Latest news with #Urasenke
Kuwait Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Japan's grand tea master Sen Genshitsu dies at 102
This file photo taken on April 15, 2013 shows Myanmar's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi receiving a bowl of green tea from Japanese tea master Genshitsu Sen at a tea ceremony in Kyoto, western Japan. --AFP photos Sen Genshitsu, a would-be kamikaze pilot who became a Japanese tea ceremony master preparing cups of matcha for world leaders and monarchs, died aged 102 on Thursday, reports said. With a motto of 'peacefulness through a bowl of tea', Kyoto-born Sen used ancient 'Urasenke' tea tradition rituals to spotlight his anti-war messages. The United Nations headquarters in New York and the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii -- the scene of a devastating Japanese attack that brought the US into World War II -- were among the locations for his ceremonies. His death was reported by major Japanese media, including the national broadcaster NHK and the top-selling newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. AFP could not immediately reach the Urasenke school for comment. Born in 1923, Sen went through training as a young man to become a kamikaze pilot in World War II, but the fighting ended before he had to carry out a suicidal mission. This photo taken on April 9, 2013 shows Sen Genshitsu, former head of the "Urasenke" school of tea ceremony, performing a tea offering during a visit to the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. He later told how he used to serve tea to his fellow soldiers during military training. In a 2023 interview with NHK, Sen stressed the calming effects of tea culture. 'A bowl of tea makes spirits very peaceful. When everyone is peaceful, there will be no war,' he said. An ordained Zen monk, Sen became the 15th-generation grand master of the Urasenke school in 1964 following the death of his father who had previously headed the tradition. He offered tea to monarchs and presidents including Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and counted the former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger and former Chinese president Hu Jintao as friends. He said that his wartime experience had helped shape his views on the importance of peace. In 1997, he received the Order of Culture in Japan and in 2020, he was given the Legion of Honour, France's most prestigious order of merit. He retired in 2002 as the head of the tea school, passing it to his son, but he remained active up until his death. Even after he turned 102 in April, he held more than 100 cultural and government advisory positions and gave speeches, including some lasting more than an hour, the Yomiuri Shimbun said. He also worked as a goodwill ambassador for the UN cultural and education agency, UNESCO. He was known as 'Flying Grand Master' for his busy travel schedules. — AFP
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Masaoki Sen, ex-kamikaze pilot and ‘tea ceremony diplomat,' dies at 102
Traveling the world to engage in a kind of tea-ceremony diplomacy, he used that ancient art, whose roots lie in Zen Buddhism, to call for an end to all wars. He was known for the phrase 'peacefulness through a bowl of tea.' Advertisement Following Japanese traditions, he went by several names during his lifetime. As grandmaster of the Urasenke, he was called Soshitsu Sen XV, a title that evoked his school's lineage back to Rikyu Sen, a philosopher of the tea ceremony who taught it to medieval warlords. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up After retiring in 2002, he took the name Genshitsu Sen, a gesture that allowed his eldest son, Masayuki, to become the next Soshitsu. In a statement released by the Urasenke, the son said his father had weakened physically after injuring his hip in a fall three months ago. When his breathing stopped suddenly, efforts were not made to prolong his life, in accordance with Mr. Sen's wishes. Complete information on his survivors was not immediately available. Advertisement Nobel laureate and Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi served tea she made to Mr. Sen in Kyoto, Japan, in 2013. Uncredited/Associated Press Masaoki Sen was born in Kyoto on April 19, 1923, the eldest son and thus heir apparent of the Urasenke grandmaster at the time. That stature appeared to have saved him during the war. After leaving Doshisha University in 1943, he was drafted into the Imperial Navy, where he trained to be a pilot. When his unit was asked to form a 'special attack' squadron to carry out suicide missions, Mr. Sen was one of the volunteers. 'I thought I was ready to die,' he said in an interview with a Japanese newspaper in 2021. 'But I was just a greenhorn of 20 or 21 years of age. I didn't know what death meant.' While many young men in his unit flew off to intentionally crash their planes into Allied ships, Mr. Sen was never sent. Historians say the Japanese military often spared families' oldest sons, especially those from historically significant households. After the war, Mr. Sen asked a former commander why he was never sent. The older man answered: 'Just think of it as fate.' Unlike many war veterans, Mr. Sen spoke openly of his experiences and of his sorrow over the loss of comrades who never returned. He also made no effort to disguise his anger toward the Japanese leaders who had sent them on one-way missions. 'We were told to die because others would fill our ranks,' he said in another interview. 'But who wants to die?' Given a second chance at life, Mr. Sen used his hereditary grandmaster role to turn the ancient art of making and serving tea into a means of promoting peace for nearly four decades, giving demonstrations and lectures in Japan and around the world. Advertisement He continued his mission after retirement. In 2011, he conducted a tea ceremony in Pearl Harbor to honor the crew of the USS Arizona, a battleship sunk by the Japanese in their surprise attack on Dec. 7, 1941. He said at the time, 'Facing what happened in the past and relaying its lessons to future generations is the responsibility of those of us who survived.' This article originally appeared in
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
Sen Genshitsu, Japanese tea ceremony master, dies at 102
Sen Genshitsu, former grand master of Urasenke, a Japanese tea ceremony school, died on Thursday. He was 102. Sen, a native of the city of Kyoto who became grand master in 1964, received the Japanese Order of Culture in 1997 for his efforts to deepen and modernize the traditional tea ceremony. After handing over the title of grand master to his son in 2002, Sen dedicated himself to promoting Japanese culture overseas by holding tea ceremony lessons at universities across the world. He had close relations with the late former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and Myanmar's democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and greeted Britain's Prince William with tea during his trip to Japan. Sen, who was trained to be a kamikaze pilot during World War II, actively held tea ceremonies overseas to commemorate war victims and pray for peace, while upholding the philosophy of "peacefulness through a bowl of tea." He worked on improving ties between Japan and China by repeatedly visiting China for talks with senior Communist Party officials. Sen received many awards overseas, including the Officier de la Legion d'Honneur from the French government. He served as a friendship ambassador of the United Nations and UNESCO.
Asahi Shimbun
3 days ago
- General
- Asahi Shimbun
VOX POPULI: In death, Sen Genshitsu finally found closure over war period
Sen Genshitsu speaks of his experience of war in Kyoto on June 12. (Asahi Shimbun file photo) Sen Genshitsu (1923-2025), the 15th generation 'iemoto' grand master of the prestigious Urasenke school of tea ceremony, was a university student when he was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Navy air service two years before Japan's defeat in World War II. The day before he reported for duty, his father showed him a 'wakizashi' (short samurai sword) for the first time, telling him to 'take a good look.' He had no idea at the time why his father did that, Sen recalled later. As it happened, the sword was a famed masterpiece that was believed to have been used by Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591), the founder of the Urasenke school, when he was ordered by feudal warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) to commit 'seppuku' ritualistic suicide by disembowelment. Sen realized his father's intent after his first training as a pilot. In his book 'Cha no Kokoro wo Sekai-e' (Imparting the spirit of tea ceremony to the world), Sen noted that his father's message must have been, 'Never choose to die.' Sen was trained as a kamikaze pilot. But when everyone else was being sent on a suicide mission, he alone was ordered to stand by. Thus spared, he became a 'survivor of the suicide attack squad' which, he often said after the war, filled him with deep shame and regret. His feelings must have been quite complex, having always been treated, from a young age, as 'the heir apparent' of an illustrious institution with a four-century history. After preaching peace through Chado tea culture throughout the postwar period, Sen died on Aug. 14. He was 102. Likening a round teacup to the Earth containing green matcha, Sen taught that to drink tea was to be in harmony with nature. A free thinker and speaker, his charm was never constrained by stuffy, old traditions. In the tearoom, everyone is equal. The entrance to the tearoom is kept low and narrow, which forced samurai warriors to remove their swords to enter. According to a theory proposed by Sen, Sen no Rikyu chose this setup because he had been inspired by the command, attributed to Jesus in the New Testament: 'Enter through the narrow gate.' Sen used to say that, for himself, World War II would never end until his death. It ended one day before the 80th anniversary of Japan's defeat in the conflict. --The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 16 * * * Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
See - Sada Elbalad
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
Japanese Tea Master Sen Genshitsu Dies at 102
Rana Atef The Urasenke School of Tea in Japan announced the death of Dr. Sen Genshitsu, one of the world's most influential tea masters and a global peace ambassador, at the age of 102. Born in Kyoto in 1923, Genshitsu was a direct descendant of Sen no Rikyū, the historic founder of Japan's tea tradition. After World War II, he devoted his life to spreading the message 'peace through a bowl of tea,' traveling to more than 60 countries and performing ceremonies for leaders including Queen Elizabeth II, Pope John Paul II, and U.S. President George W. Bush. He served as Grand Master of Urasenke from 1964 until 2002, later becoming a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and advisor to Japan's Foreign Ministry. His honors included Japan's Order of Culture (1997) and France's Legion of Honor (2020). Today, Urasenke has 167 branches in Japan and many more abroad, preserving the legacy of a man who turned tea into a universal language of peace. read more 15 Ludicrous Cosplay Costumes That Will Blow You Away Watch... Dorra's natural beauty will blow your mind in latest photo session Exercising For As Little As 150 Minutes A Week Will Make You Happier، Study Claims ARIES: Your Horoscope for April 7 FDA Now Considers Vaping A Rising Epidemic In High School Lifestyle How to make Dried salted fish (feseekh) -By Chef El-Sherbini Lifestyle Batarekh Dip & Sardine Dip Lifestyle Best of Easter cookie and cakes Lifestyle ARIES friendship Videos & Features Story behind Trending Jessica Radcliffe Death Video News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters Arts & Culture "Jurassic World Rebirth" Gets Streaming Date News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia Business Egyptian Pound Undervalued by 30%, Says Goldman Sachs Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Arts & Culture South Korean Actress Kang Seo-ha Dies at 31 after Cancer Battle Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt News The Jessica Radcliffe Orca Attack? 100% Fake and AI-Generated
