Souji Yamagami

Japanese: 山上宗二 - やまのうえ・そうじ

Year of death: April 11, 1590 (May 14, 1590)
Year of birth: Tenbun 13 (1544)
A tea master from Sakai during the Azuchi-Momoyama period. A disciple of Sen no Rikyu. His family name was Satsuma-ya, and he was also known as Hyōan. He was the son of Sakai merchant Yamagami Sobeki. He began holding tea ceremonies around 1565. He first served Oda Nobunaga and attended his tea ceremonies. In 1574, he accompanied Nobunaga when he cut the agarwood orchid for Todaiji Temple in Nara. After Nobunaga's death, he served Toyotomi Hideyoshi and was involved in tea ceremonies. During that time, he became a ronin, but later returned. In October 1582, he served as the tea master at Toyotomi Hidenaga's tea ceremony in Nara, and then climbed Mount Koya. He stayed there for about a year, instructing the tea ceremony to the head priests of An'yō-in and Joju-in temples and others. In 1583, he went down to Odawara, relying on the Hojo clan. He taught the tea ceremony there. In the same year, he attended Hideyoshi's siege of Odawara, but incurred Hideyoshi's wrath and was executed by beheading. The secret book "Yamagami Sojiki" written by Soji is a valuable document that not only contains evaluations of representative tea utensils of the time, but also conveys Rikyu's tea ceremony. It is not clear when he began writing this book, but it is known that he had already given it to three people before ascending to Koyasan, and thereafter to around ten people by the time of his death. Most of the books have been passed down as copies, but "Yamagami Sojiki" (Omotesenke collection), addressed to Unshu Iwaya-ji Temple in February 1582, is thought to be a handwritten copy, and is highly regarded as a reliable source that gives us an insight into the state of affairs in the Azuchi-Momoyama period, when the tea ceremony was at its most popular. <References> "Japanese Tea Books" (Heibonsha Toyo Bunko)

(Akio Tanihata)

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

Japanese:

没年：天正18.4.11(1590.5.14)
生年：天文13(1544)
安土桃山時代の堺の茶人。千利休の高弟。屋号薩摩屋。瓢庵と号した。堺の商人山上宗壁の子。永禄8(1565)年ごろから茶会を行う。初め織田信長に仕えてその茶会に参仕。天正2(1574)年には信長による奈良東大寺の沈香蘭奢待の切り取りにも同行した。信長の没後,豊臣秀吉に仕えて茶事に従事。その間,浪人するが復帰。天正14年10月,奈良で行われた豊臣秀長の茶会に茶頭を勤めたのを最後として高野山に登る。1年ほど滞在して安養院,成就院住職などに茶の湯を指南。16年,小田原の北条氏をたよって下向。その地で茶の湯を指導。同18年秀吉の小田原攻めに伺候したが,勘気に触れて斬刑に処せられた。宗二によって記された秘伝書『山上宗二記』は,当時の代表的茶道具の評価を記すとともに,利休の茶の湯を伝えるものとして貴重な文献となっている。この伝書をいつごろから記し始めていたのかはっきりしないが,高野山に登る以前,すでに3人に与えており,以降,没年までに10人前後に与えたことが知られている。ほとんどが写本として伝えられているが,天正16年2月に雲州岩屋寺に宛てられた『山上宗二記』(表千家蔵)は自筆本と考えられており,茶の湯の最も盛んであった安土桃山時代のありさまを知ることのできる信頼性のある資料として,その評価はすこぶる高い。<参考文献>『日本の茶書』(平凡社東洋文庫)

(谷端昭夫)

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