Born in 1578 as the son of Sen Shoan and grandson of Sen no Rikyu. After his father restored the Sen family following Rikyu's forced suicide, Sotan dedicated his life to further purifying the wabi-cha spirit of his grandfather. Although he received numerous invitations to serve as tea master to daimyo including the Maeda of Kaga, he refused them all, devoting himself entirely to tea in deliberate poverty — earning the nickname "Beggar Sotan." When he retired around age 80 in 1658, he distributed his tea rooms: Fushin'an (Omotesenke) to his third son Sosa, Konnichi'an (Urasenke) to his fourth son Soshitsu, and Kankyuan on Mushanokoji (Mushanokoji-senke) to his second son Soshu, establishing the Three Sen Houses. He is revered as the restorer of the Sen family who kept alive the spirit of his grandfather's austere wabi.

A solitary tea master who upheld poverty and never courted power. He pursued the spirit of wabi to its limit, living for tea without seeking fame or profit.

Founded the three Sen houses, ensuring Rikyu's wabi-cha survived to posterity. His ideal of tea in austere poverty remains the spiritual model of tea ceremony today.