Fall 2025

Dr. Genshitsu Sen Memorial

History Department faculty representatives and CALL Dean Peter Arnade were honored to attend the recent memorial service of Dr. Genshitsu Sen (Hōunsai Hansō Sōshitsu) (1923-2025), 15th-generation Grand Master of the Urasenke school of tea ceremony, who passed away on August 14, 2025 at the age of 102.

The memorial service was held at the Honpa Hongwanji Hawaiʻi Betsuin on October 12 and was hosted by the Chadō Urasenke Tankōkai Hawaiʻi Association.

Dr. Sen’s warm and generous relationship with UH Mānoa and particularly the History Department dated back many decades and fostered ongoing study of Japanese cultural traditions, both through the endowed Sōshitsu Sen XV Professorship of Japanese History and Culture, today held by Professor Nancy Stalker, and through frequent visits and guest lectures.

The History Department will continue to carry on Dr. Sen’s legacy through HIST 233: “The Way of Tea in Japanese History and Culture” and other related courses.

With appreciation for his efforts toward global peace and cultural understanding: Rest in Peace, Dr. Sen.