Art Creation Theory 18 "What are the Ten Sen Craftsmen?"
What are the Ten Senke Craftsmen? ──The History and Present of the Craftsmen Supporting the Tea Ceremony
Those who are deeply involved in the world of tea ceremony or those who have just begun training may have heard the name "Senke Jishoku."
The "Ten Senke Craftsmen" refers to the ten artisan families (artisans) that support the three Sen schools of today: Omotesenke, Urasenke, and Mushakojisenke. However, surprisingly, the term only became established in modern times. During the Edo period, there were not only ten schools, and the number of schools increased and decreased.
This article will provide a detailed explanation of the history and roles of the "Senke Ten Craftsmen," as well as the tea utensils made by each of them. It's a lengthy read, but it should provide new discoveries for anyone interested in the tea ceremony or traditional Japanese crafts.
1. The Three Sen Schools and Rikyu-style Tools
The Establishment of the Three Sen Schools
There are many schools of tea ceremony, but the one that is most central is the "Sansenke." The Sansenke refers to the three schools that branched off from Sen Sotan (1578–1658), the grandson of Sen no Rikyu (1522–1591).
- Omotesenke
- Urasenke
- Mushanokoji Senke
Tools that Rikyu liked
As the name suggests, the Sansenke schools conduct their tea ceremonies and lessons using tea utensils associated with Rikyu, commonly known as "Rikyu-gonomi." For example,
- "Raku tea bowls" with a unique silhouette and presence
- Small and easy to handle Natsume (jujube)
- Tea scoops, which are stripped of unnecessary decoration, are widely known as tools that reflect the wabi-sabi spirit of the tea ceremony.
However, there were only a limited number of craftsmen with the skills to faithfully reproduce and improve on these "Rikyu-style" tools. Therefore, Sen Sotan instructed and trained motivated craftsmen to preserve Rikyu's tea style. This resulted in the creation of "Senke Craftsmen," who would later come to be known as the "Senke Ten Craftsmen."
2. The origin and history of the Ten Sen Craftsmen
Training craftsmen by Sotan
In order to carry on the spirit of the tea ceremony of his grandfather, Sen no Rikyu, Sen Sotan personally instructed a select number of craftsmen on how to recreate "Rikyu's preferences" and how to innovate on the shapes of the tea utensils. He had all the tools needed for the tea ceremony, from kettles, tea bowls, and tea caddies to ladles, incense containers, mountings, and bags, made by craftsmen with connections to the Sen family.
Fixation of the "ten professions"
Initially, the number of artisans varied from eight to twelve, but from the late Edo period to the Meiji period, the roles of the head of the school in ceremonies and annual memorial services became more clearly defined, and the family titles gradually became more fixed.Then, during the Taisho period, the term "Senke Jusaku" came to be widely used at exhibitions at department stores (Mitsukoshi) and other events, and has remained in use to this day.
3. The Ten Craftsmen of the Sen Family - Ten Craftsmen and Their Work
The ten families (artisans) listed below are currently known as the "Senke Jusoku." After briefly summarizing the roles each plays, we will look more closely at the history and characteristics of each family.
1. Tea bowl maker: Raku Kichizaemon
Main tools: 2 Raku tea bowls. Tea kettle maker: Seiemon Onishi.
Main tools: Tea kettle, iron kettle 3 Lacquerer: Nakamura Sotetsu
Main tools: Lacquer-coated tea caddies, incense containers, etc. 4. Joiner: Komazawa Risai
Main tools: Tea box, shelf 5 Hardware craftsman: Nakagawa Joeki
Main tools: 6 items including water pitcher, fire tongs, water pitcher, metal incense holder, etc. Bag maker: Yuko Tsuchida
Main tools: Shifuku, Fukusa, Sukiya bag 7 Mounting artist: Kichibei Okumura
Main tools: hanging scroll, brazier screen, paper kettle mat 8 Ikkanbari craftsman: Hiki Ikkan
Main tools: Ikkanbari Natsume (a traditional Japanese tea container), incense holder 9 Bamboo crafts and ladle maker: Kuroda Shogen
Main tools: Tea scoop, ladle, bamboo flower vase, incense holder, etc.
10 Earthenware stove and potter: Nishimura (Eiraku) Zengoro
Main tools: Earthenware stove, tea bowls, Kyoto ware in general
4. History and characteristics of each craftsman
4-1. Tea bowl maker: Raku Kichizaemon
The Raku family (Raku Yoshizaemon), known for their "Raku tea bowls," has an especially long history among the Ten Craftsmen of the Sen family. The first generation, Chojiro, based his ideas on Sen no Rikyu and established a new pottery technique called "Raku ware," which involves kneading the pottery by hand and shaping it with a spatula without using a potter's wheel. It is said that the origin of the Raku family was when Toyotomi Hideyoshi bestowed the character "Raku" from Jurakudai on the family.
His successors have inherited the name "Kichizaemon" from generation to generation, while developing their works with each era, and in 2019, the 16th generation took over the name. The Raku family's unique black and red glazes, as well as the profound yet elegant tea bowls, are still beloved today as the quintessence of "Rikyu's taste."
4-2. Kettle maker: Seiemon Onishi
The Onishi family is a family of Kyoto kettle makers that has been around for over 400 years since the late Muromachi period. They have a workshop and the Onishi Seiemon Museum in Sanjo Kamanza, Kyoto, and the 16th generation Seiemon is currently the head of the family. They cast kettles and iron kettles for tea ceremonies, and during the Edo period they delivered many to the shogunate and feudal lords. The kettle is central to the tea ceremony, and the Onishi family's skills in combining functionality and beauty, such as stability when placed on the fire and the boiling water, are highly regarded by tea masters.
4-3. Lacquer artist: Nakamura Sotetsu
The Nakamura family is a family of lacquer artists that has continued for about 400 years. It is said that the family began when the first Nakamura Hachibei, who inherited the tradition of lacquer artists from the foster family of Ichio Soshu, the second son of Sen Sotan, took the name "Sotetsu." The family handled all types of lacquerware, but after the Meiji period, they deepened their career as lacquer artists specializing in tea ceremony utensils. In addition to the lustrous beauty of lacquer on items such as tea caddies, incense containers, and hearth rims, many of their works excel in decorative techniques such as maki-e and raden, and they have been affectionately known by the name of Sotetsu for generations. In recent years, the 13th female head of the family has taken on the name, writing a new page in the family's history.
4-4. Joiner: Komazawa Risai
Sashimono is a unique Japanese woodworking technique that combines wood with minimal use of nails or metal fittings. The Komazawa family was established in the early Edo period, during the Enpo era (1673-1681), by the founder, Sogen, and the fourth head of the family was given the name "Risai" by Kakukakusai, the sixth head of the Omotesenke school. In addition to shelves and tea boxes, there were also heads of the family who produced incense containers and hearth rims, and who were highly acclaimed as lacquers. The name has been vacant since the 14th head passed away in 1977, but it is expected to be revived as his nephew is currently training.
4-5. Ironmonger: Nakagawa Jyoeki
The Nakagawa family is a family of metalworkers, and legend has it that the first head, Shoeki, made a kettle for Rikyu. From the second head onwards, the family took on the name "Joeki" and honed their skills in casting and hammering iron, copper, tin, and other metalwork. Metalwork items such as water containers, fire tongs, water jugs, and metal clamps are used in various aspects of the tea ceremony. Since the death of the 11th head, Joeki, in 2008, the position has been vacant, and attention is focused on how the skills will be passed down.
4-6. Bag maker: Tomoko Tsuchida
The Tsuchida family, a family of bag makers, make cloth products such as shifuku (clothing) to protect tea caddies and tea caddies, and fukusa (cloths) to wipe tea scoops and tea towels. Originally from a samurai family in Omi, the family began their business when they became apprentices to a bag maker named Kameoka Sori after working as a middleman for Nishijin textiles.
Influenced by the sixth head of the Omotesenke school, Kakusensai, the school has established a strong reputation since the mid-Edo period. Each successive head of the family took the name "Hanshiro", and after retirement changed his name to "Tomoko". The current head of the family is the 13th Hanshiro (Tomoko), and he has handed down the techniques of carefully hand-stitching shifuku.
4-7. Mounting artist: Yoshibei Okumura
The Okumura family was originally a local samurai family in Omi, but after the downfall of the Azai family, they became ronin and opened a paper-hanging shop in Kyoto. The second head priest, Yoshibei, gained fame when he served the Kishu Tokugawa family.
As a mounter, he not only turns the calligraphy of the head of the school into hanging scrolls, but also handles paper crafts such as furosaki byobu (folding screens with a robe) and kettle mats (paper kettle mats). The successive heads of the school have had active exchanges with cultural figures, and the artistic qualities of the times can be felt in the font and designs of the hanging scrolls and folding screens.
4-8. Ikkanbari craftsman: Hirai Ikkan
"Ikkanbari" is a traditional craft in which a framework is made from bamboo or wood, and then layers of washi paper are applied to it to form a shape, before being coated with lacquer or persimmon tannins. The Hirai family is said to have begun when the first Ikkan, who was from Hangzhou, China, defected from the Qing Dynasty to Japan during the Ming Dynasty and was recognized by Sen Sotan. The family faced multiple crises due to the early deaths of successors, but saw a major revival around the 10th and 11th generations. The current head of the family is the 16th Ikkan, who, as a female head of the family, supports the family business together with her husband, and continues to produce Ikkanbari works with designs appropriate for the modern era.
4-9. Bamboo craftsman and ladle maker: Shogen Kuroda
The Kuroda family's first head lost his position in the Battle of Sekigahara, became a ronin (masterless samurai), and then turned to bamboo craftsmanship. His skills gained a reputation, and with the recommendation of Kobori Enshu, he became a purveyor to the shogunate, and eventually became a customer of the Sen family. In addition to ladles and tea scoops, he also produced bamboo vases and bamboo incense holders. The "Seigenga" style, one of the standard styles of ladles used by the Ten Craftsmen of the Sen family, was created by the Kuroda family. The current head of the family is the 14th generation, carrying on the tradition.
4-10. Earthenware stove and potter: Nishimura (Eiraku) Zengoro
The Nishimura (Eiraku) Zengoro family is a family of clay stove makers that has been around since the Muromachi period, and it is said that the founder, Sozen, made offerings for Kasuga Taisha Shrine in Nara, and in his later years was asked to make a clay stove by Takeno Joo of Sakai. He later moved to Kyoto and established a major base for Kyoyaki.
From the 10th generation onwards, the family took on the name "Eiraku" and produced a wide variety of pottery, including earthenware stoves, tea bowls and incense holders. They are separated from the Raku family, which specialises in Raku ware, and are known for producing many copies. The family is currently in its 17th generation.
5. The Two Roles Played by the Ten Sen Craftsmen
Inheriting "Rikyu Preferences" The Ten Craftsmen of the Sen family carry on the spirit of tea ceremony that has been passed down since Sen no Rikyu in the form of a physical form, and support it with their craftsmanship. For example, there is a basic design and size for the shape and design of tea bowls, tea caddies, kettles, etc., known as "Rikyu Preferences," and while these have been faithfully reproduced for generations, they are also fine-tuned to suit the new requests of the head of the school and the times.
Creating New Designs <br>Even within the Sen family, new styles of tea ceremony and utensils are born as times change. When devising products to meet current needs, such as utensils for the Ryurei style tea ceremony or utensils for each serving style that take hygienic considerations into account, the head of the school and the artisans consult with each other and go through a process of trial and error to create something.
6. Summary: Craftsmen who preserve and create traditions
The "Senke Jusoku" are not simply a group that preserves old traditions.
- Preserving a tradition that has continued for hundreds of years
- Creating new forms in accordance with the head of the school
Their mission is to achieve these two goals, which shows the essence of "tradition" in Japanese culture. The name "Jusho" was established in the Taisho era, and in the mid-Edo period, many craftsmen, not just the Ten Houses, supported the tea ceremony. If you imagine the history of how families and techniques have been connected through major fires, wars, and changes of the times, you will be able to feel the stories and depth that emerge from each tea utensil. In tea practice, it is said to be important to know the makers (signature) of tools such as tea bowls, tea caddies, and tea scoops. If you look at the tools while touching on the background of the maker, such as "This tea caddy is by Nakamura Sotetsu," or "This shelf is by Komazawa Risai," you will naturally develop a deeper attachment to and understanding of the tools. If you come across tools from the "Jusho" of Senke at a tea ceremony or museum, please think about the history and techniques of the family. The world of meticulous Japanese traditional crafts will become even more interesting and three-dimensional.
Conclusion
In the tea ceremony, we tend to focus on the gesture of "Temae", but it is the "Ten Craftsmen of Senke" who have supported it behind the scenes. Thanks to the long-standing inheritance and creation of techniques, we can still enjoy the beauty of "Rikyu's taste". Many families have been on the verge of discontinuance many times throughout history, but have continued to do so with ingenuity. When you pick up a tool that has overcome such difficulties, just by imagining "which generation made this" and "what historical context it was set in", your tea ceremony becomes deeper and richer. Please take the time to savor the world of the Ten Craftsmen of Senke as you enjoy a cup of tea.