Kogetsu Enshu School (壺月遠州流)
Kogetsu Enshu School, also referred to as Kogetsu Enshu's Zen School of Tea ceremony is one of various tea ceremony schools in Japan, and it branched off from Enshu School. It is a specified non-profit juridical person (NPO) in Japan.
Presently, the head family has a hermitage in Konan Ward, Yokohama City. The first head of the school was a Buddhist priest, Rokujian Rikan Kanko AOYAGI whose title was Chionin Temple sojo which means high-ranking priest of Chionin Temple (1894-1983).
He obtained the license as Grand Master from Munemasa KOMIYAMA, the advisor of Tea Ceremony of Enshu School in 1916. He reformed the things in disorder of those days and established the style which is based on the fundamental spirit of tea ceremony under the guidance of the Holy Priest Kaigyoku WATANABE (1872-1933).
The style is samurai's one focused on simplicity.
In this school, Zen spirit is carried out comprehensively, and redundancy is eliminated, which enables the unity of Buddhism and tea ceremony. It pursues art, skills and physical beauty based on rationalism in temae (tea serving method). It requires mentality in association with ascetic practices and traditional art performing.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), the first oriental Nobel Laureate in literature, became a disciple when the second head visited India in July, 1921 and worked as a lecturer about tea ceremony at a college.
The name, 'Kogetsu Enshu School' was named after the founder, Kaigyoku WATANABE Holy Priest, whose pseudonym was 'Kogetsu Teiyo.'
The head family is called 'Kogetsu Enshu's Zen School of Tea ceremony head family.'
Succesive Heads
Founder (the honorary 1st head) Kaigyoku WATANABE (the third principal of Shiba Gakuen, who suggested the name of beverage, Calpis, compiler of Taisho Shinshu Daizo-kyo Sutra, founder of Taisho University, professor of Toyo University)
The 2nd head Kanko AOYAGI (Rokujian Rikan)
The 3rd head Myomon NAKAMURA (Founder of Mt.Tento Butsubo-ji Temple, Rokujian Nyoko 1946-2005)
The 4th head Nyosen NAKAMURA (President of specified non-profit jiridical person Kogetsu Enshu's Zen School of Tea ceremony head family, 1973-)