belonged to the influential family of merchants of Sakai

Sakai, Osaka

is a city in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the Medieval era.Following the February 2005 annexation of the town of Mihara, from Minamikawachi District, the city has grown further and is now the fourteenth most populous city in...

 whose business name was Tennōjiya. Together with his father, Tsuda Sōtatsu, he built the Tennōjiya into one of the most prosperous business houses in Sakai. A political tactic he used to accomplish this was by winning the favor of Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga

was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...

, who was on the path to hegemony.

Around the year 1574, he became one of the three merchant-class tea masters of Sakai to be in charge of chanoyu (Japanese tea ceremony

Japanese tea ceremony

The Japanese tea ceremony, also called the Way of Tea, is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha, powdered green tea. In Japanese, it is called . The manner in which it is performed, or the art of its performance, is called...

) affairs for Nobunaga; a position referred to as chatō (lit., "tea head"). The other two were Imai Sōkyū

Imai Sokyu

was an important 16th century merchant in the Japanese port town of Sakai, and a master of the tea ceremony. His yagō was Naya.A relative of the Amago and Sasaki samurai clans, Sōkyū originally came from Yamato Province. After settling in Sakai, he studied the tea ceremony under Takeno Jōō,...

 and Sen Rikyū.

Sōgyū was very familiar with Akechi Mitsuhide

Akechi Mitsuhide

, nicknamed Jūbei or called from his clan name and title, was a samurai who lived during the Sengoku period of Feudal Japan.Mitsuhide was a general under daimyo Oda Nobunaga, although he became infamous for his betrayal in 1582, which led to Nobunaga's death at Honno-ji...

, so after Nobunaga was killed by the hands of Mitsuhide during the year of 1582, Sōgyū's reputation was wounded. Even though this was true, Nobunaga's avenger and political successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

, had all three of Nobunaga's chatō, including Sōgyū, serve him as his own men in charge of tea affairs. Sōgyū attended Hideyoshi's "Grand Kitano Tea Gathering" in the year of 1587.

The Tennōjiya kaiki (天王寺屋会記) record of chanoyu gatherings compiled by three generations of the Tennōjiya mercantile house -- Sōgyū's father, Sōtatsu; Sōgyū himself; and Sōgyū's son and heir, Sōbon -- is considered one of the most valuable historical resources for learning about the chanoyu of those days.

Of the known instances of Sen Rikyū's participation in chanoyu, Tsuda Sōgyū appears more frequently than any other individual as having shared the time there with Rikyū.

References

Genshoku Chadō Daijiten (Japanese encyclopedia of the Way of Tea). Tankosha, 1975. ISBN4-473-00089-3

Rikyū Daijiten (Japanese encyclopedia about Sen Rikyū). Tankosha, 1989. ISBN4-473-01110-0

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