is still made to this day and run by the descendants of Chōjirō.)

Rikyū’s tea ceremony beliefs, and teachings were called sōan-cha (the grass-thatched hermitage style of chanoyu), or wabi-cha (‘school of the house of Sen’). The chanoyu practiced by his descendants and followers became known as Senke-ryū (School of the house of Sen).

Rikyū attracted many followers and disciples. His most famous disciples were Nanbō Sōkei, a legendary Zen priest who may have made a compilation of Rikyū’s teachings in Nanpō roku (which was lost in the Edo Period); Yamanoue Sōji (1544-90), a merchant from Sakai who wrote about Rikyū’s teachings and the chanoyu; and Furia Oribe (1544-1615), a celebrated tea master after Rikyū’s death. He also attracted several daimyō and military leaders including: Maeda Toshinaga, Gamō Ujisato, Hosokawa Tadaoki, Furuta Oribe, Makimura Toshisada, Dom Justo Takayama, and Shimayama Munetsuna, the so-called “Seven Luminaries” or “Seven Foremost Disciples.”

Death of Rikyū

He who has lived with the beautiful can die beautifully. The last moments of the great tea-masters were as full of exquisite refinement as had been their lives. Seeking always to be in harmony with the great rhythm of the universe, they were ever prepared to enter the unknown. The “Last Tea of Rikiu” will stand forth forever as the acme of tragic grandeur.

The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo

In 1590, after the Siege of Odawara Castle, Yamanoue Sōji, the aforementioned famous disciple of Rikyū, who had been employed by the Hōjō, was taken prisoner. On Hideyoshi’s orders, he was tortured, mutilated, and beheaded. The following year Hideyoshi’s wrath turned on Rikyū.

Hideyoshi ordered Rikyū to go into seclusion at Sakai. Maeda Toshiie, Furuta Shigeteru (Shigenari) and Hosokawa Tadaoki pleaded with Hideyoshi to spare him. Nevertheless, Hideyoshi ordered Rikyū to return to Kyoto and to commit seppuku.

The order is mind-boggling, because while Rikyū was in Hideyoshi’s inner circle, ostensibly he conducted tea ceremonies, wrote poetry, and practiced ikebana (flower arranging). There have been several theories advanced attempting to explain the order, some of them are that Rikyū was suspected of profiteering by selling cheap tea utensils at high prices; that Rikyū took stones from an emperor’s tomb without permission for washbowls and garden stones; that Rikyū and Hideyoshi conflicted in their views of the tea ceremony; and that Rikyū refused to give his daughter to Hideyoshi as a mistress to avoid the appearance of using his daughter to advance his career.  More credible are the theories that political intrigue by those jealous of Rikyū’s power and prestige turned Hideyoshi against him by claiming that Rikyū meant to poison Hideyoshi with a green substance, among other things; that Rikyū was considered too independent; or that when Daitoku-ji was renovated, Rikyū placed a statue of himself above the entrance, angering Hideyoshi for none could be more elevated that he. (The present author has to wonder if this was an early sign of Hideyoshi’s mental deterioration.)

According to Okakura Kakuzo in The Book of Tea, Rikyū practiced his art to the end. On the day of seppuku, Rikyū invited his chief disciples to a tea ceremony. The disciples met in the portico by the path to the tea house. As they entered, they were greeted by the aroma of rare incense. In the tokonoma hung a kakemono (an unframed wall hanging) of a writing by an ancient monk about the “evanescence” of things.  In a kettle on a brazier water was boiling. After his guests had entered, Rikyū appeared and served them tea. Each guest silently drank his tea and afterwards, according to etiquette, the chief guest asked Rikyū permission to examine the tea equipage. Rikyū placed the various utensils before them along with the kakemono. After the guests expressed their admiration of the items, Rikyū gave them to his guests for a souvenir, except for the bowl. Rikyū kept the bowl, then smashed into pieces saying, “never again shall this cup, polluted by the lips of misfortune, be used by man.” All the guests left, except for his closest disciple who would be the witness. Rikyū removed his tea-gown, revealing a white death robe. He recited his death poem (below) and ended his life.

Welcome to thee,
O sword of eternity!
Through Buddha
And through Daruma alike
Thou hast cleft thy way.

Thus Rikyū committed seppuku at his residence within Hideyoshi’s Jurakudai villa in Kyoto.

Hideyoshi’s army had surrounded the villa to prevent Rikyū’s supporters from interfering. After his death, Rikyū’s head was displayed at the Ichijo Modori-bashi Bridge and under the foot of the wooden statute of Rikyū at Daitoku-ji Temple.

Rikyū’s grave is located a Jukōin temple in the Daitoku-ji compound.

After Rikyū’s death, Hideyoshi was remorseful. While building his residence at Fushimi, he hoped that it would be pleasing to Rikyū. In 1595, Hideyoshi pardoned Rikyū’s children and returned Rikyū’s tea utensils to his grandson, Sen no Sōtan. Three sons of Sōtan were retained by powerful daimyō families.

After Rikyū’s death, leadership of his tradition of chanoyu went to Sen Shōan, Rikyū’s step-son through his second wife, and son-in-law by marriage to his daughter. Eventually there were three Sen families (san-Senke) continuing Rikyū’s tea tradition.

While Sen no Rikyū certainly had a tragic death that would warrant a shrine dedicated to him so that he would not bring calamities as an onryō, like Sugawara no Michizane (845 – 903), there is no such shrine. Instead, many tea schools observe periodic memorial services. The three Sen families, Omotesenke, Urasenke, Mushakōjisenke, take turns holding monthly memorial services at Jukōin at Daitoku-ji temple complex. These three houses, Omotesenke, Urasenke, and Mushakōjisenke, descended from Rikyū, are dedicated to passing on his teachings.