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Created page with "right|thumb|320px|The storefront of the Tsûen teashop as it appears today *''Established: c. 1160'' *''Japanese'': 通園茶屋 ''(tsuuen chaya)'' T..."
[[File:Tsuen-chaya.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The storefront of the Tsûen teashop as it appears today]]
*''Established: c. 1160''
*''Japanese'': 通園茶屋 ''(tsuuen chaya)''
The Tsûen Teashop is a long-standing teashop in [[Uji]], near [[Kyoto]]. Its location allowed it to serve many travelers journeying to or from the capital, or along the [[Yamato Road]]. There remain records that [[Ashikaga Yoshimasa]], [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]], and various other extremely prominent figures enjoyed tea at this shop.
The ship is particularly famous for its appearance in [[Yoshikawa Eiji|Yoshikawa Eiji's]] novel ''Musashi'', but actually it has been operating since around [[1160]]. The shop's founder, [[Furukawa Unai]], was a vassal of [[Minamoto no Yorimasa]], and was said to have excelled at martial arts. In his last years, he retired and was granted by Yorimasa the character "''masa''" for his name; he took on the name Taikei-an Tsûen Masahisa, and established this teashop on the eastern end of the [[Uji Bridge]]. He fought alongside Yorimasa in the [[1180]] [[battle of Uji]], and died in that battle. A ''[[kyogen|kyôgen]]'' play exists telling this story, and from time to time it is performed.
His descendants, down through the generations, took on the name Tsûen, and operated this teashop, providing tea to travelers. The seventh generation head of the family had strong close relations with the [[Zen]] priest [[Ikkyu|Ikkyû]], and became himself a Zen practitioner and hermit; the two (Tsûen and Ikkyû) are said to have been inseparable. When Tsûen died in [[1455]], Ikkyû came right away, and gifted to the family a piece of calligraphy reading "One cup of tea, one coin, one's time is a bubble"; in other words, one's life lasts only a short while before bursting and disappearing, like a bubble in the foam of a river, a famous and popular metaphor in Japanese culture.
The eighth generation head of the Tsûen family served [[Shogun]] Ashikaga Yoshimasa as chief [[tea ceremony|tea master]].
The tenth and eleventh Tsûen family heads continued to operate the teahouse and serve as masters of the crossing at Uji Bridge. They earned the trust of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and provided water from the [[Uji River]] to be used for the lord's tea. This water, drawn from a spot on/near Uji Bridge called San-no-ma, was even used for the famous [[Fushimi Tea Gathering]], where Hideyoshi invited ''daimyô'' and tea masters from throughout the realm. He ordered [[Sen no Rikyu|Sen no Rikyû]] to make a well-bucket, and then, prior to dawn, Tsûen brought water and Hideyoshi partook of the tea. The Tsûen still today preserve those buckets.
The building which stands today was built in [[1672]], and has been officially recognized by [[Kyoto prefecture]] as a Cultural Property, and surviving example of ''[[machiya]]'' architecture. Looking at it from the front, the building has deep eaves and a wide entrance, creating a strange feeling. But this is because, at the time, in the [[Edo period]], people believed this allowed for easier entry and exit; the wide pillars are also typical of an old style belonging to the early Edo period. Tea jars spanning several hundred years are lined up outside the shop, along with a wooden statue of the first Tsûen, gifted by Ikkyû.
==References==
*Plaques on-site.
[[Category:Historic Buildings]]
*''Established: c. 1160''
*''Japanese'': 通園茶屋 ''(tsuuen chaya)''
The Tsûen Teashop is a long-standing teashop in [[Uji]], near [[Kyoto]]. Its location allowed it to serve many travelers journeying to or from the capital, or along the [[Yamato Road]]. There remain records that [[Ashikaga Yoshimasa]], [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]], and various other extremely prominent figures enjoyed tea at this shop.
The ship is particularly famous for its appearance in [[Yoshikawa Eiji|Yoshikawa Eiji's]] novel ''Musashi'', but actually it has been operating since around [[1160]]. The shop's founder, [[Furukawa Unai]], was a vassal of [[Minamoto no Yorimasa]], and was said to have excelled at martial arts. In his last years, he retired and was granted by Yorimasa the character "''masa''" for his name; he took on the name Taikei-an Tsûen Masahisa, and established this teashop on the eastern end of the [[Uji Bridge]]. He fought alongside Yorimasa in the [[1180]] [[battle of Uji]], and died in that battle. A ''[[kyogen|kyôgen]]'' play exists telling this story, and from time to time it is performed.
His descendants, down through the generations, took on the name Tsûen, and operated this teashop, providing tea to travelers. The seventh generation head of the family had strong close relations with the [[Zen]] priest [[Ikkyu|Ikkyû]], and became himself a Zen practitioner and hermit; the two (Tsûen and Ikkyû) are said to have been inseparable. When Tsûen died in [[1455]], Ikkyû came right away, and gifted to the family a piece of calligraphy reading "One cup of tea, one coin, one's time is a bubble"; in other words, one's life lasts only a short while before bursting and disappearing, like a bubble in the foam of a river, a famous and popular metaphor in Japanese culture.
The eighth generation head of the Tsûen family served [[Shogun]] Ashikaga Yoshimasa as chief [[tea ceremony|tea master]].
The tenth and eleventh Tsûen family heads continued to operate the teahouse and serve as masters of the crossing at Uji Bridge. They earned the trust of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and provided water from the [[Uji River]] to be used for the lord's tea. This water, drawn from a spot on/near Uji Bridge called San-no-ma, was even used for the famous [[Fushimi Tea Gathering]], where Hideyoshi invited ''daimyô'' and tea masters from throughout the realm. He ordered [[Sen no Rikyu|Sen no Rikyû]] to make a well-bucket, and then, prior to dawn, Tsûen brought water and Hideyoshi partook of the tea. The Tsûen still today preserve those buckets.
The building which stands today was built in [[1672]], and has been officially recognized by [[Kyoto prefecture]] as a Cultural Property, and surviving example of ''[[machiya]]'' architecture. Looking at it from the front, the building has deep eaves and a wide entrance, creating a strange feeling. But this is because, at the time, in the [[Edo period]], people believed this allowed for easier entry and exit; the wide pillars are also typical of an old style belonging to the early Edo period. Tea jars spanning several hundred years are lined up outside the shop, along with a wooden statue of the first Tsûen, gifted by Ikkyû.
==References==
*Plaques on-site.
[[Category:Historic Buildings]]