Omotesenke (表åÂÂ家) is one of the schools of Japanese tea ceremony. Along with Urasenke and Mushakà Âjisenke, it is one of the three lines of the Sen family descending from Sen no Rikyà «, which together are known as the san-Senke or "three Sen houses/families" (ä¸ÂÃ¥ÂÂ家).
The name "Omotesenke", literally meaning "front Sen house/family," came into being as a natural occurrence, because of the location of the homestead of this line of the family in relation to that of the line of the family at what originally was the rear (ura) of the Sen estate. The name "Mushakà Âjisenke" for the other of the three lines of the family derives from the fact that the family's homestead is located along Mushakà Âji street.
The Omotesenke estate, known by the name of its representative tea room, the "Fushin-an" (ä¸Â審庵), was where Sen no Rikyà «'s son-in-law, Sen Shà Âan, reestablished the Kyoto Sen household after Rikyà «'s death. It is located on Ogawa street in the Kamigyà  ward of Kyoto.
Shà Âan's son Sen Sà Âtan soon succeeded as the family heir and head of this estate. The next heir to the estate and family tradition was Sà Âtan's third son, Kà Âshin Sà Âsa, counted as the fourth generation in the Omotesenke family line. Sà Âtan, when he was ready to retire and gave the headship of the family over to Kà Âshin Sà Âsa, established his retirement quarters on adjacent property in the north, building a tiny tea room there, the "Konnichi-an" (ä»Âæ¥庵). Eventually, Sà Âtan's youngest son, Sensà  Sà Âshitsu, inherited that part of the estate, which came to be known as the home of the Urasenke.
There are small stylistic differences between the different schools. For example, the Omotesenke school whisks the tea less than the Urasenke school, creating less foam on the top of the tea. Also, Omotesenke uses both an untreated bamboo chasen and a susudake chasen, or darkened-bamboo tea whisk, while Urasenke uses untreated bamboo for its chasen or tea whisk.
The Fushin-an estate, where the 3rd generation, SÃ Âtan, lived until retirement, is the home and headquarters of Omotesenke.
The Kitayama Kaikan in Kyoto is a relatively modern Omotesenke facility, where Omotesenke sponsors exhibitions, lectures, and other educational programs for the general public.
Licenses or permissions are called kyojà  (許ç¶), menjà  (å Âç¶) or sà Âden (ç¸ä¼Â). They allow students to study certain tea procedures.
The first skills a student in any Tea school learns are the warigeiko, literally divided or separate training. The warigeiko are skills practiced separately from actual temae (tea or charcoal procedures); since they form the basis of temae, they must be acquired before a student begins making tea. They include:
The hereditary name of the head (iemoto) of this line of the family is SÃ Âsa.