Kobori Enshū (1579 – 1647) was a high-ranking vassal, a person who held land from a feudal lord and received protection in return for homage and allegiance. He served the Tokugawa Shogunate in the early Edo period and played an active role in a wide range of activities in culture and politics. As a commissioner, he was passionately engaged in architecture dedicated to the Shogunate or the Imperial Court, and in designing tea houses and gardens. He served as a teacher of tea ceremony to Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third Shogun.