Tsuda Sogyu (津田宗及)
Sogyu TSUDA (year of birth unknown - June 11, 1591) was a merchant of Sakai City and a chajin (master of the tea ceremony) who lived during the Azuchi-Momoyama period.
He was also referred to as 'Sogyu TENNOJIYA.'
Along with SEN no Rikyu and Sokyu IMAI, he was referred to as the 'three great masters of tea ceremony.'
His real name was Sukegoro, and the names he called himself were Tenshin and Yukosai.
Career
He was born as a child of Tennojiya's Sotatsu TSUDA (1504 - 1566) who was a wealthy merchant of Sakaiminami-sho Region. He learned Sado (Japanese tea ceremony) from his father who was a disciple of Soga, the child of Joo TAKENO who was a chajin. He learned Zen from Soto DAIRIN who was a chief priest of Daitoku-ji Temple, and he was later given the name, Tenshin.
The Tennojiya, which took up residence in Oshoji in Sakai, was also known in Sakai as a powerful merchant. By the Eiroku era, Sogyu interacted with Tango SHIMOTSUMA family of Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple, and next to them, he relied on Masayasu MIYOSHI who had influence over Sakai, but he gradually became closer to Nobunaga ODA who had been extending influence. In November of 1572, he participated in the tea ceremony hosted by Nobunaga at Kyoto Myokaku-ji Temple (Kyoto City) and was received as a guest. On February 3, 1573, he was especially approved to have the honor of seeing rare utensils of Nobunaga at the Gifu-jo Castle, and had come to a point where he was warmly received by Nobunaga. When Nobunaga visited Sakai in 1578, he received a visit to his house from Nobunaga, and was taken into Nobunaga's confidence.
He participated in tea ceremonies by Mitsuhide AKECHI, but when he won trust from Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI who later seized real power, he was counted among one of Chanoyusha Hachinin-shu (eight tea persons), and along with Sokyu IMAI and SEN no Rikyu, he was given a chigyo (salary paid by land) of 3,000 koku.
On October 1, 1587, he also performed tea ceremony with Sokyu and Rikyu at the Great Tea Gathering (the Great Kitano Tea Gathering) which was held by Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI at Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine to commemorate the subjugation of Kyushu and the erection of Jurakudai.
Others
He wrote "Sokyu chanoyu nikki hoka kaiki" (Tea-Gathering diary and record) (1454 - 1587) and "Sokyu chanoyu nikki ji kaiki" (Tea-Gathering diary and record) (1565 - 1587) as records of tea ceremonies (Chanoyu Nikki [tea diary]), and Dogu haiken ki (record of looking at tools for tea ceremony). Along with records written by Sotatsu and Sobon of Tenoojiya, they were referred to as "Tennojiya-kaiki" (a record of the tea ceremony at Tennojiya), and they have become historical documents that tell the relations and incidents of the warlords of those times.
His children were Sokyu and Sobon TSUDA who wrote "Tennojiya-kaiki" and Sogan KOGETSU who was the 156th generation of Daitoku-ji Temple and the founder of Ryuko-in Temple. His daughter, Eikun, who was the younger sister of Sogan, married Unya NAKARAI, who practiced medicine in Sakai and was a member of Nakarai family known for being the court physicians.
His grave is at Nanshu-ji Temple in Sakai City.