is one of the main schools of Japanese tea ceremony. Along with and , it is one of the three lines of the family descending from , which together are known as the - or the "three houses/families" (). The name , literally meaning "rear house/family", came into existence due to the location of the homestead of this line of the family in relation to what was originally the frontmost house (the ) of the estate. The other main schools of Japanese tea ceremony, and , also follow this naming convention, with the former meaning "front house/family", and the latter derived from the street name of the family's homestead, . History The three houses derive from descendants of , who was active during the period and is the most historically important figure within Japanese tea ceremony. 's hometown was , in the province of (in present-day Osaka prefecture). However, as his activities became centered in Kyoto, he kept a house in Kyoto. He also had his adopted son-in-law, , who was married to his daughter , move from to Kyoto, leaving his natural son, , to tend the family home and business in . This represents the origin of the two branches of the family () referred to as the and . The , headed by , eventually settled in a house located on Street, in the neighborhood of temple; the house and property representing the original estate in Kyoto. Following the death of , both of the and of the , inevitably caught up in the wrath of which had been the reason for 's self-immolation, were in danger of also losing their lives, and so, to protect their homes and families, they went into hiding. After a number of months, however, both were able to return home. , still living in , left no successors to carry on the , however, upon returning home to Kyoto, already had a son born of himself and , to succeed him as head of the . had five offspring: the elder two, (?-1652) and (1605-1676), were his sons born of his first wife, . However, following her death, remarried, having two sons ( (1613-1672) and (1622-1697)) and a daughter (, dates unknown) by his second wife. His first and second sons, and , began living independently when they were young men, with his fourth son, , also leaving the family as