Urasenke in the context of Mushakōjisenke

Iemoto (家元, lit. 'family foundation') is a Japanese term used to refer to the founder or current Grand Master of a certain school of traditional Japanese art. It is used synonymously with the term sōke (宗家) when it refers to the family or house that the iemoto is head of and represents.

The word iemoto is also used to describe a system of familial generations in traditional Japanese arts such as tea ceremony (including sencha), ikebana, Noh, calligraphy, traditional Japanese dance, traditional Japanese music, the Japanese art of incense appreciation (kōdō), and Japanese martial arts. Shogi and Go once used the iemoto system as well. The iemoto system is characterized by a hierarchical structure and the supreme authority of the iemoto, who has inherited the secret traditions of the school from the previous iemoto.

Kamigyō-ku (上京区; かみぎょうく) is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The ward was a district of residences for the royalty, aristocrats, and upper classes in the old capital of JapanーHeian-kyō. Located in the center of the present-day city of Kyoto, Japan, it previously occupied the northern region of the ancient capital of Kyoto. The Kamo River flows on the eastern border of the ward.

The ward is home to the Kyoto Imperial Palace, the Kitano Tenmangu Shinto shrine, the Seimei shrine, nishijin-ori textiles, and the headquarters of the Omotesenke and Urasenke schools of Japanese tea ceremony.

Ofukei ware (御深井焼, Ofukei-yaki), also spelled Ofuke, refers to a type of Japanese pottery that was originally produced in Nagoya, central Japan.

Sen Sōshitsu XV (十五代千宗室, jū go dai sen sōshitsu; 19 April 1923 – 14 August 2025) was the 15th-generation Grand Master (iemoto) of Urasenke, which is one of the most widely known schools of Japanese tea, and served in official capacity from 1964 to 2002. In 1949, he received the Zen title Hōunsai (鵬雲斎). Following his retirement, he adopted the name Sen Genshitsu (玄室), with the honorary title Daisōshō, in order to distinguish him from his son and successor, Sen Sōshitsu XVI. For over seven decades, Sen Genshitsu traveled across the world in order to promote the ethos of "Peacefulness through a Bowl of Tea".