Mushakoji Senke

What Is Mushakoji Senke?

Mushakoji Senke (武者小路千家, Mushakōji Senke) is the headquarters of one of the three Sen family schools of tea, standing on Mushakōji-dōri in Kamigyō Ward, Kyoto City, and four of its buildings, a main house and storehouse of about 1881, the Kankyūan tea room of 1926 and the Kōdōan tea room of 1940, were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on 8 November 2004.

The other two branches are Omotesenke and Urasenke, and together they are known as the San-Senke. This one takes its name from the street outside its gate. The school reads the name Mushakōji; the Agency for Cultural Affairs database gives the reading Mushanokōji. You will also see the house called simply Kankyūan (官休庵): strictly the name of its oldest tea room, it is used for the school as a whole and for the foundation that owns the property.

Fires and Rebuilding, from Ichiō Sōshu to Yukōsai

Mushakoji Senke traces its line to Ichiō Sōshu, second son of Sen Sōtan and so a great-grandson of the tea master Sen no Rikyū. As a young man Ichiō left the family and worked as a lacquerer under the name Yoshioka Jin'emon. At his brothers' urging he later handed the trade to the first Nakamura Sōtetsu, returned to the Sen name and built a tea room called Kankyūan on the present site. He also served as tea master to the Takamatsu domain in Sanuki, a post his successors held down to Isshisai.

The house burned three times in the Edo period: in 1772, in the Great Tenmei Fire of 1788, and in the so-called Palace Fire of 1854. Each time the head of the house rebuilt the tea rooms.

The framework of the buildings standing today dates from the Meiji era. Recovery was slow in the turmoil around the Restoration, but in 1881 Isshisai rebuilt the tea rooms and part of the garden. The registered main house and storehouse are dated by the national record to about that time.

When Isshisai died in 1898, his adopted heir Yukōsai was taken in by Omotesenke and the house lapsed for a time. Once grown, Yukōsai revived Mushakoji Senke, rebuilt Kankyūan in 1926, and rebuilt Kōdōan in 1940 for the 350th memorial of Rikyū's death. Counting from Rikyū he was the 12th head; the Agency's notes count from Ichiō and call him the 9th.

How the Mushakoji Senke Compound Is Laid Out

The Mushakoji Senke compound faces south onto Mushakōji-dōri. Toward the west end of the frontage is the service gate; toward the east end are the carriage turn and main entrance in front of Kōdōan.

The Roji, or tea garden path, runs west to east along the south side of the plot and then turns north, reaching deep into the site. The main house occupies the west side and contains three tea rooms, Hanpōan, Kansuien and Gyōshūtei, together with a memorial room for Rikyū. The storehouse adjoins the main house on its north side along the western edge of the plot. Kankyūan is attached to the east of the main house's northern wing, and Kōdōan stands across the garden to the east, linked by a covered passage.

The middle gate of the roji is called the Amigasa-mon because its roof resembles a woven sedge hat. Double doors of light bamboo lattice sit under a sweeping roof of cypress-bark shingles; the design goes back to Jikisai, and since Yukōsai's rebuilding the roof has been renewed roughly every 20 years. North of the roji is Kifūken, a two-storey tea house of 1993, and in 2005 the upper floor above Kansuien was remade as Gyōbunkaku, a room lacquered black throughout. The Amigasa-mon, Kifūken and Gyōbunkaku are not part of the registration.

The Four Registered Buildings of Mushakoji Senke

All four Mushakoji Senke buildings were registered on 8 November 2004 under consecutive numbers, 26-0182 to 26-0185.

• Main House: about 1881, two-storey timber, building area 201 square metres. A sukiya-style residence with three tea rooms and the Rikyū memorial room inside it.
• Tea Room Kankyūan: 1926, single-storey timber, building area 11 square metres. A tiny room of one guest mat plus a three-quarter host's mat.
• Tea Room Kōdōan: 1940, single-storey timber, building area 59 square metres. A practice hall centred on a 15-mat room.
• Storehouse: about 1881, building area 23 square metres. A white-plastered kura on the west edge of the plot.

The main house and the two tea rooms were registered as buildings that have become models of their type; the storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. Each building has its own page covering it in detail.

Visiting Mushakoji Senke: Access and Opening

Mushakoji Senke is a working headquarters, still used for lessons and tea gatherings. It is not open to the public, Kyoto City's official tourism guide lists it as closed to visitors, and no visiting arrangements are advertised.

From the street you can see only the gate and the boundary wall on Mushakōji-dōri. Please do not linger in front of the gate or get in the way of people coming and going.

The nearest station is Imadegawa on the Kyoto Municipal Subway Karasuma Line, about 10 minutes on foot from Exit 6. Mushakōji-dōri and Ogawa-dōri are both one-way and parking is limited, so the Kankyuan foundation asks visitors to come by public transport. Walk north up Ogawa-dōri across Imadegawa-dōri and you reach the headquarters of Omotesenke and Urasenke.