Political merchant and tea master in Hakata, Chikuzen Province (Fukuoka Prefecture), born in 1539. His alias was Tokutayu, and his first name was Shigekatsu. He shaved his head and changed his name to Zuizong Scolding and later to Munemuro. There are two other tea houses, Zui-un-an and Kyohaku-ken. Like Kamiya Sotan, a local merchant, he came into contact with Otomo Sorin, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Kuroda Nagamasa, and others from early on. He learned the tea ceremony from Tennojiya Dosari in Sakai (Osaka Prefecture), and possessed one of the three most famous tea utensils under heaven, Narashiba kyoshu. After Hideyoshi’s conquest of Kyushu in 1587, he and Sotan were granted privileges, and during the Japanese invasion of Kyushu (1592-8), he was specially commissioned to scout the region and often participated in Hideyoshi’s tea ceremonies. He often participated in Hideyoshi’s tea ceremonies. Having no sons of his own, he adopted Tokuemon Nobuyoshi as his adopted son and gave him the famous “Seventeen Precepts”.
He died on August 24, 1615, at the age of 77. His grave is in Zui-un-an, Sofuku-ji Temple, Hakata.
