A study on the tea ceremony of samurai families in the Edo era — focusing on the “Sekishu Sanbyakukajō Archives” —

This study examines the Sekishu Sanbyakukajō Archives authored by Katagiri Sekishu, a warrior tea master of the Edo period, and explores his conception of the tea ceremony. The Archives served as authoritative texts on warrior tea practices in the Edo period and played a significant role in establishing the orthodoxy. This study provides a faithful interpretation of the original text and investigates the distinctive features of Sekishu-style (tea procedures). Notably, this work contains numerous secret teachings on both temae and tea utensils. Given the hierarchical nature of warrior tea, considerable emphasis was placed on etiquette for nobles, and strict regulations governed both the performance and utensil ornamentation. The pursuit of the ultimate expression of wabi within the extremely confined space of a one-and-a-half-tatami tea room can be seen as a reflection of Sen no Rikyu’s influence. Sekishu also offered new definitions of sabi and wabi. He asserted that while things naturally imbued with sabi are commendable, things artificially contrived to appear sabi-like are undesirable—a rejection of artificiality. His criticism of Sensotan reflects this stance, as he regarded its practice as an artificial form of sabi. Ultimately, Sekishu’s style can be characterized as a warrior tea that simultaneously brought the modernization of wabi-cha to completion.