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Japan Today
4 days ago
- General
- Japan Today
Genshitsu Sen, Japanese tea master and former Kamikaze pilot trainee, dies at 102
Genshitsu Sen XV, grand tea master of the Urasenke School of Tea, performs a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony on the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, on July 19, 2011, in Honolulu. Pearl Harbor survivors along with honored guest participated in the morning ceremony. By MARI YAMAGUCHI Genshitsu Sen, a former Kamikaze pilot trainee who later promoted peace as a grand master of the Japanese tea ceremony, has died, officials said Thursday. He was 102. Sen had been hospitalized since falling and experiencing difficulty walking in May. He died early Thursday after developing breathing trouble, Urasenke officials said. As a survivor of Japan's wartime Kamikaze suicide program who saw many of his fellow pilots take off for one-way flights, Sen was a staunch anti-war advocate and promoted 'peacefulness through a bowl of tea.' 'Serving tea brings peace to everyone," he said. 'If everyone feels peaceful, there will be no war.' Sen became the 15th Grand Master of the Urasenke school of Japanese tea ceremony in 1964. Urasenke is one of three top schools founded in the early 17th century based on the teachings of Sen no Rikyu. As grand master, Sen performed the tea ceremony more than 300 times in 70 countries to promote the art of Chado, or the way of tea, and global peace, earning him the nickname 'flying teamaster.' He hosted tea ceremonies to pray for peace in milestone years marking the end of the war and, in 2011, served tea at the USS Arizona memorial in Honolulu, Hawaii, to pay tribute to those who died in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Sen was born in 1923 in Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto. He was only 6 years old when he first took lessons to become a grand master. His future was mired in uncertainty during the war. In 1941, the year he entered Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan launched the war on the United States, and two years later he was among 100,000 students mobilized to fight. In 1943, Sen was conscripted to the Imperial Navy and began training to be a Kamikaze pilot, but the war ended before he was deployed. Sen brought his tea ceremony equipment with him when he joined the navy and served a group of several fellow trainees a farewell tea before their mission. He handed over his grand mastership to his son in 2002, but continued to promote tea and peace until earlier this year. His wake and funeral were to be held by close family only and a memorial is expected at a later date, Urasenke said. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
UPI
16-05-2025
- General
- UPI
U.S. Navy announces updates for preservation of Pearl Harbor's USS Arizona
1 of 3 | The USS Arizona is considered a war grave for about 900 of the sailors and Marines who died during the 1941 attack. The USS Arizona Memorial at Ford Island, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, was created in 1962. File Photo by John M. Hageman/U.S. Navy May 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy on Friday announced its plans for a preservation project coordinated with the National Park Service for Pearl Harbor's USS Arizona that includes the removal of its aging mooring platforms. The USS Arizona, a Pennsylvania-class battleship commissioned in 1916, suffered a direct hit from Japanese forces in December 1941 while stationed at Hawaii's Pearl Harbor. It sank within minutes, killing 1,177 of the 1,512 crewmen aboard. The ship is considered a war grave and remains the resting place of around 900 of the sailors and Marines who died during the attack. While the ship will always remain underwater and undisturbed, work is needed to ensure the site -- which now includes a national memorial -- is preserved and to prevent further environmental damage. After the attack, in 1942, mooring platforms were attached to the sunken ship to help with salvage operations of the ship's weapons and equipment to aid in the war effort after the U.S. joined World War II. "What the Pearl Harbor salvors did in the years following the attack and throughout the war was nothing short of miraculous," said Capt. Lee Shannon, the officer in command of the platform removal. "I don't know of any equivalent salvage effort before or since. The sheer magnitude of technical expertise, meticulous planning and grueling work under unprecedented and dangerous conditions, day in and day out, all the way up to the final peace treaty signing 80 years ago, makes me very proud of the Navy and the people of Hawaii." But the mooring platforms were not meant to be permanent and are deteriorating, posing a threat to the ship, the monument built at the site in 1962, and the environment around it. In October 2023, one platform partially collapsed, raising alarms about their structural integrity. Leaving the platforms in place risks damage to the ship's fragile hull, which could cause pieces to break off or shift underwater or pollute the harbor with oil and fuel. After a year of planning and analysis, the Navy has announced that it will install a new temporary mooring system to facilitate the removal of the aging mooring platforms. The temporary mooring system would then also be removed. "Before we are able to start platform removal operations, it is important to establish measures that further enable the safe removal of the platforms from the Arizona by containing the worksite and protecting the environment," said Matthew Englehart, a diving and salvage officer with the U.S. Pacific Fleet. The Navy is expected to begin placing containment buoys and anchors in the waters surrounding the USS Arizona Memorial site May 19 as a precautionary measure and in preparation for the upcoming removal, expected to take place later this year. It was not immediately clear how the preservation work would impact visitors. Some 2 million people visit the site, which is only accessible by boat, each year.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's Navy Secretary Keeps Flubbing The Date Of Pearl Harbor
A social media account for U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, whom President Donald Trump tapped for the role despite him having zero military experience, posted the wrong date of the attack on Pearl Harbor twice late last week. The two posts, which have since been deleted, went up Friday after Phelan ― a wealthy investor, prominent art collector and Trump campaign donor ― visited the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and USS Arizona Memorial in Hawaii, saying he was 'there to honor the thousands of service members and civilians who died at Pearl Harbor on June 7, 1941.' In another post, the account referred to it as 'the fateful day of June 7, 1941.' The Japanese military's attack on Pearl Harbor, which President Franklin Roosevelt famously referred to as 'a date which will live in infamy,' happened on Dec. 7, 1941. As the impetus for the United States' entrance into World War II, it's remembered as a day that changed the course of world history. Newly hired Navy spokesperson Kristina Wong, a former Breitbart News correspondent, took the blame for the mistake on Monday. 'I sincerely regret the error. As the daughter of an Air Force veteran it pains me to have made this mistake,' she wrote on social media. Rep. Chris Deluzio, a Democrat from Pennsylvania and former Navy officer, had just two words when asked to react to the blunder: 'Amateur hour.' Veterans came out in large support for Trump in last year's election, with about 65% of them saying they voted for him, exit polls showed. That came after he made big promises to service members and veterans during his campaign last year, vowing to raise military pay and root out its 'woke' leaders. But an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press last month found that Trump's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, helmed by billionaire Elon Musk, plans to cut more than 80,000 jobs from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides health care and other services to America's millions of veterans. The cuts will reportedly happen this summer as the department undergoes a major reorganization in August.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's Navy Secretary Keeps Flubbing The Date Of Pearl Harbor
A social media account for U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, whom President Donald Trump tapped for the role despite him having zero military experience, posted the wrong date of the attack on Pearl Harbor twice late last week. The two posts, which have since been deleted, went up Friday after Phelan ― a wealthy investor, prominent art collector and Trump campaign donor ― visited the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and USS Arizona Memorial in Hawaii, saying he was 'there to honor the thousands of service members and civilians who died at Pearl Harbor on June 7, 1941.' In another post, the account referred to it as 'the fateful day of June 7, 1941.' The Japanese military's attack on Pearl Harbor, which President Franklin Roosevelt famously referred to as 'a day that will live in infamy,' happened on Dec. 7, 1941. As the impetus for the United States' entrance into World War II, it's remembered as a day that changed the course of world history. Newly hired Navy spokesperson Kristina Wong, a former Breitbart News correspondent, took the blame for the mistake on Monday. 'I sincerely regret the error. As the daughter of an Air Force veteran it pains me to have made this mistake,' she wrote on social media. Veterans came out in large support for Trump in last year's election, with about 65% of them saying they voted for him, exit polls showed. That came after he made big promises to service members and veterans during his campaign last year, vowing to raise military pay and root out its 'woke' leaders. But an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press last month found that Trump's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, helmed by billionaire Elon Musk, plans to cut more than 80,000 jobs from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides health care and other services to America's millions of veterans. The cuts will reportedly happen this summer as the department undergoes a major reorganization in August. Harry Chandler, Navy Medic Who Survived Japan's Attack On Pearl Harbor, Dies At 103 Seth Meyers Sinks Trump's Navy Secretary Pick In Just 1 Brutal Move Trump Administration Urges Workers To Snitch On One Another For 'Anti-Christian Bias'
