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.

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The Nezu Museum of Art was established in 1941 in the private residence of Kaichiro Nezu I (1860-1940), an industrialist who served as president of the Tobu Railway Company, to preserve and exhibit his collection of Japanese and Oriental antiques. Concerned about the outflow of Japanese artwork overseas after the Meiji era, Kaichiro collected an unusually wide range of items for a private collection, including paintings, calligraphy, sculpture, ceramics, lacquerware, textiles, and metalwork. In his later years, while enjoying tea ceremony under the name of Seizan, he collected tea utensils, which are also an important pillar of the collection. The collection currently contains over 7,600 items, including seven national treasures, 88 important cultural properties, and 94 important art objects.

The main building, designed by Kengo Kuma, was newly renovated and opened in 2009. In a space with a Japanese atmosphere, the museum holds seven exhibitions a year, each with a different theme, featuring a wide range of work from its collection. After the exhibitions, visitors can enjoy a stroll in the 17,000㎡ garden, which still retains remnants of the Nezu family's private residence.

The Way of Tea in Katagiri Sekishū Style An Authentic Samurai Tradition

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