Sen no Rikyu

Japanese: 千利休 - せん・りきゅう

Year of death: February 28, 1591 (April 21, 1591)
Year of birth: 1522
A tea master from the Momoyama period. His childhood name was Yoshiro. His pen name was Soeki. It is said that he was bestowed the title Rikyu Koji by Emperor Ogimachi in 1585. He also went by the pen name Hosensai. His original surname was Tanaka, and he was born to Tanaka Yohei, a fish wholesaler in Sakai. There is also a theory that he was born in 1521. He learned the tea ceremony from Takeno Joo in his teens, and there is a record of him holding a tea ceremony at the age of 23, showing his talent as a tea master from his youth, mingling with his predecessors. In 1568, when Oda Nobunaga came to Kyoto and showed an extraordinary interest in the tea ceremony, repeatedly hunting for famous items, he was selected as Nobunaga's tea master along with Tsuda Soeki and Imai Sokyu, and established himself as the best tea master in the country. Rikyu also negotiated with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who had been obsessed with the tea ceremony since that time, and in 1582, after Nobunaga died in the Honnoji Incident and Hideyoshi came to rule Japan, Rikyu continued to serve as Hideyoshi's tea master. Hideyoshi followed Nobunaga's example and used the tea ceremony for political purposes, but Rikyu was always there to direct it. In 1582, when Hideyoshi held a tea offering ceremony for the Imperial Court to thank Emperor Ogimachi for his appointment as regent, Rikyu prepared tea for the prince and below. In 1583, Hideyoshi held an unprecedented large tea ceremony (Kitano Daichayu) with 800 guests in the grounds of Kitano Shrine to boast about the success of unifying western Japan, and this ceremony was also directed by Rikyu. Rikyu also supported the politically charged tea ceremony, such as by designing the Golden Tea House, and was active politically as Hideyoshi's trusted adviser, along with his younger brother Hashiba Hidenaga. Naturally, Rikyu's deep political involvement with Hideyoshi's government allowed him to freely use famous products from around the country as if they were his own, ushering in a golden age for the tea ceremony. However, at the same time, opposition to Rikyu grew within and outside the government. After Tensho 15, Sakai's commercial status declined relative to Hakata, and as Hideyoshi's government shifted to a more strict policy toward culture and the Sengoku period in preparation for the unification of the country, Rikyu, who had Sakai's backing and did not recognize the authority of established beauty, gradually became isolated. In Tensho 18, Rikyu accompanied Hideyoshi on his siege of Odawara, where he displayed a strong creative spirit, producing masterpieces such as the single-tiered vase "Onjoji" (Tokyo National Museum) made from bamboo from Nirayama. However, he also suffered the tragedy of witnessing the end of Yamagami Souji, who had been banished by Hideyoshi and was in Odawara. In the first month of Tensho 19, the gate of Daitokuji Temple, which Rikyu had donated about a year earlier, became a political issue, and Rikyu was ordered to commit seppuku on February 28 of the same year to take responsibility for the situation. However, the true reason for his seppuku is unclear, with various theories including that Hideyoshi had fallen in love with Rikyu's daughter. Rikyu perfected the wabi-cha style of tea ceremony that had been invented by Murata Juko, and is said to have devised original ideas in all aspects of the tea ceremony, including the form, preparation, tea ceremony utensils, the tea room garden, and kaiseki, and to have set the standard for today's tea ceremony. In particular, in terms of utensils, he rejected the notion of famous items from the Muromachi period, and introduced new Korean and Seto tea bowls, and even showed his originality by ordering Raku Chojiro to create Raku tea bowls of the "Soeki style." He also created a tea ceremony space that was accompanied by a strong sense of tension and was out of the ordinary, such as by installing a nijiriguchi (a small opening in the tea room) and building a very small tea room of just two tatami mats. This kind of aesthetic sense of subjugation did not necessarily match the sensibilities of Hideyoshi, the ruler of Japan, and it is possible that this was one of the reasons for his seppuku. After Rikyu's seppuku, his second wife Soun's stepchild Sen Shoan and his son Sotan were allowed to revive the Sen family, and Rikyu's tea ceremony is inherited by the Sen family today. <References> Haga Koshiro, "Sen no Rikyu," Murai Yasuhiko, "Sen no Rikyu," Kumakura Isao, "Sen no Rikyu," Yonehara Masayoshi, "Tenkaichi Meijin Sen no Rikyu"

(Kumakura Isao)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：天正19.2.28(1591.4.21)
生年：大永2(1522)
桃山時代の茶人。幼名与四郎。号は宗易。利休居士号は天正13(1585)年に正親町天皇より下賜されたとされる。抛筌斎とも号した。もとの姓は田中で,堺の魚問屋田中与兵衛の子として生まれた。生年については大永1(1521)年の説もある。10歳代で武野紹鴎に茶の湯を学び,23歳で茶会を開いた記録が残り,青年時代から先達にまじって茶人としての才能をあらわした。永禄11(1568)年,織田信長が上洛し,茶の湯に対して異常なほどの興味を示して名物狩りをくりかえしたころ,信長の茶頭として津田宗及,今井宗久と共にとりたてられ,天下一の茶頭の地位を築いた。すでにその時代から茶の湯に執着していた豊臣秀吉との交渉もあり,天正10年,信長が本能寺の変で没して秀吉の天下となるや,ひきつづき秀吉の茶頭としての地位を保った。秀吉は信長にならって茶の湯を政治的に利用したがその演出者として常に利休がいた。天正13年,秀吉が正親町天皇に関白就任御礼の禁中献茶をおこなった際も親王以下には利休が茶をたてている。同15年には秀吉は西日本統一の戦果を誇るべく北野社境内において茶席数800という空前絶後の大茶会(北野大茶湯)を開くが,この演出も利休の手になるものであった。その他黄金の茶室の設計など,政治性をおびた茶の湯を支え,さらに秀吉の懐刀として政治的にも弟の羽柴秀長と共に活躍した。当然のことながら利休が政治的に秀吉政権に深くかかわった結果,天下の名物をわが物のように自由に用いることができ,茶の湯の黄金時代を築くことになったが,しかしその一方では政権内外での利休に対する反発も強まった。天正15年以降,堺の商業上の地位が博多に比して相対的に下がり,天下統一後をめざして戦国的な風潮や文化に対して厳しい政策へと転換してゆく秀吉政権のなかで,堺をバックとし,既成の美の権威を認めない利休の立場は次第に孤立していった。天正18年,秀吉の小田原攻略に従軍した利休は,韮山の竹で一重切花入「園城寺」(東京国立博物館蔵)などの名作をつくるなど,旺盛な創作意欲をみせた。しかし秀吉によって追放されて小田原にあった山上宗二の最期を見届ける悲劇にもあっている。天正19年正月になって,約1年前に利休が寄進した大徳寺山門が政治問題化し,その責任をとって同年2月28日切腹を命じられた。しかしその切腹の真の理由については利休の娘に秀吉が横恋慕したからであるとか諸説あって明らかでない。利休は村田珠光以来の侘び茶を大成し,茶会の形式,点前作法,茶道具,茶室露地,懐石のあらゆる面に独創的な工夫をこらし,今日の茶の湯の典型を示したとされる。ことに道具の面では室町時代の名物観を否定し,新しい高麗茶碗や瀬戸茶碗をとりあげ,さらに楽長次郎に命じて「宗易型」といわれる楽茶碗を創作するなど独創性をみせた。また茶室ににじり口を設け,2畳という極小の茶室をつくるなど,非日常性の強い緊張感をともなう茶の湯空間を創造している。こうした下剋上的な美意識は天下人秀吉の感性と必ずしも一致せず,それが切腹の一要件になった可能性はあろう。利休切腹後,後妻宗恩の連れ子千少庵とその子宗旦に千家の再興が許され,今日の千家に利休の茶の湯が継承されている。<参考文献>芳賀幸四郎『千利休』,村井康彦『千利休』,熊倉功夫『千利休』,米原正義『天下一名人千利休』

(熊倉功夫)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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