Enshūryu

The Enshū Sado School is one of the representative branches of tea ceremony in Japan. It was founded by Kobori Enshū, the tea master of Tokugawa shoguns. Kobori Enshū’s relationships with the contemporary Japanese craftsmen and high class were extensive. As the Lord of Fushimi in Kyoto, he was not only close to the Samurai class but had strong ties with several aristocrats and the Emperor himself. He was also the first art director in Japan and a versatile artist himself who is sometimes referred to as the “Japanese Leonardo da Vinci”. He was the head architect of Nagoya castle and a genius gardener. Among many other renowned imperial gardens, he designed the Sento gardens of the Imperial Palace in central Kyoto. His ceremony style is a mirror of his love for art and beauty. He was not only interested in Japanese art, but also in European, Chinese, Korean, and South-East Asian crafts. He integrated various designs from overseas into his tea utensils. One of his important mottos was “Beauty in Practicality”.

Aesthetics is an important value in the Enshū School, which introduced the so-called “Kirei Sabi”, the philosophy of “beauty in simplicity”. They highly appreciate and practice luxurious but sophisticated visual beauty, elegance, and harmony. The Enshū school also values education, bringing tea ceremony close to the young generation. They offer tea ceremony classes for children all over the World.

The head of the branch now is the 13th “Iemoto”, Grand Master Kobori Sōen, who emphasizes the importance of spirituality and personal development through the tea ceremony. As he said, "In our increasingly busy lives, we must remember to create small moments of leisure which help us to relax and expand our minds." His motto is “enriching the Mind through the Way oF Tea."