Ancient tea ceremony commemorates 15th generation tea master

Genshitsu Sen, 15th generation grand master

UH Mānoa student Yuma Tochika demonstrates chadō (Japanese tea ceremony).

Tea is served to members of the community after the public lecture.

Hundreds attended the public lecture and tea demonstration.

Genshitsu Sen will turn 101-years-old this April.

Link to video and sound (details below): https://go.hawaii.edu/n4Y

WHO: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa undergraduate students and Genshitsu Sen, a 15th generation grand tea master who has dedicated his life to fostering peace through the teaching of the Urasenke Chadō tradition, one of the most widely known schools of Japanese tea ceremony. Sen, who turns 101-years-old this April, held a public lecture for UH Mānoa students, faculty and community members. Sen has been a patron to UH on sharing the rich history and cultural significance of tea as well as donating a traditional tea house to the campus. He has been recognized by UNESCO for his contributions to peace as an ambassador of goodwill.

WHAT: Traditional tea ceremony performed to honor one of the world’s leading grand tea masters from Japan. 

WHEN: February 14, 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

WHERE: UH Mānoa Campus Center Ballroom 

WHY: UH Mānoa has offered Way of Tea ceremony courses since the 1970s which teaches students the deeply respected chadō (Japanese tea ceremony) practice. For the past 50 years, classes have been held inside Jakuʻan, an authentic tea house at UH Mānoa. Erected in 1972, it is one of the first tea houses built outside of Japan.

ADDITIONAL INFO:

• The UH Mānoa Way of Tea Center, established in 2001, is organized within the Center for Japanese Studies (CJS) and serves to assist in fulfilling its mission of promoting a deeper understanding of Japan within a global context. 
• The Way of Tea Center educates students and helps to perpetuate tea culture while fostering a deeper awareness of Japanese culture and international understanding.
• The Way of Tea practicum course is taught out of the UH Mānoa Asian Studies Department
• The UH Mānoa student-run Way of Tea Club is an organization dedicated to the study of traditional Japanese Chadō under the instruction of Professor Akiko Ono Riley. Members practice Urasenke-style tea ceremony at the Jakuʻan tea house each week.

Jakuʻan tea house 

• Master Sen commissioned the building of Jakuʻan tea house. First constructed in Japan and reassembled in Hawaiʻi in 1972, Sen donated the structure to UH in an effort to carry out his life’s mission of spreading a message of peace through the teaching of tea ceremony.
• Jakuʻan means hut of tranquility and is located inside the East-West Center Japanese Garden. 
• In 2015, Jakuʻan celebrated a reopening after undergoing renovations funded by Sen.

Legislative recognition 

• The State of Hawaiʻi House of Representatives will recognize CJS’ Way of Tea Center, UH Mānoa Way of Tea Club members, Jakuʻan’s 50th anniversary and Tea Master Sen’s 100th birthday on Thursday, February 15, at the Hawaiʻi State Capitol. 

VIDEO:

BROLL: (1 minute, 31 seconds)

0:00-0:44 - Tea ceremony 

0:44-0:59 - Grand Tea Master Genshitsu Sen

0:59-1:11 - Public lecture at UH Mānoa

1:11-1:31 - Jakuʻan tea house at UH Mānoa 

SOUNDBITES:

Madeline Gilbert, UH Mānoa Student 

(12 seconds) on art of tea 

“I just kind of fell in love with it. There’s something about how peaceful it is and there is so much kindness and beauty that’s incorporated in the tea world.”

(16 seconds) on Grand Tea Master Sen 

“We’re just so lucky to be able to listen to him speak or hear someone of his age and intellect and he has so many kind and interesting thoughts to give that it’s just an awe experience.”