{"id":220476,"date":"2025-08-19T16:32:47","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T02:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=220476"},"modified":"2025-08-20T08:22:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T18:22:46","slug":"in-memoriam-genshitsu-sen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/19\/in-memoriam-genshitsu-sen\/","title":{"rendered":"In memoriam: 15th generation tea icon\u2019s lasting UH<\/abbr> legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Genshitsu
Genshitsu Sen. (Photo credit: Howard Wolff Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is remembering Dais\u014dsh\u014d Genshitsu Sen, a 15th-generation tea master, who shared bowls of tea with presidents, royalty, and everyday people, always as an offering of peace. His connection to UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa stretched across more than seven decades, shaping a legacy of culture and learning. Sen, a global ambassador of the Way of Tea, died in Kyoto, Japan, on August 14. He was 102.<\/p>\n

\"Tea
Jakuʻan<\/span> tea house<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sen served as grand master with the name Sen S\u014dshitsu XV<\/abbr> prior to his retirement, leading the Urasenke tradition of tea. He first studied at UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa in the early 1950s and began offering evening classes in Japanese tea ceremony, known as chad\u014d or the “Way of Tea” on the campus and in the community. His lessons fostered a lasting legacy. For more than half a century, UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa students have studied the Way of Tea inside Jakuʻan<\/span>, a traditional tea house which Sen donated in 1972 located behind the East-West Center and helped to restore in 2014.<\/p>\n

Related UH<\/abbr> News stories:<\/p>\n