Urasenke
Urasenke (裏千家, lit. "the rear Sen house/family") is the name of one of the main schools of Japanese tea ceremony. It is one of the san-Senke (three Sen houses/families); the other two are Omotesenke and Mushakōjisenke.[1]
The san-Senke derive from Sen Rikyū, and it was not until after the era of his grandson, Sen Sōtan, that the three separate lines of the family came into being. Three sons of Sōtan each became heirs to the family name, Sen, and to the family profession of teaching the Way of Tea that their mutual family founder, Rikyū, had developed.[2]
The original tea room of Urasenke was built by Sen Sōtan when he was contemplating retirement and having his third son take over the headship of the Sen house. He built this retirement tea room on land located next to the Sen house, on the north. It has the name "Hut of This Day" (今日庵 Konnichian),[3] and from this the entire historical Urasenke estate, which is located on Ogawa street in the Kamigyo ward of Kyoto, directly north of the Omotesenke estate, is referred to by this name.
The head (iemoto) of this line carries the hereditary name Sen Sōshitsu.[4] The present head of Urasenke is Zabōsai Genmoku Sōshitsu. He is the 16th generation in the line.
Generations[5]
| Generation | name | religious pseudonym | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Rikyū Sōeki (1522-91) | 利休 宗易 | Hōsensai | 抛筌斎 |
| 2nd | Shōan Sōjun (1546-1614) | 少庵 宗淳 | ||
| 3rd | Genpaku Sōtan (1578-1658) | 元伯 宗旦 | Totsutotsusai | 咄々斎 |
| 4th | Sensō Sōshitsu (1622-97) | 仙叟 宗室 | Rōgetsuan | 臘月庵 |
| 5th | Jōsō Sōshitsu (1673-1704) | 常叟 宗室 | Fukyūsai | 不休斎 |
| 6th | Taisō Sōshitsu (1694-1726) | 泰叟 宗室 | Rikkansai | 六閑斎 |
| 7th | Chikusō Sōshitsu (1709-33) | 竺叟 宗室 | Saisaisai | 最々斎 |
| 8th | Ittō Sōshitsu (1719-71) | 一燈 宗室 | Yūgensai | 又玄斎 |
| 9th | Sekiō Sōshitsu (1746-1801) | 石翁 宗室 | Fukensai | 不見斎 |
| 10th | Hakusō Sōshitsu (1770-1826) | 柏叟 宗室 | Nintokusai | 認得斎 |
| 11th | Seichū Sōshitsu (1810-77) | 精中 宗室 | Gengensai | 玄々斎 |
| 12th | Jikishō Sōshitsu (1852-1917) | 直叟 宗室 | Yūmyōsai | 又玅斎 |
| 13th | Tetchū Sōshitsu (1872-1924) | 鉄中 宗室 | Ennōsai | 圓能斎 |
| 14th | Sekisō Sōshitsu (1893-1964) | 碩叟 宗室 | Mugensai | 無限斎 |
| 15th | Hansō Sōshitsu (Sen Genshitsu) (b. April 19, 1923) | 汎叟 宗室 | Hōunsai | 鵬雲斎 |
| 16th (current iemoto) | Genmoku Sōshitsu (b. June 7, 1956) | 玄黙 宗室 | Zabōsai | 坐忘斎 |
- ↑ Urasenke Chado Textbook, p. 200. Supv. ed., Genshitsu Sen and Soshitsu Sen. Tankosha Publishing Co., 2011. ISBN978-4-473-03696-4,
- ↑ Urasenke Chado Textbook, p. 119
- ↑ Urasenke Chado Textbook, pp. 118-119
- ↑ Genshoku Chado Daijiten [Color-illustrated Encyclopedia of the Way of Tea], entry for "Urasenke," p. 106. ISBN4-473-00089-3. (In Japanese)
- ↑ Urasenke Chado Textbook, pp. 118-119
In popular culture
- The Choose Your Own Adventure book: Mystery of Ura Senke (nº 44), by Shannon Gilligan, deals with the theft of one of the Ura Senke school's most fabulous tea ceremony bowls, worth millions of yen on the black market. The protagonist and their friend Kenichi Doi (whose older brother Takashi is an Ura Senke school apprentice) start investigating the case.
References
- "SEN Soshitsu XVI, Iemoto" in Urasenke website.
- "The Urasenke Legacy" in Urasenke website.
- "Konnichian--The Urasenke Home" in Urasenke website.