Uraku school (有楽流)

Uraku school (Uraku-ryu) is one of the various schools of sado started by Nagamasu ODA (Urakusai), who was the real younger brother of Nobunaga ODA.

It was enjoyed among the families belonging to the Shibamura clan of Yamato Province, a lineage of Nagamasu's fourth son Nagamasa ODA (Daimyo - Japanese feudal lord), and the Yanagimoto clan of Yamato Province, a lineage of Nagamasu's fifth son Naonaga ODA. At present, the descendant of Nagamasa is regarded as Soke (the head family). The one passed to Nagamasu's second son Yorinaga ODA, Yorinaga's first son Nagayoshi ODA and Nobunaga's grandson Sadaoki ODA is called the Sadaoki school after the generation of Sadaoki. Furthermore, a school named the Bishu-Uraku school was passed down in families belonging to the Nagoya clan of Owari Province, which took on Sadamoto ODA, Sadaoki's nephew, and the school still continues to exist to the present day.

History
The founder of the Uraku school, Nagamasu ODA, was the younger brother of Nobunaga ODA, and after the Honnoji Incident, Nagamasu first served Nobukatsu ODA, who was the second son of Nobunaga, and realized the compromise of the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute, and after Nobukatsu was punished by being deprived of his fief, Nagamasu served Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI, and after Hideyoshi died, Nagamasu served Ieyasu TOKUGAWA. At Osaka Fuyu no Jin (Winter Siege of Osaka), he stood for Osaka Castle and negotiated for a compromise, and when the compromise was realized, he lived in Kyoto in retirement. As chajin (a man of tea), he studied under Joo TAKENO, and it is known that he was involved in tea from around the Honnoji Incident. It is supposed that he named himself as Urakusai after he started serving Hideyoshi. He is sometimes added to the seven disciples of Rikyu, but while the seven disciples were handed down the daisu (a display stand for tea ceremony utensils) by Hideyoshi, Urakusai was handed down by Rikyu directly in the presence of Hideyoshi, and this indicates that Urakusai was treated as special. His style of tea ceremony first considers 'hosting the guest' as important, and then second, values creating originality and ingenuity by following and studying ancestors. Joan, the teahouse, located at Kyoto's Kennin-ji Shoden-in Temple, rebuilt as a retreat for his golden years, is a landmark.

Urakusai's cha (tea) was passed on to his second son Yorinaga ODA, his fourth son Nagamasa ODA (Daimyo), his fifth son Naonaga ODA, and so on. His territory of 30,000 koku (approximately 5.4 million liters of crop yield) in Yamato Province dealt out 10,000 koku to Nagamasa and Naonaga respectively, and the rest was kept by Urakusai as his retirement stipend. It seems that Nagamasu intended to demise the remaining territory to Yorinaga, but Yorinaga predeceased Nagamasu in 1621, and Nagamasu got custody of Yorinaga's first son Nagayoshi ODA, but the Shogunate did not allow Nagayoshi to inherit the territory. Nagayoshi became famous as chajin, but he did not have any children. He died in 1651, and his lineage ended.

Sadaoki ODA was the second son of Nobusada ODA, who was the ninth son of Nobunaga ODA, and was Hatamoto (direct retainer of the shogun) holding 10,000 koku (180.39 cubic meters) as his territory, and after the death of Nagayoshi ODA, Sadaoki inherited the Uraku school and had many disciples as koke (privileged family under Tokugawa Shogunate). The pedigree record of Sadaoki is sometimes exceptionally refers to the Sadaoki school. The Sadaoki family lasted until the end of the Edo period as Koke-Hatamoto. Sadaoki's nephew Sadamoto ODA served the Nagoya clan of Owari Province and passed down the Uraku school, and it was continued by sado people (people in charge of the tea ceremony) including successive Suya HIRAO and the Kasuya family until the end of the Edo period. It still remains as the Bishu-Uraku school even now.

On the other hand, Nagamasa became the 10,000-koku daimyo of the Shibamura clan of Yamato Province and Naonaga became the 10,000-koku daimyo of the Yanagimoto clan of Yamato Province, and both lasted as Goryu schools until the end of the Edo period, and after the Restoration, too, they remained as viscount families. After the Restoration, the Uraku school also declined as other schools of Buke sado (the tea ceremony of samurai family) did, but after Showa period began, the Uraku school was reestablished, approving Shibamura-Oda family as the head family.

[Original Japanese]