東京芸術大学の卒業生には、お茶の家元が二人います。大名茶人・小堀遠州を祖とする遠州流の11世である小堀宗明は、東京美術学校の彫刻科を卒業しました。その長男である12世・小堀宗慶も、日本画科に入学しています。戦時下には東京美術学校の学生も学徒動員を受け、宗慶は満州に従軍したため、シベリヤ抑留に３年間抑留されました。家元が作らせる茶道具を「好み物」と呼びますが、二人は共に洗練された道具を創り出しています。

Among the brilliant graduates of the Tokyo University of Arts, there are two heads (Iemoto) of a tea school, called the Enshû school. This school maintains the style of tea established by the daimyo (domain lord) Kobori Enshû, and is led by his descendants.

One of these graduates, Sômei Kobori was the 11^th head of the Enshû house, and graduated from the Sculpture Department. His eldest son, Sôkei Kobori, studied in the Nihonga Painting Department. During World War Ⅱ, students of the Tokyo University of Arts were mobilized. Sôkei was sent to Manchuria and as a result he was detained in Siberia for three years.

In tea culture, special tea utensils which the Iemoto has made for the school are called Konomi-mono, and both Sômei and Sōkei oversaw sophisticated Konomi-mono.