Nobunaga Letter to Rikyu

Here is a letter Nobunaga wrote to Rikyu, the famous tea master.  There is no date, but it is presumed that the letter was written in 1575.  In the letter, Nobunaga thanks Rikyu for the 1,000 musket balls he received as a gift.  Nobunaga's retainer, Harada (Ban) Naomasa is also mentioned in the letter. Naomasa was written as Harada Bichu no Kami in the document. Rikyu was addressed as Hosensai and the Tenka Fubu seal was in black.  The color of the seal makes a big difference.  The black Tenka Fubu is less formal and was used for private correspondence.  The red Tenka Fubu seal was used in formal and more serious documents. Since the document was a thank you note to Rikyu, it made sense that Nobunaga used the black Tenka Fubu seal.

Later that year, Nobunaga held a huge ceremony at Myokakuji Temple in Kyoto with Rikyu as the head tea master.

Tenka no tame!