(b Nagahami, Omi Prov. [now Shiga Prefect.], 1579; d Fushimi, nr Kyoto, 1647). Japanese tea ceremony master, designer and construction supervisor of numerous palaces, castles and gardens. He was one of the most influential figures in Japanese art during the early 17th century. He is noted for the courtly refinement of his designs, which were elegant yet understated, innovative yet respectful of traditions. Few of the many buildings and gardens attributed to him remain in their original form, but his style is found throughout much of Japan. A disciple in his youth of FURUTA ORIBE, he practised an elaborate style of tea ceremony, and his name has become associated with a tea-room design that is spacious and luxurious without being ostentatious.

• Kobori Enshu
  • Garden, §VI, 3(iii): Japan: Edo period
  • Kyoto, §IV, 9: Nijo Castle
  • pupils
    • Takatori
  • teachers
    • Furuta Oribe
  • works
    • Japan, §VII, 1(iii)(c): Calligraphy: Kamakura, Muromachi and Momoyama periods
    • Japan, §XIV, 1(i): Tea ceremony: History
    • Japan, §XIV, 4(ii): Tea ceremony calligraphy: Influence of 16th–early 17th-century tea masters
    • Kyoto, §I, 3: Urban development, mid-16th century–mid-19th
    • Kyoto, §IV, 4(ii): Nanzenji: Subtemples
    • Kyoto, §IV, 5(ii): Daitokuji: Architecture and art works
    • Nagoya, §2: 1610–1871
    • Tokyo, §III, 1: Edo Castle
  • writings
    • Japan, §XXI, 1(ii): Collectors and collections, to 1868