About Imai Sōkun
Lived 1552 – 1627 (aged 74–75). Imai Sōkun was a Japanese samurai.
was a prominent weapons merchant in the Japanese port town of Sakai, and master of the Japanese tea ceremony. He was also known by the names Imai Hiratsuna and Imai Kanehisa.
Sōkun was the son of weapons merchant and tea master Imai Sōkyū, and carried on from his father in both capacities. He also followed his father as an advisor and tea master to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Following Hideyoshi's death in 1598, he served Tokugawa Ieyasu, who named him a hatamoto and granted him an estate worth 1,300 koku. Sōkun also helped to organize the dispatch of red seal ships, trading ships formally authorized by the shogunate to trade with the Asian mainland.
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Important facts
People in Imai Sōkun's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Imai Sōkun's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Imai Sōkun?
Japanese merchant
When was Imai Sōkun born?
Imai Sōkun was born in 1552.
When did Imai Sōkun die?
Imai Sōkun died in 1627.
What was Imai Sōkun's occupation?
Imai Sōkun was a samurai.
What nationality was Imai Sōkun?
Imai Sōkun was Japanese.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Imai Sōkun. https://biography.guide/imai-sokun/
MLA: "Imai Sōkun." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/imai-sokun/.
Chicago: "Imai Sōkun." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/imai-sokun/.
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