Born around 1546 as the stepson of Rikyu's second wife Soen. He married Rikyu's daughter Okame and became Rikyu's adopted son, joining the Sen family. When Rikyu was ordered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to commit suicide in 1591, the Sen family faced extinction. Shoan took refuge with Gamo Ujisato, and through the intercession of Ujisato and Tokugawa Ieyasu he obtained Hideyoshi's pardon, being allowed to return to Kyoto around 1594. Upon return he rebuilt Fushin'an, which Rikyu had built, and preserved the wabi-cha spirit and utensils. He passed the Sen house to his son Sotan, laying the indispensable foundation for the later Three Sen Houses. He died in 1614. It would be no exaggeration to say that without Shoan neither the Sen tradition nor the flourishing of the Three Sen Houses would exist.