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Schools of Japanese tea ceremony

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"Schools of Japanese tea ceremony" refers to the various traditions of the Japanese Way of Tea, known as ryūha (流派) in Japanese.

Sansenke

The three best known schools, both in Japan and elsewhere, are associated with 16th-century tea master Sen no Rikyu and his descendents via his second wife, and are known collectively as the Sansenke (三千家), or "three houses of Sen." These are the Urasenke, Omotesenke and Mushanokōjisenke. A fourth school, called Sakaisenke (堺千家), was the original senke founded by Sen no Rikyu. Rikyu's eldest son, Sen no Dōan, took over as head of the school after his father's death, but it soon disappeared because he had no son. Another school, named Edosenke, has no relation to the schools founded by the Sen family.

The Sansenke came about when Sen no Rikyu's grandson tea master Motohaku Sōtan's three sons (Rikyu's great-grandsons) each inherited a tea house. Kōshin Sōsa inherited Fushin-an (不審菴) and became the head (iemoto) of the Omotesenke school; Senshō Sōshitsu inherited Konnichi-an (今日庵) and became iemoto of the Urasenke school; and Ichiō Sōshu inherited Kankyū-an (官休庵) and became iemoto of Mushanokōjisenke.

Other schools

The Sansenke are simply known by their names (for example, Urasenke). Schools that developed as branches or sub-schools of the Sansenke -- or separately from them -- are known as "~ryū" (from ryūha), which may be translated as "school" or "style." New schools often formed when factions split an existing school after several generations.

There are many of these schools, most of them quite small. By far the most active school today, both inside and outside Japan, is the Urasenke; Omotesenke, though popular within Japan, is much less well-represented abroad. Mushanokōjisenke, and most of the other schools, are virtually unknown outside Japan.

Current schools

External links

 


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