Rikyū Sen

Sen no Rikyū is a tea master from the Sengoku era who developed the chanoyu, the way of tea into the cultural phenomenon which it became. He placed emphasis on Wabi-sabi, or simplistic beauty and purity, vastly improving the popularity of the ceremony. He served as tea master for both Nobunaga Oda and Hideyoshi Toyotomi.

Role in the Game
Sen no Rikyū appears in Kessen III as a bonus officer off the Enjoy Disc which came with the treasure box pre-order set. He could also be unlocked on the European PAL version of the game by completing the campaign once. He does not, however, appear in the United States version of the game. He will join Nobunaga's forces at the beginning of chapter 2, like every other bonus characters.

Rikyū appears in the Nobunaga's Ambition series as a support character who wonders the lands, performing tea ceremonies. He usually has items or other boosts available for the player to purchase.

Historical Information
Sen no Rikyū was born in the city of Sakai to Tanaka Yohei in 1522. His original name was Tanaka Yoshiro. Born from the merchant class, Rikyū began to show interest in the tea ceremony at a young age and entered into training with fellow townsman Kitamuki Dōchin. Recognizing his ability, Dōchin recommended him to Takeno Jōō at the young age of nineteen. Around this time, Rikyū received the buddhist name Sōeki to accompany the Sen surname his family had changed to in recent years. His new name came with Zen Buddhist training, which Rikyū would later ally to his tea ceremony practice.

Rikyū's Buddhist training took place near Kyoto, around the time Oda Nobunaga forcefully removed the Ashikaga Shogunate. Taking an interest into the tea ceremony, Rikyū became Nobunaga's man for leading ceremonies around 1574. Rikyū maintained this position until Nobunaga was slain. Following the winds of change, Rikyū took up the position of head tea master with Hashiba Hideyoshi, Nobunaga's successor. By this time, the tea ceremony had become a definitive function of cultural expression that both daimyo and samurai partook in regularly. Such common practice made it very important to Hideyoshi, causing him to rely on and trust Rikyū greatly.

Numbered amongst the most influential of Hideyoshi's civil retainers, Rikyū moved to Kyoto permanently in 1585, where he opened a school on the art of tea, which was very popular. During another ceremony which included the emperor himself, Rikyū was finally given the name he is most well known by, signifying his importance to the art of tea. Despite such a close relationship, things took a turn for the worse when Hideyoshi ordered Rikyū to commit seppuku.

Keeping to what he knew, Rikyū decided to combine this command with one final tea ceremony. During the ceremony, Rikyū gifted his prized tea ceremony items to the guests, save his tea bol, which he symbolically shattered. Rikyū had many students in his time, including Nanbō Sōkei, Sen Shōan, Takayama Ukon, Araki Murashige, Gamō Ujisato, and Hosokawa Tadaoki.