Mushakojisenke is the smallest of the three schools descended from Sen no Rikyu. It takes its name from Mushakoji Street in Kyoto, where its head house, Kankyuan, stands.
Lineage
The school descends from Ichio Soshu, second son of Sen Sotan. Soshu served the Matsudaira family of Takamatsu, and the school retained a close connection with that domain through the Edo period. Its comparatively small size reflects this narrower institutional base rather than any break in transmission.
Character of its practice
Mushakojisenke is known for economy of movement: forms are pared toward the practical, with fewer ornamental gestures than the other two houses. Practitioners describe the aim as removing anything that does not serve the tea. Utensil combinations are correspondingly plain.
Studying with Mushakojisenke
Teaching runs through Kankyuan and a network of regional teachers, concentrated in Kansai and the Takamatsu area. Classes are less numerous than for the other two schools, and prospective students outside those regions may need to look further afield.
Sources
- 千家と官休庵の歴史、三千家系譜、歴代家元 / 武者小路千家 官休庵（公式サイト）
Supports: 元伯宗旦の次男・一翁宗守が千家に復して官休庵を建て、その所在地名から武者小路千家と通称されること
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Edited by the operator of Chaen (a one-person operation) / Last updated:
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- Mushakojisenke
Related terms
- UrasenkeUrasenke
The largest of the three Sen family schools of tea, known for its work in school and overseas education and for developing table-and-chair practice.
- OmotesenkeOmotesenke
One of the three Sen family schools, holding Rikyu's original Fushin'an site and known for a restrained, unhurried style.
- Sen no RikyuSen no Rikyu
The tea master (1522–1591) who brought wabicha to its definitive form and from whom the three Sen schools descend.
- Sen SotanSen Sotan
Rikyu's grandson, the third head of the Sen house, whose four sons became the source of the three schools.