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Sen no Rikyu (千利休;
1522 -
1591) is considered the most profound influence on the
Japanese tea ceremony. A man of simple taste, he had a cultivated and disciplined lifestyle and defined the term wabi cha by emphasizing simplicity,
rusticness and other humble qualities in the tea ceremony.
His first documented name was Yoshiro. Later his name was Soueki. In
1585 the
Emperor Ogimachi ranked him a koji, which was a lowest rank of
Buddhist hierarchy who hadn't yet become a priest but a pious faithful
Buddhist, and from that time he was known as Sen no Rikyu Koji.
In the below we call him Rikyu in general for simplicity.
Rikyu was born in
Sakai in 1522 and named Yoshiro firstly. Yoshiro began his study of
tea at an early age. His first teacher was Kitamuki Dochin who taught tea
in the traditional style suited to the shoin reception room. Later, he
learned from Takeno Jo-o in the new style of the small, thatched tea
house.
Daitoku-ji temple in northwest Kyoto, has had a long, deep relation
with tea. Yoshiro, like Shuko and Jo-o underwent Zen training at
Daitoku-ji as Zen-Buddhists. Thereafter he changed his name to Sen Soueki
taking the family name of Sen from his grandfather`s name, Sen-ami.
It was then that Rikyu composed the poem which dates from that time : "
Though many people drink tea, if you do not know the Way of Tea, tea will
drink you up. " Without any spiritual training, you think you are drinking
tea, but actually tea drinks you up.
Another well-known saying of Rikyu is: "The Way of Tea is naught but
this: first you boil water, then you make the tea and drink it." However,
this can only be appreciated after strict training in the Way.
It was Rikyu who synthesized a unique way of life combining the
everyday aspects of living with the highest spiritual and philosophical
tenets. This has been passed down to the present as the Way of Tea.
From the age of 58, he served a daimyo,
Oda Nobunaga, as a tea master. After the death of Nobunaga, he became
the head tea master of
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the de facto successor of Nobunaga. Hideyoshi
continued Nobunaga's conquering policy and unified Japan after several ten
years civil wars. Ostensibly, in charge of tea, he actually wielded great
influence with Hideyoshi in other matters as well.
When Hideyoshi hosted a tea at the Imperial Palace in
1585, Rikyu received the Buddhist title of koji from the Emperor
Ogimachi, thus establishing his preminence among the practitioners of tea
in Japan.
During this time,
Chanoyu(so-called Tea Celemony) came into contact with Christianity.
Many missionaries came to Sakai and
Kyoto where they befriended Rikyu and the other teachers of tea.
Among the seven principle students of Rikyu were three devout
Christians: Furuta Oribe,
Takayama Ukon, and Gamou Ujisato.
Rikyu's extraordinary sense of beauty left a great imprint on the world
of ceramics, architecture, design and the myriad arts and crafts that are
combined to create the world of tea.
Wabi-cha In the later years of his life, Rikyu realized and practiced
his ideal of Wabi-cha. With superb discrimination, he chose objects for
use in the tearoom from among everyday utensils.
This revolutionary movement away from the reliance on imported Chinese
utensils, begun by Jo-o, was continued by Rikyu. So excellent were his
choices, they are still used as standards to this day.
It was Rikyu who instructed the Korean tile-maker Chojiro to create the
novel tea bowls which have come to be known as Raku.
Rikyu's innovative architectural design and exemplary use of space are
vividly displayed in his tea house Taian, at Myokian, near Kyoto. The
Japanese government has declared it a National Treasure. There is the
whole world of Rikyu, in a two-mat tea house.
As Rikyu neared the fulfillment of his tea, the Great Tea Gathering was
held at Kitano Shrine in northwest Kyoto in October of 1587.
Hideyoshi proclaimed that rich or poor, high or low born might bring
one pot for hot water and one bowl for tea, and attend the gathering .
Over a thousand people from all walks of life assembled at the shrine.
Hideyoshi erected a solid gold tea house while Rikyu used his preferred
thatched hut. Thus both extremes of tea, the flamboyant utensil -tea, and
the restrained wabi tea were represented at Kitano. At this time,
Hideyoshi and Rikyu were very close.
Daitoku-ji Temple "I rise the sword... " Though there is some
disagreement about the actual cause, Rikyu fell out of favor with
Hideyoshi. Some say that Rikyu's statue being insetled in the gate of
Daitoku-ji, the building of which he contributed to, so angered Hideyoshi
that Rikyu was ordered to commit ritual suicide at the age of 71 in 1591.
After bidding family and disciples good-bye, he composed his death poems,
one in Chinese and one in Japanese.
" I raise the sword, This sword of mine, Long in my possession The time
is come at last. Skyward I throw it up!" (translation: Suzuki Daisetsu)
After Rikyu's death, Hideyoshi repented, regretting the loss of such a
great person.
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