{"id":192306,"date":"2024-02-20T16:46:38","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T02:46:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=192306"},"modified":"2024-03-01T08:39:12","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T18:39:12","slug":"uh-students-learn-from-tea-master","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/02\/20\/uh-students-learn-from-tea-master\/","title":{"rendered":"Peace through tea: UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa students learn from 15th gen. tea master"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Genshitsu Sen, 15th generation grand master<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Japanese tea ceremony (chad\u014d) courses have been offered on campus by the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa since the 1970s. 15th generation Urasenke Grand Master Genshitsu Sen recognized around the world and nearing his 101st birthday in April, introduced this practice, also known as the “Way of Tea” to UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa in the early 1950s. At that time, Sen was studying at the university and shared his chad\u014d expertise during evening classes for adult education. Although the initial number of students was small, more enrolled over time as Sen returned through the decades to teach and share his insights.<\/p>\n

“While there are many Japanese-Americans in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, what\u2019s most important for me is that by teaching Japanese traditions, I hope to convey shared human values regardless of nationality or ethnicity,” Sen said.<\/p>\n

Celebrating peace<\/h2>\n
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Genshitsu Sen will turn 101-years-old this April.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On February 14, Sen returned for a public lecture to share his knowledge and commitment to fostering peace through tea. Sen, recognized by UNESCO<\/abbr> as an Ambassador of Goodwill, spoke at the free event hosted by the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Center for Japanese Studies<\/a> (CJS<\/abbr>) at the Campus Center Ballroom, which was attended by hundreds. He emphasized the principles of the “Way of Tea”: wa, kei, sei and jaku (harmony, respect, purity and tranquility).<\/p>\n

Steeped in wisdom<\/h2>\n
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Hundreds attended the public lecture and tea demonstration.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n
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Tea is served to members of the community after the public lecture.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n

Madeline Gilbert, a junior majoring in Japanese<\/a> and theatre and dance<\/a> at UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa, took the Way of Tea course currently taught by Akiko Ono Riley, a lecturer and chad\u014d instructor at UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa. <\/p>\n

“We\u2019re 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\u2019s just an awesome experience,” Gilbert said.<\/p>\n

Gilbert attended the lecture with fellow members of the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Way of Tea club, a student-run organization that has practiced Urasenke-style tea ceremony since 1967. Both the club and Way of Tea courses at UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa are held inside Jaku\u02bban, a traditional tea house at East-West Center donated by Sen in 1972. The chashitsu (authentic tea ceremony house), first constructed in Japan, was reassembled in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> by Japanese artisans who traveled here for the task. The tea house celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022.<\/a><\/p>\n

Leading the Way of Tea<\/h2>\n
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UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa student Yuma Tochika demonstrates chad\u014d (Japanese tea ceremony).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yuma Tochika, a UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa senior and the current president of the Way of Tea club followed in the footsteps of his parents who were both members during their university days, Tochika, a biology major, sees engaging in this ancient practice as a meaningful connection to his heritage.<\/p>\n

“I think it\u2019s sort of like meditation in some aspect. It\u2019s really all about concentration, and even though you have to repeat these almost like choreography in some sense hundreds and hundreds of times, you still have room for improvement,” Tochika said. The Nuʻuanu<\/span> native is preparing for a special year-long intensive program in Kyoto this April.<\/p>\n

Legislative honor<\/h2>\n

On February 15, the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> House of Representatives held a special ceremony at the State Capitol to commemorate CJS<\/abbr>\u2019 Way of Tea Center, UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Way of Tea Club members, Jaku\u02bban\u2019s 50th anniversary, and Tea Master Sen\u2019s 100th birthday. After House Resolution 11 passed unanimously, Sen and CJS Director Mark Levin were presented with a recognition certificate signed by all of the House members.<\/p>\n

For more go to the CJS<\/abbr> website.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"large
Genshitsu Sen and members of the Â鶹´«Ã½Mānoa Way of Tea Center and club are honored at the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Capitol.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Grandmaster Genshitsu Sen hosted a lecture with the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Center for Japanese Studies to share knowledge on fostering peace through tea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[776,1471,9],"class_list":["post-192306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-center-for-japanese-studies","tag-college-of-arts-languages-and-letters","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192306"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":192793,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192306\/revisions\/192793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}