Sen no Rikyū

Seeking always to be in harmony with the great rhythm of the universe, they were ever prepared to enter the unknown.

The last tea of Rikyū will stand forth forever as the acme of tragic grandeur.

Long had been the friendship between Rikyū and the Taikō Hideyoshi, and high the estimation in which the great warrior held the tea-master.

But the friendship of a despot is ever a dangerous honor.

It was an age rife with treachery, and men trusted not even their nearest kin.

Rikyū was no servile courtier, for he had often dared to differ in argument with his fierce patron.

Taking advantage of the coldness which had for some time existed between the Taikō and Rikyū, the enemies of the latter accused him of being implicated in a conspiracy to poison the despot.

It was whispered to Hideyoshi that the fatal potion was to be administered to him with a cup of the green beverage prepared by the tea-master.

There are several incidents which show him to have seemingly changed.

He ordered Sen no Rikyu, a famous tea ceremony master, to commit suicide.

Sen no Rikyu was tea master to both Hideyoshi and Nobunaga, and had become a close confidant and advisor to Hideyoshi, So it isn't necessarily a sign of insanity, but it is often noted how he regretted the decision later, and even mentioned that he hoped a palace he was building would have been to send no Ryoku's liking.

His own son had died very young in 1591, and he named his nephew Hidetsugu as his heir in 1592.

Hidetsugu, however, was poorly suited to rule and paid attention only to his own pleasure and cruelty towards others.

The ideals of theism have, since the sixteenth century, influenced our architecture to such a degree that the ordinary Japanese interior of the present day, on account of the extreme simplicity and chasteness of its scheme of decoration, appears to foreigners almost barren.

The first independent tearoom was the creation of Senno Souyaki, commonly known by his later name of Rikyu, the greatest of all tea masters who in the 16th century, under the patronage of Taiko Hideyoshi, instituted and brought to a high state of perfection the formalities of the tea ceremony.

The proportions of the tea room had been previously determined by Zhou Wo, a famous tea master of the 15th century.

The early tea room consisted merely of a portion of the ordinary drawing room, partitioned off by screens for the purpose of the tea gathering.

Great was the ingenuity displayed by the tea masters in producing these efforts of serenity and purity.

The nature of the sensations to be aroused in passing through the roji differed with different tea masters.

Some, like Rikyu, aimed at utter loneliness and claimed the secret of making a roji was contained in the ancient ditty.

I looked beyond, flowers are not, nor tinted leaves on the sea beach.

I have to say, I really have problems with the idea of things continuing to fall apart.

There's a famous story about Zen master Sen no Rikyu, who told his son Shoan to clean the garden path.

Shoan swept, washed, and groomed it until not a twig or leaf remained.

Rikyu said this was wrong, whereupon he shook a tree, scattering autumn leaves all over the path.

The ideals of theism have, since the sixteenth century, influenced our architecture to such a degree that the ordinary Japanese interior of the present day, on account of the extreme simplicity and chasteness of its scheme of decoration, appears to foreigners almost barren.

The first independent tea room was the creation of Senno Soeki, commonly known by his later name of Rikyu, the greatest of all tea masters who in the 16th century, under the patronage of Taiko Hideyoshi, instituted and brought to a high state of perfection the formalities of the tea ceremony.

The proportions of the tea room had been previously determined by Zhou Wo, a famous tea master of the 15th century.

The early tea room consisted merely of a portion of the ordinary drawing room, partitioned off by screens for the purpose of the tea gathering.

Great was the ingenuity displayed by the tea masters in producing these efforts of serenity and purity.

The nature of the sensations to be aroused in passing through the roji differed with different tea masters.

Some, like Rikyu, aimed at utter loneliness and claimed the secret of making a roji was contained in the ancient ditty.

I looked beyond, flowers are not, nor tinted leaves on the sea beach.

The ideals of teaism have, since the 16th century, influenced our architecture to such a degree that the ordinary Japanese interior of the present day, on account of the extreme simplicity and chasteness of its scheme of decoration, appears to foreigners almost barren.

The first independent tea room was the creation of Senno Soeki, commonly known by his later name of Rikyu, the greatest of all tea masters who in the 16th century, under the patronage of Taiko Hideyoshi, instituted and brought to a high state of perfection the formalities of the tea ceremony.

The proportions of the tea room had been previously determined by Jowo, a famous tea master of the 15th century.

The early tea room consisted merely of a portion of the ordinary drying room, partitioned off by screens for the purpose of the tea gathering.

Great was the ingenuity displayed by the tea-masters in producing these efforts of serenity and purity.

The nature of the sensations to be aroused in passing through the roji differed with different tea-masters.

Some, like Rikyu, aimed at utter loneliness and claimed the secret of making a roji was contained in the ancient ditty, I looked beyond, flowers are not, nor tinted leaves on the sea-beach.

A solitary cottage stands in the waiting light of an autumn eve.