Sokiku Nakatani (1903-1990)

Mrs. Kikuyo Nakatani (nee Morimoto) was born in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1903 and emigrated to Isleton, California in 1920. She married in 1921 and with her husband, Kinjiro, farmed in the Florin/Elk Grove area before and after World War II. Following the death of her husband in 1957, Mrs. Nakatani moved to Los Angeles in 1958. After her relocation to the West Los Angeles area, she began formal study of Chadô around 1960 with Madame Sosei Matsumoto, one of the nation's most influential and highly regarded Urasenke tea masters. Mrs. Nakatani received her tea name "Sokiku" from Urasenke Headquarters in Japan, having achieved mastery in tea, leading to the license of "First Degree Instructor" or Jun Kyoju.