Tsuda Sogyu

• Died: 1591
• Distinction: Tea master

Tsuda Sôgyu is considered one of the most prominent and influential tea practitioners of late 16th century Sakai, alongside Imai Sôkyû and Sen no Rikyû.

He was the son of wealthy merchant and prominent tea practitioner Tsuda Sôtatsu, and enjoyed the favor of Oda Nobunaga and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi for his skill at the tea ceremony. Like his father, Sôgyû produced a number of notable chakai-ki (records of tea gatherings).

His familiarity with Akechi Mitsuhide seems to have damaged his reputation after Mitsuhide killed Oda Nobunaga in 1582 though he continued to attend notable tea ceremonies, including Hideyoshi's brief Grand Kitano Tea Ceremony in 1587.

References

• Initial text from Sengoku Biographical Dictionary (Samurai-Archives.com) FWSeal & CEWest, 2005
• Morgan Pitelka, Spectacular Accumulation, University of Hawaii Press (2016), 29.