Twitter • Instagram • LinkedIn • Threads • Facebook • Published 2/21/2024

Last week, we shared a quick recap of the exciting events of the week of Valentine’s Day. Today, please enjoy this photo recap of both the February 14th Spirit of Tea and Peacefulness lecture by Dr. Sen, and the February 15th Recognition at the Hawaiʻi House of Representatives. We are also happy to announce that these events were featured on UH News, as well as local news stations KITV and Hawaii News Now.

The Spirit of Tea and Peacefulness by Dr. Genshitsu Sen

On February 14, 2024, Dr. Sen returned to Honolulu to give his lecture, The Spirit of Tea and Peacefulness, to a crowd of 200+ guests at the UH Mānoa Campus Center Ballroom. When Dr. Sen studied at UH Mānoa in the early 1950s, he began teaching a “Way of Tea” culture class, which grew in popularity and enrollment in the years after its inception. Dr. Sen, moved by the positive reception, continued to keep a close relationship with the University, and would later help fund and build the Jaku’an Tea House near the East-West Center. Appointed as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 2012, Dr. Sen hopes that through “sharing a bowl of tea”, we all can share and convey the principles of Wa, Kei, Sei, and Jaku (Harmony, Respect, Purity, and Tranquility).

Remarks by CJS Director Mark A. Levin

CJS Director Levin conveyed his admiration for Dr. Sen, not only for his contributions to UH Mānoa and the Center for Japanese Studies, but also for his continued efforts to convey shared human values of peace and tranquility throughout the world. Read the full remarks below.

 

Way of Tea club students share peacefulness through tea ceremony

Established in 1967, the Way of Tea Club, and the Way of Tea practicum course has been held in the Jaku’an Tea House (“Place of Tranquility”) which was built in 1972. Each student has taken the “Way of Tea” practicum course offered by the Asian Studies department and taught by Way of Tea Instructor Akiko Ono Riley, and it is through this course that they learn how to serve tea in the Urasenke tradition while embodying the principles of Wa, Kei, Sei, and Jaku that Dr. Sen emphasizes through his lectures. Instructor Ono Riley and her students worked hard to prepare a “pop-up” recreation of a Japanese tea room where demonstrations of the tea ceremony were held for those who stayed after the lecture.

Recognition at the Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives

On February 15, 2024, House Resolution 11 was passed unanimously during the 20th legislative session, recognizing and commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Jaku’an Tea House on the UH Mānoa campus, and celebrating Dr. Sen’s 100th birthday. Dr. Sen joined CJS Director Mark Levin, Way of Tea Instructor Akiko Ono Riley, and the Way of Tea Club students at the Hawaiʻi State Legislature for the momentous occasion, and received a certificate commemorating the passing of House Resolution 11.

View the event recording when Dr. Sen and Jaku’an Tea House is recognized in this recording courtesy of the Hawaiʻi House of Representatives.  (From 16:00 to 20:18)

Special Thanks

Thank you to Representative Andrew Takuya Garrett, Representative Jackson Sayama, Speaker Scott Saiki, and the Hawaiʻi House of Representatives members and staff for honoring us and making this event recognizing the Jaku’an Tea House possible.

Thank you to the UH News, UH Office of Communications and spokesperson Moanikeʻala Nabarro for the generous coverage of our events!

Photos from February 15, 2024 courtesy of the Hawaiʻi House of Representatives.