#3 The Main Styles of Sadou

 There are three major styles in Japanese tea ceremony. Omote-Senke, Ura-Senke and Musyakouji-Senke. They called San-Senke, which means three Sen family. 

Fushin-an　cf.http://www.omotesenke.com

　Omote-Senke is the head style of three Sen family. The originator is Sen no Rikyu. This style was born after Rikyu's death. To tell the truth, A style of the origin became the head family as a result that two different styles were created from the tea ceremony that Rikyu made. It is children of Sen Sotan - the third head of Sen family- that they made Three Sen family. In the case of Omote-Senke, it is Sen Sosa who is the third son of Sen Sotan to have succeeded birthright. The Omote Senke estate, known by the name of its representative tea room, the Fushin-an, was where Sen no Rikyu's son-in-low, Sen Shoan, reestablished the Kyoto Sen household after Rikyu's death. It is located on Ogawa street in the Kamigyo word of Kyoto.

Konnichi-an

  

　Ura-Senke was made by Sen Sositu who is the fourth son of Sen Sotan. After having been retired, Sen Sotan prepared a new tea room into the back of Fushin-an. The name of tea room is Konnichi-an. When de died, his son Sositu succeeded the tea room, and Sositu made a new style of the tea ceremony. That is just Ura-Senke. Ura means back in japanese. Then why is that Ura? Because Konnichi-an was built at the back of Fushin-an ! Ura-Senke is now the most famous style of tea ceremony.

Kankyu-an

  Musyakouji-Senke's originator is the second son Ichiou Sosyu. Originally he adopted into other family. But when he was about 60, he backed to Sen family.　In later years of Sotan, Sosyu made his tea room. As a result that he talked with his father, the name of the tea room became Kankyu-an. Sosyu's another name is Jikyusai, mean "similar to Rikyu". He was a master of tea ceremony who pursued Rikyu most.

 These are the most famous styles of tea ceremony. But there are more styles. However, there is one thing which is common regardless styles of tea ceremony. That is heart to love tea. Through drinking tea, we can talk easily each other and forget the noise of the world. Once-in-a-lifetime chance - this is Rikyu's words. It is the essence of the tea ceremony to take good care of the encounter with the person , and to spend that time pleasantly.