Katagiri Sekishū (1605-73) was the second-generation lord of the Koizumi domain in Yamato province (now Nara prefecture). He was also the founding father of the Sekishū way of tea, which spread mainly among warrior families. He had studied with Kuwayama Sōsen (1560-1632) late in the life of that tea master, who had studied the way of tea with Sen Dōan (1546-1607), a son of Sen Rikyū. Sekishū thus made the Rikyū style of wabicha his foundation. He also held stately tea gatherings, as suited a daimyo, and followed Furuta Oribe and Kobori Enshū in establishing the tea style for samurai households.
Sekishū’s style spread widely among daimyo and warrior families and thus produced a large number of those serving as the Tokugawa shogunate’s sukiyabōzu, an official position in charge of tea-related matters in Edo Castle. The Sekishū style became the authentic style of tea gatherings among the warrior class during the rule of the Tokugawa.
This exhibition honors Sekishū and the Sekishū way of tea, which, despite their extremely significant position in the history of tea traditions, have received little attention thus far.