Why the Founder of Tea Ceremony Committed Seppuku #Shorts

The three most widely practiced schools of tea ceremony today, the 三千家 Sansenke, were all founded by a great man called 千利休 Sen no Rikyu. He is the father of the peaceful and calming tea ceremony, but he actually died of seppuku.

Rikyu was originally a son of a merchant, but he became a Zen monk at the age of 18 and began training in tea ceremony (which was gaining popularity at that time). It did not take long for his amazing talents to bloom.

Thereafter, he served 織田信長 Oda Nobunaga who began to use tea ceremony for political purposes, teaching him tea ceremony and assessing tea utensils.

After Nobunaga passed away, he also served 豊臣秀吉 Toyotomi Hideyoshi (who unified the country) and is said to have further developed the culture of tea. Gradually however, their relationships deteriorated due to Rikyu's growing authority and their mismatched values (toward tea ceremony). In the end, Rikyu was sentenced to seppuku.

However, ordering a former merchant to commit seppuku, the way of honorable death of a samurai, was actually a sign of Hideyoshi’s respect. It is still a mystery whether it was Hideyoshi who really wanted to get rid of Rikyu, or if it was the intention of his subordinates.

*The content is based on personal studies and experience
There is no intention of denying other theories and cultural aspects

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▼Related videos in this channel▼
-The Stories of 5 Most Famous Men Who Committed Seppuku | Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Oda Nobunaga, etc.
-Why Karate Kid 2 Has Terrible Reviews in Japan | Trainees React to the Tea Ceremony Scene
-How Matcha is Actually Served in Japanese Tea Ceremony

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[LetsaskShogo]

The three most widely practiced schools of tea ceremony today, the 三千家 Sansenke, were all founded by a great man called 千利休 Sen no Rikyu. He is the father of the peaceful and calming tea ceremony, but he actually died of seppuku.

Rikyu was originally a son of a merchant, but he became a Zen monk at the age of 18 and began training in tea ceremony (which was gaining popularity at that time). It did not take long for his amazing talents to bloom.

Thereafter, he served 織田信長 Oda Nobunaga who began to use tea ceremony for political purposes, teaching him tea ceremony and assessing tea utensils.

After Nobunaga passed away, he also served 豊臣秀吉 Toyotomi Hideyoshi (who unified the country) and is said to have further developed the culture of tea. Gradually however, their relationships deteriorated due to Rikyu's growing authority and their mismatched values (toward tea ceremony). In the end, Rikyu was sentenced to seppuku.

However, ordering a former merchant to commit seppuku, the way of honorable death of a samurai, was actually a sign of Hideyoshi’s respect. It is still a mystery whether it was Hideyoshi who really wanted to get rid of Rikyu, or if it was the intention of his subordinates.

*The content is based on personal studies and experience
There is no intention of denying other theories and cultural aspects

[-AirKat-]

“Peaceful & calming tea ceremony”
As opposed to the aggravating & violent tea ceremony

[sorryitsmoops]

Death sentence over a tea disagreement? What is this, England?

[Sage_Orias_YT]

"Hey man I got some tea, want some?"

"Respectfully, you have to take your own life now"

"What-"

[redpixelranger]

For anyone interested, I think the manga series "Hyouge Mono" is a fun series to learn the politics behind the tea ceremony of this era.
There's a lot of over-the-top, fictitious elements in the story mixed with the author's interpretation of history, but I think it's an entertaining way to learn the gist of the relationships between the warlords and how the tea ceremony affected them.

I've heard the anime version of this series was not that great, so I recommend the manga.

[dolphinboi-playmonsterranc]

Sen no Rikyu's tea was one of the greatest cups you could have, I heard.

Oh my, that is quite interesting and also a little sad.
Being forced to commit seppuku due to your emperor's subordinates and because his emperor got jealous of his rising power & influence. <=(

[existinginaspace]

Odd that ordering someone to kill themselves. Regardless of how it's done, was considered a sign of respect.
Well never grasp the way of thinking from back then

[haidesxaoc]

The whole world: trying to kill yourself is a crime and cowardly!
Japan: what an honorable man

[kavenkocke]

I think I'll stick to Boston tea parties, thank you very much

[LetsaskShogo]

▼Who is Shogo? What is this channel about?▼

▼Related videos in this channel▼
-The Stories of 5 Most Famous Men Who Committed Seppuku | Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Oda Nobunaga, etc.
-Why Karate Kid 2 Has Terrible Reviews in Japan | Trainees React to the Tea Ceremony Scene
-How Matcha is Actually Served in Japanese Tea Ceremony

▼MY DREAM▼

“To make every Japan lovers’ dream come true, by making Japan a more secure, comfortable, and safer place for everyone to visit, study, and live in”

I will be using the profit I gain from this channel at restaurants, hotels, and cultural facilities in Kyoto to introduce them. The more you watch the videos on this channel, Kyoto and Japan will become a more exciting place, and you can support your own and others’ dreams in the future even more.

▼Join our Membership▼

●Membership benefits
-Limited behind-the-scene videos
-Weekly Zoom call or live stream
-Priority reply to comments

▼[Sub-channel] “Shogo’s Podcast”▼
Please subscribe!!

The perfect channel to learn about Japanese culture and history in your spare time, during your walk to school or work, and when you are cooking or doing house chores.

Not only will I be covering the topics in this main channel, but also some topics that you will only be able to enjoy in the sub-channel, like answering questions I receive, and my opinions towards some of the comments.

▼[Listen to the real voices of the Japanese] "Voices from Japan series"▼

▼[Places recommended to visit in Kyoto] "Kyoto Hidden Gems" series▼

▼Instagram▼
*Please ask me questions through the DM here!（⚠️I do not use e-mail）

[erolguler]

I was so confused until the end. I thought only samurai could commit seppuku. Thanks for explaining.

[SomeGuy-gczs]

For a merchant, the lowest class in society at the time, to be told to commit seppuku like a samurai, a noble (as opposed to being executed some other way) is incredible. It's like a death row prisoner going down saving a guard's life from another inmate instead of being unceremoniously hung.

[uncoolasmr]

Love these videos, man. Keep up the great work!!!

[josephmamah]

You should do a short video explaining what happens in the tea ceremony! I would love to see it!

[kozmo]

Crazy to me how many lives have ended throughout history over the random paramutations of human culture and behavior that develops uniquely to geographic locations.

[pnutbteronbwlz]

Culture is amazing and so fascinating. But this in particular is hard to not see as disturbing.

[stuartclarke]

Is this the same man Hideyoshi ordered to commit Seppuku because he served him tea with simple rustic utensils, believing this to be an elaborate practical joke aimed at mocking his peasant origins?

[mistydevillier]

I love learning more about the sengoku era.

[connor]

Shogo-san, I'm sure you know much more about the history of your own country that I would know about it, but I heard a slightly different story: Sen no Rikyu had begun to become a little arrogant, and had even had a statue of himself commissioned, wearing sandals (which I was told was a sign of nobility), and had it placed in a very visible position at the palace or compound. Hideyoshi took this as a sign that Sen had lost all sense of perspective on his place in the court. That's just how I heard it.