Sen no Rikyū is ordered to die
1591 · Event
Japan's greatest tea master — arbiter of taste to the realm, and closer to Hideyoshi than any general — is ordered by his master to commit seppuku, for reasons still argued over. He holds a final tea gathering, gives away his utensils, and dies by his own hand: the perfected simplicity of his tea path shapes Japanese aesthetics to this day.
On these timelines: The Unification of Japan, Japan, Arts and Thoughts, Master
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