Sen no Rikyū (1522−1591)
Letter to Tomita Tomonobu
Ink on paper, hanging scroll
Dated the fourth day of the seventh month
With authentication by Kohitsu Ryoi and Kohitsu Ryoshin
28.2 x 41.5 cm
98 x 43 cm (overall)
Dated the fourth day of the seventh month
With authentication by Kohitsu Ryoi and Kohitsu Ryoshin
28.2 x 41.5 cm
98 x 43 cm (overall)
Literature
Kuwata, Tadachika. Teihon Rikyu no shokan. Tokyo: Tokyodo Shuppan, 1971.
It is a letter addressed to Tomita Tomonobu (d. 1599) from Sen no Rikyu, which is also known as Yamauba no fumi (letter of mountain witch), having been treasured generation by generation till today. Tomita Tomonobu, active in Azuchi-Momoyama period, served Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, excelling at political negotiations among clans. Mastered arts such as renga poetry and chanoyu tea ceremony, he also served Hideyoshi as otogi-shu, a professional attendant to the lord. Learned tea from Rikyu, Tomonobu was praised by his teacher as “[he will] stand out so long as keeping concentrated on this path.”
This letter is Rikyu’s response to Tomonobu, the host of the tea ceremony, revealing his admiration of Tomonobu’s aesthetics of wabi. In the letter, Rikyu simply stunned the atmosphere of the humble, thatched cottage as rustic as if the dwell of the mountain witch, and Tomonobu’s refined taste in tea. Tomi-sa, the name of the addressee, was abbreviated respectively from Motonobu’s surname, “Tomi-ta,” and his position since 1584, “Sa-kon,” or the left captain of the Imperial Guard. At the end of the letter, Rikyu signed Kyu, the latter character of the name “Ri-kyu” dubbed by the Emperor Ogimachi, indicating it was written after the tenth month, 1585. The letter between the two, who together served the military-political dictator Hideyoshi, indicates a side of the relationship through their cultivated tastes in arts at that time.
Sen no Rikyu (tea master; 1522−1591)
Also known as Yoshiro; Soeki; Hosensai.
Sakai-born Azuchi-momoyama period tea master. Studied the tea ceremony under Kitamuki Dochin and Takeno Jo’o. Became tea adviser to Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and accomplished wabicha, tea of refined and humble style. Dubbed the name of Rikyu-koji by the Emperor Ogimachi.
This letter is Rikyu’s response to Tomonobu, the host of the tea ceremony, revealing his admiration of Tomonobu’s aesthetics of wabi. In the letter, Rikyu simply stunned the atmosphere of the humble, thatched cottage as rustic as if the dwell of the mountain witch, and Tomonobu’s refined taste in tea. Tomi-sa, the name of the addressee, was abbreviated respectively from Motonobu’s surname, “Tomi-ta,” and his position since 1584, “Sa-kon,” or the left captain of the Imperial Guard. At the end of the letter, Rikyu signed Kyu, the latter character of the name “Ri-kyu” dubbed by the Emperor Ogimachi, indicating it was written after the tenth month, 1585. The letter between the two, who together served the military-political dictator Hideyoshi, indicates a side of the relationship through their cultivated tastes in arts at that time.
Sen no Rikyu (tea master; 1522−1591)
Also known as Yoshiro; Soeki; Hosensai.
Sakai-born Azuchi-momoyama period tea master. Studied the tea ceremony under Kitamuki Dochin and Takeno Jo’o. Became tea adviser to Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and accomplished wabicha, tea of refined and humble style. Dubbed the name of Rikyu-koji by the Emperor Ogimachi.