The Three Sen Houses of Tea
Mar 6th, 2007 by Ad Blankestijn
Do you know the difference between the Three Sen Houses of Tea, the inheritors of the tradition of wabi-cha from Sen Rikyu?
When in 1591 Sen Rikyu was killed by Hideyoshi, his heirs dispersed to seek refuge in the provinces. Hideyoshi was however persuaded by his generals to restore the house of Sen Rikyu and the choice fell on son-in-law Sen Shoan (1546-1614), who was allowed to establish himself as teamaster in the Fushinan teahouse of Sen Rikyu.
Next came Shoan’s son and Rikyu’s grandson Sen Sotan (1576-1658), who strongly emphasized the simplicity of the tea ceremony in his way of life and choice of tea implements.
[Omotesenke]
Sen Sotan had four sons and here is where the tradition splits. His two elder sons opted for other professions than tea, so the tradition was inherited by the third son, Sen Sosa (1619-1643). When the youngest son, Sen Soshitsu (1622-1677) became twenty years of age, Sen Sotan retired to the back of his property. He continued to be active in tea and in fact developed a new tradition, the “tradition of his later years,” which he transmitted to his youngest son, Soshitsu. As they were living at the rear of the Sen household, it became knwon as Urasenke, “ura” meaning “rear,” and “senke” “Sen household.” The original tradition continued by Sosa was from then on called Omoteseke, “omote” meaning “front” as Sosa was living in the front part of the property.
The second son, Sen Soshu (1593-1675), later returned to live in family property on nearby Mushanokoji street and the tradition he developed was called Mushanokojisenke, making it the third Sen House.
To sum up:
Omotesenke - est. by Koo Sosa - representative teahouse: Fushinan (the original teahouse of Sen Rikyu); current iemoto 14th generation Sosa, teaname Jimyosai.
Urasenke - est. by Senso Soshitsu - served the Maeda clan of Kaga (Kanazawa) - representative teahouse: the one-and-three-quarter mat Konnichian; current iemoto Sen Soshitsu XVI (born 1956), teaname Zabosai.
Mushanokojisenke - est. by Ichio Soshu - Soshu served the Matsudaira daimyo of Takamatsu - representative teahouse: Kankyuan; current iemoto 14th generation Soshu, teaname Futetsusai.
[Urasenke]
As is often the case with Japanese traditions split along family lines, differences between the three Senke are minimal. Apparently the Omotesenke whisk the tea more than the Urasenke, creating more foam in the powdered green tea. Mushanokojisenke is the least known of the three, also in Japan, but especially abroad - it is the only one without an English webpage.
Urasenke is by far the most active outside of Japan (for example via the International Cha Culture Foundation), but also engages in tea promotion in Japan itself, for example by opening its tea library Konnichian Library to the general public, by the exhibitions it organizes in the Chado Research Center Gallery, and via its publishing house, Tankosha.
3 Responses to “The Three Sen Houses of Tea”
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Dear Ad,
Thank you for the new posts, it has been a long break from blogging and it is nice to read your new insightful posts.
Sado must be the most cherished thing for me in the Japanese culture, and being from the very few lucky people who got a scholarship from Jordan to go and pursue my post graduate studies in Japan, I am also determined to study seriously Sado alongside my main university studies.
The fact that there are three senke has put me in a dilemma, I don’t know which one to follow, I don’t have enough in-depth information on the three senke to decide.
I have always known Urasenke as the most active one abroad, but I don’t know if they will be the best for me personally.
Your post put on the light on the three of them, but I didn’t get enough details on the differences among them.
Do you know yourself or know a page on the net that has more detailed comparisons between the three senke?
I would much appreciate your help.
Thanks
Saqf
Hello Saqf,
Thank you for your mails and your interest in my blog. My “rest” was involuntarily, as I suffered a computer crash while traveling, but I am more or less back as you see!
As regards the Three Senke, as I understand it (but I am not a specialist, I have unfortunately never practiced Sado myself), the differences are really minimal, except that Omotesenke is slightly more traditional as the keeper of the original tradition, and Urasenke slightly more innovative as is shown by the more frothy tea they serve, and more importantly, their activities outside Japan - they certainly are the most international.
I had a look on the Japanese web where incidentally the same question about differences between Omotesenke and Urasenke was posed. The answer there too was that differences in ideology or practice are indeed minimal. But one interesting thing was added: it all depends on the personal Sado teacher you find. Teachers apparently make all the difference as they influence the style. I think that answer is right, as it fits Japanese culture, where personal relationships are most important. So it is all a matter of finding the right teacher (with whom you feel at ease working) when you are in Japan and I wish you all the luck!
Ad Blankestijn
Dear Ad,
Thanks a lot for giving me the great advice which finally put my mind to rest. I no longer worry which school of tea I should follow, I will look for the right tea master, and that is what will make all the difference.
Best regards,
Ahmad