In Urasenke, what professional hereditary name does each new iemoto assume?

In Urasenke, each new iemoto assumes the professional hereditary name Sen Sōshitsu. More precisely, Sōshitsu is the hereditary professional name, and the head is officially referred to as Sen Sōshitsu.

Urasenke is one of Japan’s major schools of chadō, or the Way of Tea. Its headmasters share the first three generations with the Omotesenke and Mushakōji Senke lineages, beginning with Sen no Rikyū, Sen Shōan, and Sen Sōtan. The family branches divided from the fourth generation onward.

The repeated name can be confusing because individual iemoto also have personal names, religious names, and artistic names. Sen Sōtan, for example, was the shared third-generation head and is not the hereditary title used by successive Urasenke leaders. The current succession is identified by a generation number, such as Sen Sōshitsu XVI.