Ogawa Kashin (小川可進)
Kashin OGAWA (1786 - June 15, 1855) was the founder of Ogawa school of green tea ceremony and the first Koraku OGAWA. Kashin' and 'Koraku' or the combined name, 'Kashin-Koraku-do' were pseudonyms and imina (personal name) was Hironobu.
Brief Personal History
He came from a physician family line in Kyoto and was a Chinese medicine doctor himself serving Court nobles as a Gotenni (doctor who is hired by bakufu [Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun] or daimyo [feudal lord]). He became interested about Sencha (green tea of middle grade) with his interest in nutrition of tea as a physician. It was during the zenith of the Kasei culture, where interests in Sencha was increasing out of exoticism even among the common people. He seemed to feel doubt about the Sencha boom of those days, in which collection of products of Chinese culture was showed off.
He gave up his practice as a physician at the age of 50 to disseminate his unique Senchaho (method of green tea). After then, he devoted himself to establish 'Ogawa school' of green tea ceremony, being supported by his contacts in the court nobles' society built up over years of his service as a Gotenni. His main patrons were family heads of Sekkan-ke (the families which produced the Regent and the Chief Adviser to the Emperor) including Tadahiro KONOE, Masamichi TAKATSUKASA and Tadaka ICHIJO, and he also maintained interchanges with Takemichi KOGA, Naofusa MADENOKOJI, Toshikatsu BOJO, Akiteru KAJUJI, Mototoyo HIROHATA, Arikoto CHIGUSA, and, above all, closely with Yasuchika HORIKAWA. In addition, he also had a relationship with Dohachi NINNAMI, Mokubei AOKI and Sanyo RAI.
His books
"Kissa ben" (the dictation of Kashin OGAWA's oral narrative, edited and published by his disciple)
"Sencha kibun" (the record of what was told about non-powdered green tea)