Omotesenke
Omotesenke (表åƒå®¶, lit. "front Sen house/family") is the name of one of the three houses or families (家) that count their family founder as Sen RikyÅ« and are dedicated to carrying forward the Way of Tea that he developed. The other two are Urasenke and MushakÅjisenke. The three are together referred to as the san-Senke (三åƒå®¶; lit, "three Sen houses/families"). The hereditary name of the head (iemoto) of this line of the family is SÅsa.
The Omotesenke estate, known by the name of its representative tea room, the "Fushin-an" (ä¸å¯©åºµ), was where Sen RikyÅ«'s son-in-law, Sen ShÅan, reestablished the Kyoto Sen household after RikyÅ«'s death. It is located on Ogawa street in the KamigyÅ ward of Kyoto. ShÅan's son SÅtan soon succeeded as the family heir and head of this estate. The next heir to the estate and family tradition was SÅtan's third son, KÅshin SÅsa, counted as the fourth generation in the Omotesenke family line. SÅtan, when he was ready to retire and gave the headship of the family over to KÅshin SÅsa, established his retirement quarters on adjacent property in the north, building a tiny tea room there, the "Konnichi-an" (今日庵). Eventually, SÅtan's youngest son, SensÅ SÅshitsu, inherited that part of the estate, which came to known as the home of the Urasenke.
There are small stylistic differences between the different schools. For example, the Omotesenke school whisks the tea less than the Urasenke school, creating less foam on the top of the tea. Also, Omotesenke uses both an untreated bamboo chasen and a susudake chasen, or darkened-bamboo tea whisk, while Urasenke uses untreated bamboo for its chasen or tea whisk.
The Fushin-an estate, where the 3rd generation, SÅtan, lived until retirement, is the home and headquarters of Omotesenke.
The Kitayama Kaikan in Kyoto is a relatively modern Omotesenke facility, where Omotesenke sponsors exhibitions, lectures, and other educational programs for the general public.
Licenses and course of study
Licenses or permissions are called kyojÅ (許状), menjÅ (å…状) or sÅden (相ä¼). They allow students to study certain tea procedures.
| License | Requirements | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| NyÅ«mon (入門 entrance） | Starting with warigeiko (å‰²ç¨½å¤ basics) and ryakutemae, basic light tea and thick tea and charcoal procedures and knowledge of Tea Ceremony | students can apply for NyÅ«mon immediately or soon after starting their studies. NyÅ«mon and Naraigoto can be applied for at the same time. |
| Naraigoto (習事 things to learn) | kumiawasedate, shikumidate, nagao, bonkÅgo, hanashomÅ, sumishomÅ | |
| Kazarimono (飾物 display) | jikukazari, tsubokazari, chairekazari, chawankazari, chashakukazari, daikazari, chasenkazari | |
| Satsūbako (茶通箱 tea box) | procedures using the Satsūbako | |
| Karamono (å”物 Chinese ware) | procedures using Chinese wares | -tea name -KÅshi (講師 teaching permission) |
| Daitenmoku (å°å¤©ç›®) | procedures using the tenmokudai | |
| Bonten (盆点) | procedures using a square tray | KyÅju (教授 professor) |
| Midarekazari (乱飾) | procedures using a daisu | |
| Shindaisu (真å°å formal tana) | procedures using a formal daisu |
Warigeiko
The first skills a student in any Tea school learns are the warigeiko, literally divided or separate training. The warigeiko are skills practiced separately from actual temae (tea or charcoal procedures); since they form the basis of temae, they must be acquired before a student begins making tea. They include:
- Basic tea room knowledge
- opening and closing sliding doors; walking in the tea room; how and where to sit; how and when to bow; basic guest behaviour including use of fans
- Fukusa
- folding, opening and handling the fukusa
- Natsume
- the natsume is the first type of tea container students learn to use. Skills include how to fill the container with tea; how to pick it up, hold it, and put it down; how to purify it
- Chashaku
- how to handle and purify the tea scoop
- Hishaku
- how to handle the ladle; special movements for hot and cold water
- Chasen
- how to handle the tea whisk; how to whisk tea
- Chakin
- how to fold the tea cloth; how to use it to clean the tea bowl
- Chawan
- how to handle the tea bowl as both a host and a guest
Generations
| Generation | Personal name | Buddhist name | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Rikyu SÅeki (1522-1591) | 利休 宗易 | HÅsensai | 抛çŒæ–Ž |
| 2nd | ShÅan SÅjun (1546-1614) | 少庵 å®—æ·³ | ||
| 3rd | Genpaku SÅtan (1578-1658) | 元伯 å®—æ—¦ | Totsutotsusai | 咄々斎 |
| 4th | KÅshin SÅsa (1613-1672) | 江岑 å®—å·¦ | HÅgensai | 逢æºæ–Ž |
| 5th | RyÅkyÅ« SÅsa (1650-1691) | 良休 å®—ä½ | ZuiryÅ«sai | éšæµæ–Ž |
| 6th | GensÅ SÅsa (1678-1730) | åŽŸåŸ å®—å·¦ | Kakkakusai | 覚々斎 |
| 7th | Ten'nen SÅsa (1705-1751) | 天然 å®—å·¦ | Joshinsai | 如心斎 |
| 8th | Ken'Å SÅsa (1744-1808) | ä»¶ç¿ å®—å·¦ | Sottakusai | å•å•„æ–Ž |
| 9th | KÅshuku SÅsa (1775-1825) | æ› å” å®—å·¦ | RyÅryÅsai | 了々斎 |
| 10th | ShÅÅ SÅsa (1818-1860) | ç¥¥ç¿ å®—å·¦ | KyÅ«kÅsai | å¸æ±Ÿæ–Ž |
| 11th | ZuiÅ SÅsa (1837-1910) | ç‘žç¿ å®—å·¦ | Rokurokusai | 碌々斎 |
| 12th | KeiÅ SÅsa (1863-1937) | æ•¬ç¿ å®—å·¦ | Seisai | 惺斎 |
| 13th | Mujin SÅsa (1901-1979) | 無盡 å®—å·¦ | SokuchÅ«sai | å³ä¸æ–Ž |
| 14th (current iemoto) | SÅsa (1938-) | å®—å·¦ | JimyÅsai | 而妙斎 |