Letter by Furuta Oribe’s Secretary
- Person
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作者古田織部
- Date
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制作年 AD16
- Title
- フルタオリベ（ユウヒツ）ショウソク
- Collections
- Century Akao Collection
- Depository
- Institute of Oriental Classics (Shido Bunko) Campus Mita
- Ref. number
- AW-CEN-001318-0000
- License
- CC BY Images license
- Creditline
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慶應義塾（センチュリー赤尾コレクション）
- URL
- Classification
- Art
- AI Tagging
- Handwriting Font Art Monochrome Parallel
Warrior and tea master of the Momoyama and Edo periods Furuta Oribe (1544-1615) was one of Sen-no-Rikyu’s (1522-91) senior disciples and was also the originator of the Oribe School in the art of ceremonial tea. He was born in Mino Province and was first named Shigeteru (also Shibenari). In 1585, he was given the post of Director of Oribe and, thereafter, began to use this as his name. With his father, Shigesada, Furuta Oribe served powerful feudal lords Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi and cultivated friendships with many daimyo (military patrons; landed general) and other influential people, as well as wealthy merchants. After the Battle of Sekigahara, he joined the Tokugawa faction. His fame was firmly established when in 1610 he instructed the second Tokugawa Shogun, Hidetada, in the method of preparing tea using a classical daisu, or a four-legged table on which to place the tea paraphernalia. However, during the Summer Campaign against Osaka Castle, he was sued for secretly contacting Tokugawa’s rival, the Toyotomi clan, and thus was ordered to commit suicide.The upper left part of this letter has worn away, thus eliminating the name of the addressee. From the content, however, one can see it is a thank-you letter for the full-length garment (the predecessor of the modern-day kimono) that he had received as a year-end gift. As it is signed “Shigeteru,” Oribe’s new name after 1588, it must have been written after he turned 44. However, at the end of the letter is written an apology: “With a sudden visitor, I have no time to write the letter myself.” So this is clearly written by a secretary, but it is still a valuable piece of calligraphy from the Middle Ages.Warrior and tea master of the Momoyama and Edo periods Furuta Oribe (1544-1615) was one of Sen-no-Rikyu’s (1522-91) senior disciples and was also the originator of the Oribe School in the art of ceremonial tea. He was born in Mino Province and was first named Shigeteru (also Shibenari). In 1585, he was given the post of Director of Oribe and, thereafter, began to use this as his name. With his father, Shigesada, Furuta Oribe served powerful feudal lords Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi and cultivated friendships with many daimyo (military patrons; landed general) and other influential people, as well as wealthy merchants. After the Battle of Sekigahara, he joined the Tokugawa faction. His fame was firmly established when in 1610 he instructed the second Tokugawa Shogun, Hidetada, in the method of preparing tea using a classical daisu, or a four-legged table on which to place the tea paraphernalia. However, during the Summer Campaign against Osaka Castle, he was sued for secretly contacting Tokugawa’s rival, the Toyotomi clan, and thus was ordered to commit suicide.This letter is addressed to “Haukon,” short for “Hashiba Ukon.” When one searches for contemporaries of Furuta Oribe with the family name and self-appointed name written here, one comes across Mori Tadamasa (1570-1634). Tadamasa was the son of Mori Yoshinari (1523-70), a warrior loyal to Oda Nobunaga and the younger brother of Mori Ranmaru (1565-82). He worked under Toyotomi Hideyoshi and held a 70,000-koku (old unit for counting bales of rice; one koku equals approximately 5 bushels) stipend, including a Mino gold mine. He was given an official title in 1585 and started to call himself Ukon-Dayu. He was further promoted and was allowed to use the family name of Hashiba. After Hideyoshi passed away, he served both Ieyasu and his son, Hidetada, and became Lord of Tsuyama Castle in Mimasaka (Okayama Prefecture). This letter concerns the details of a chaire tea caddy, which Tadamasa had shown Oribe, and notes that the lid and silk-and-brocade pouch (for storing the chaire) are just fine, but the purse-chain should be replaced. The lacquered chaire seems to be damaged, which Oribe suggests should be mended by master tea-ware craftsman Fujishige Togen. He also suggests that the addressee consult with Waku Zean (Wakuze Hanzaemon; ?-1638) for the use of a lacquered tray to carry the chaire. Zean was the son of Waku Soze (1535-1615), one of Hideyoshi’s secretaries, who served Hideyoshi, his heir, Hideyori, and General Date Masamune. In the world of calligraphy, he is known to have followed the Sanmyaku-In School, founded by Konoe Nobutada. This letter is an important document that helps one to understand how tea utensils were regarded in those days. As with the previous letter, this one was also written by Furuta Oribe’s secretary. Only the signature, “Shigeteru,” was actually written by Oribe.
重而御札拝見申候御茶入見申候而見替申候御仕合珍重存候然者ふたの事則申付候袋之きれハ今の御袋大略御座候をつかり遣取替させ可申候つくろいの所ハ明日あかく成候而藤重藤元召寄見せ可申候何も是安へ申入候立居不罷成候却而是安さへ不懸御用候あかき盆見申候大略御座候も何も是安ニ申入候而不能一二候恐惶謹言十月三日重然（花押） 古田織部羽右近様御報 重然
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