Sekishu-ryu School (石州流)
Sekishu-ryu is a general term for the various tea ceremony schools that regard Sadamasa (Sekishu) KATAGIRI as an original founder. There are various groups within the Sekishu-ryu, divided into several schools according to the original traditional geneaology, or by area. Some groups respect the Katagiri family as grand master, some groups regard Jiko-in Temple as the origin of the school, and others continue independently. Also, some groups regard the Korinan in Hoshun-in Temple, which is the Katagiri family temple, as their origin.
History
Sadamasa KATAGIRI (Sekishu) was the lord of the Yamato-Koizumi Domain worth 13,000 koku, and also held the post of Fushin-bugyo (shogunate official responsible for public works). From the time of his restoration of Chion-in Temple, his construction skills were highly regarded. He learned tea ceremony from Sadaharu KUWAYAMA, who was a disciple of SEN no Doan. One of Sekishu's students was Masayuki HOSHINA, who was a younger half-brother to the third Shogun, Iemitsu TOKUGAWA. On Masayuki's recommendation, Sekishu became the tea ceremony instructor to the fourth Shogun, Ietsuna TOKUGAWA. The Sekishu-ryu, as the tea ceremony of the shogunate, continued to grow throughout the Edo period.
Katagiri Family
Sadafusa KATAGIRI, the third son of Sekishu, inherited the Yamato-Koizumi Domain but not the post of tea ceremony instructor for the shogunate. From the fact that Sogen FUJIBAYASHI's descendants moved from the Katagiri family to the Honjo family (see below), it is believed that the Katagiri family for a time lost interest in the tradition of tea ceremony. The eighth lord, Sadanobu KATAGIRI, was known as a master of the tea ceremony and is said to have founded the Shin-Sekishu-ryu (New Sekishu-ryu School), which included elements from the Edo Senke School. However, it appears the Shin-Sekishu School was not handed down to future generations.
In the early Showa period, Hidemitsu MIZUTA, the owner of the Koizumi mansion, attempted to unite the various Sekishu schools, centering on Viscount Sadao KATAGIRI, the head of the Katagiri family. As a result, after the war, the Korinan Foundation and a grand master system with the Katagiri family as Soke (the head family or house) were established. The 15th head of the Katagiri family, Sadayasu KATAGIRI, received instruction from Sotatsu ISAWA.
The first son of Sekishu, Nobutaka SHIMOJO (1624 - 1716), who was born out of wedlock, was made a hatamoto (direct retainer of the shogun) with 1,000 koku. The Sekishu-ryu School had been handed down from father to son, but Soen KATAGIRI (1774 - 1864), the seventh head since Sekishu, imparted the tradition to Soryu KAJI. Not only the tea ceremony, but also kado flower arranging and bonseki (stones arranged on a tray, which express a natural view) had been handed down till Soen's time, but were then divided. Soryu KAJI imparted the Sekishu-ryu School to Sowa ISOGAI (1854 - 1940) after the Meiji Restoration, and it spread throughout Tokyo. This style is called the Sekishu-ryu Soen-kei-ha branch. This branch then split into two, the Sekishu-ryu Soen-kei-ha and the Sekishu-ryu Katagiri Soen-ha.
Sekishu's younger brother, Sadaharu KATAGIRI, was made a hatamoto with 3,000 koku. His descendent, Soyu KATAGIRI, was known as a master of the tea ceremony; however, there is no pedigree record of a tea school after him.
Lineage of Sogen FUJIBAYASHI
Sogen FUJIBAYASHI (1608 - 1695) was a close adviser of Sekishu and became a chief retainer of the Koizumi Domain.
He studied with Sekishu under Sosen KUWAYAMA
Even though Sogen was the same generation as Sekishu, he lived 20 years longer than Sekishu and served to spread the Sekishu-ryu School at an early stage. His style is called the Fujibayashi-ryu school or the Sogen-ha branch.
The style of Sogen FUJIBAYASHI was handed down among the retainers of the Katagiri family and in the mi-Edo period, it was passed to Sokei HONJO, yoriki (a police sergeant) to the Osaka Commissioner of Guns. Since then, it has been handed down to the present with the Honjo family as grand masters. This lineage in particular is called the "Ko-sekishu-ryu" or Old Sekishu School. This name is said to have come from the rivalry with the 'Shin-Sekishu-ryu School,' which had been founded by the eighth lord of Koizumi Domain, Sadanobu KATAGIRI, by adding elements of the Edo Senke School to the Sekishu-ryu School.
Kansai ONISHI, who was a student of Sogen FUJIBAYASHI and a retainer of the Katagiri family, became a teacher of the tea ceremony in Osaka after Sekishu died. Shoo OGUCHI (1689 - 1764) became a student of Kansai and married into the Onishi family but was expelled and started his own branch. His style is called the Oguchi-ha branch.
Since the appointment of Sho OGUCHI's student, Tsunan HAYASHI (林津南), as the Sadokata (tea master) of Tottori Domain, the Hayashi family has taught the Oguchi-ha style in Tottori. The current Oguchi-ha dates from the end of Edo period, when Tsuneho HAYASHI gave instructions to Koitsu OGAWA(date of birth unknown - 1910). In Tottori, the Oguchi-ha spread because Sada FURUTA, who was a student of Koitsu OGAWA, founded Tottori Gigei Jogakko (Tottori girls' school of practical art, now Tottori Keiai High School) and taught tea ceremony as a subject. Sogiku TODA, who was also a student of Koitsu, taught Oguchi-ha group in Kyoto, from where it spread to Osaka. The teaching of Ryotaro MAEDA, another of Koitsu's students, is popular in Tokyo and Kansai. The Oguchi-ha branch has spread from Kansai to Akita. Currently, the chief priest of Hoshun-in Temple, as Grand Master, teaches the Oguchi-ha.
Style of Dokan SHIMIZU
Dokan SHIMIZU (清水動閑, 1614 - 1691) was a grandson of Dokan SHIMIZU (清水道閑), master of the tea ceremony for the Lord of Sendai Domain, Masamune DATE. After inheriting the position of master of the tea ceremony and taking the name Dokan (written as 道閑, 道漢), the fourth Lord of Sendai Domain, Tsunamura DATE, named him Dokan (written as 動閑). On Tsunamura's orders, he entered the Sekishu-ryu School and, after receiving instruction in the secret art, he returned to Sendai. His style is generally called the Shimizu-ha branch.
Dokan gave his student, Dosai BABA (1662 - 1737), the name Dokan SHIMIZU the third and had him take over as master of the tea ceremony. On Tsunamura's orders, Dokan the third received instruction from Shigenobu (Tensho) MATSURA and Sogen FUJIBAYASHI, who were Sekishu's best students. From then on, the Shimizu family served Sendai Domain as masters of the tea ceremony and continued passing it down after the Meiji Restoration. Dokan's real son, Kaikan SHIMIZU (1651 - 1716), was a medical doctor, but he also taught the tea ceremony on private occasions at the home of the Date family and his family handed down the Sekishu Shimizu School. While the Dokan family performed the official tea ceremony of the domain, the Kaikan family performed it on private occasions, receiving instruction from the Dokan family.
Sankinkotai (a system under which feudal lords in the Edo period were required to spend every other year in residence in Edo) meant the Dokan SHIMIZU family began practicing in Edo, leading to the spread of the Shimizu-ha branch among the hatamoto, as well as to other domains. Tanomo SAITO (1670 - 1716), who was a hatamoto with 5000 koku and a student of Dokan SHIMIZU the third, is a key person for the Shimizu-ha branch in various regions around the country. During the reign of Yoritaka MATSUDAIRA, who was the fifth Lord of Takamatsu Domain, Gozaemon KATAYAMA (片山五左衛門) learned the tea ceremony from Tanomo SAITO and introduced the Shimizu-ha branch to Takamatsu Domain. In the Meiji period, it was spread to Gunma. In Tosa Domain, the styles of Koheiji TAKAHATA and Izan UEMURA were mixed together and have been handed down to the present. Koheiji TAKAHATA learned the tea ceremony from Tanomo SAITO and introduced it during the reign of Toyonobu YAMAUCHI, the eighth Lord of Tosa Domain. The tea master Izan UEMURA learned the tea ceremony from Michishige NAKAGAWA, who was a student of Dokan SHIMIZU the sixth. In the Meiji period, it spread to Hiroshima, then to Tokyo and Kumamoto. In Mito Domain, the Shimizu-ha branch was introduced by Sohaku TANAKA, who had learned it from Dokan SHIMIZU the fourth during the reign of Harumori TOKUGAWA, the sixth Lord of Mito Domain. It has been handed down to the present day, while becoming mixed with the Chinshin-ryu School.
Other branches of the Sekishu Shimizu School include the Kajun-ha in Tokyo, which has been handed down in the Tanimura family. Its first grand master was Saniku TANIMURA, who studied under Dokan SHIMIZU the third. Two unique styles, that of Sokyo ASADA, who learned the Ko-Sekishu School first and then the Shimizu-ha branch from Toen NOZAKI, and the style of Sotatsu IZAWA (1891 - 1972), who was Sokyo's student, are both descended from the Shimizu-ha branch. Sotatsu IZAWA's style, especially, has been handed down in the Katagiri grand master family.
Style of Yasumori NOMURA
Yasumori NOMURA (野村休盛) (1642 - 1711) was born into a family which served as the head of the tea ceremony group for the Tokugawa Shogunate family. It is said that he became Sekishu's pupil because the Shogunate family changed from the Enshu School to Sekishu School. Towards the end of Edo period, the Shimizu-ha was taken over by the Nomura family. This style is called the Sekishu-ryu Nomura-ha branch. Unlike the Ikei-ha (see below), which was spread extensively by the Isa family, who held the positon Osukiya Gashira in charge of the Shogun's tea rooms, the Nomura-ha was not spread so widely by the Nomura family, who were heads of the tea ceremony.
The Nomura-ha began to be practiced in Akita Domain after the fifth lord of the domain, Yoshimine SATAKE, received instruction from Hidekatsu Yasumori NOMURA. After the Meiji Restoration, Houn NARUSE, a top student of Shingoro SUGAWARA, who was a purveyor of the Satake family, taught the Nomura-ha in Tokyo, where it split into the Sekishu-ryu Naruse-ha, the Sekishu-ryu Rinsenji-ha and the Sekishu-ryu Kokando-ha branches. The Nomura-ha is also taught in Niigata.
Style of Soetsu IKEI
Soetsu IKEI (1644 - 1714) was a high priest, who served as the 253rd head priest of Daitoku-ji Temple before returning to Tokyo and serving at Shoun-ji Temple in Hiro and Tokai-ji Temple (Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo Metropolitan Area). After Sogen FUJIBAYASHI died, Soetsu wrote "Sekishu-ryu Sanbyakukajo Chukai (Notes on the 300 articles of the Sekishu-ryu School)" and played a key role in propagating Sekishu school across the country. His style is generally called the Ikei-ha branch. Kotaku ISA the first (1684 - 1745) was a top student of Soetsu IKEI and was conferred full-mastership. He and the next four generations, as Osukiya Gashira of the Edo bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun) taught the Ikei-ha.
Echigo-Shibata Domain had supported the Ikei-ha since Shigekatsu MIZOGUCHI, the fourth lord of the domain, received instruction from Soetsu IKEI and from the time of the eighth lord, Naoyasu MIZOGUCHI, the domain had an 'osado' (tea master) who received instruction from the Isa family. The tenth lord of the domain, Naoaki MIZOGUCHI, in particular, was fascinated by the tea ceremony, receiving esoteric instruction and taking the name Echigo-Ikei-ha. The person who initiated Naoaki into the secrets of the Sekishu-ryu school was Kyuha ABE (1748 - 1853) and his style became the present-day Sekishu-ryu Ikeikai tea ceremony.
Aizu Domain had supported the Sekishu-ryu School since 1643, when Masayuki HOSHINA was the lord. His grandson, Masakata MATSUDAIRA, who was the third lord of the Aizu Domain, made his retainer, Rinsei IIZUKA (1677 - 1751), study under Soetsu IKEI; thus this lineage was called the Aizu-Ikei-ha branch. After the end of Edo period, the Morikawa family, an old samurai family who had turned to selling medicines, became the main teachers of the Aizu-Ikei-ha to citizens. The Morikawa family moved 'Rinkaku,' the tea room built by SEN no Shoan, to prevent it from being burnt down in fighting. At present, the Aizu-Ikei-ha is part of the Katagiri Grand Master family group.
At the end of the Edo period, Kotaku ISA the fourth died while Kotaku ISA the fifth was young, therefore Kotaku the fifth received instruction from Muneo YAMAMOTO (1818 - 1880), a disciple of Kyuha ABE. After the Meiji Restoration, Muneo YAMAMOTO started teaching the tea ceremony using the Ikei-ha name. When the fifth generation of the Isa family stopped its involvement in the tea ceremony after the Meiji Restoration, Munenaga SODEYAMA (1853 - 1932), a former student of theirs, took over and taught it as the Sekishu-ryu Isa-ha.
Other
Cloistered Imperial Prince Gyonen (1602 - 1661), the sixth son of Emperor Goyozei, became the head priest of Myoho-in Temple and Tendai-zasu (chief priest of the Tendai sect), was well versed in the tea ceremony and received instruction in 'Ichijo han no Denju (initiation of one and half tatami mats)' from Sekishu. Takatada TAKAYA, the steward of Myoho-in Temple, and his descendents handed down the tea ceremony, which is called the Sekishuan or Ouchi-ha branch.
Shigenobu (Tensho) MATSURA (1622 - 1703) was the fourth Lord of Hirado Domain and learned the tea ceremony from Sekishu. Shigenobu also made his retainers learn the tea ceremony from Sowa KANAMORI, and arrived at his own tea ceremony style studying Ichio school and Furuichi school. His style was handed down in the Toyota family till the end of Edo period when the Matsura family became the master family again and the name was changed to the Chinshin-ryu School.
Kikaku TAKARAI (1661 - 1707) was a disciple of Basho MATSUO and was well-known as a poet of seventeen-syllable verse and a calligrapher. He was also well versed in the tea ceremony. The Soyo-ha is practiced in Tochigi. The Kikakudo-ha is practiced centering on Gunma Prefecture.
Fumai MATSUDAIRA (1751 - 1818), who was the seventh Lord of Matsue Domain, learned the Icho-ryu first and then received instruction in the Ikei-ha from Kotaku ISA the third and developed his own tea ceremony style. This style was handed down in the Arisawa family, chief retainers of the Matsue Domain, is called the Fumai-ryu School, while the version passed on in the sub-domain of Mori by Choko FUJII's family, who were tea masters of Matsue Domain, is called the Sekishu-ryu Fumai-ha branch. There is also another style which was handed down by descendents of the lord of Matsue Domain.
Naosuke II (1815 - 1860) was the 15th Lord of Hikone Domain and served as Tairo (chief minister) to the Tokugawa Shogunate. A youinger son with an income of 300 bales, he was not expected to become lord and it is believed this is when he started the Sekishu-ryu. He asked detailed questions to Soen KATAGIRI and documents show he was considered a first class tea master. Sakon UTSUGI, who was Naosuke's retainer, started teaching the tea ceremony after the Meiji Restoration and his restored style is called the Ichie-ryu School.
Sekishu-ryu Masumi School (Jiko-in Sekishu-ryu school)
Genealogy
Lineage of the Katagiri Grand Master family