A group of University of Hawai‘i–West O‘ahu students had the privilege of meeting 101-year-old Dr. Genshitsu Sen, the former grand master of the Urasenke tea tradition and a promoter of peace, at a lecture on July 22 at UH Mānoa Campus Center.
The students were members of the UH West O‘ahu Tea Ceremony Club, as well as students of “HIST 323: Way of Tea in Japanese History and Culture,” taught by Dr. Kazuko Kameda-Madar, a history lecturer with the Humanities Division at UH West O‘ahu. Attendees learned more about the revered art form and received firsthand lessons from Dr. Sen.
“They attended his lecture and handed him a certificate of appreciation,” Kameda-Madar said. “The Urasenke has been generously supplying the high-quality matcha tea powder, tea sweets, and tea utensils for the UH West O‘ahu Tea Ceremony Club since the club’s establishment in 2019.”
Kameda-Madar said students at the lecture were enlightened and touched by Dr. Sen, an “internationally known promoter of peace” and a direct descendant of Sen Rikyu (1522-1591), who formulated the wabi (rustic) tea style.
“Similar to his ancestor, Rikyu, who was ordered by a 16th-century Feudal Lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi to commit a ritual suicide due to the fact that he tried to stop Hideyoshi’s plan for invading Korea, Dr. Sen experienced an extremely difficult situation during WWII,” Kameda-Madar said. “When he was recruited into a Special Attack Force, he witnessed his comrades, who were forced to the death missions, cry calling their mothers’ names. On the day of his appointed suicide run, a military officer reassigned Dr. Sen for a different position and he survived.”
Kameda-Madar continued, “Since he returned to his home, which is the Urasenke Headquarters, Dr. Sen has been dedicating his entire life to promoting peace through a bowl of tea. Our students were moved by his philosophy of peace and way of tea based on his ancestor’s and his own experience.”
UH West O‘ahu student Akiko Gardner, who attended the lecture, said she was impressed by Dr. Sen and noted his generosity and friendliness.
“I was quite touched that Dr. Genshitsu Sen strongly wishes for world peace through the green tea ceremony,” said Gardner, 52, formerly of Yokohama, Japan, and now living in ‘Aiea.
Another UH West O‘ahu student who attended, Cami Wong, said her favorite part of meeting Dr. Sen was when they were able to personally greet him.
“We gave him lei and handed him a folder that included pictures of our tea ceremony practices and little notes from each class member, expressing our gratitude for his support,” said Wong, 21, who grew up in Hilo and now resides in Kapolei. “I recall seeing his face light up after looking over the folder and am honored to have had the opportunity to show him our progress and appreciation.”
Additionally, Gardner, Wong, and other UH West O‘ahu Tea Ceremony Club members also participated in a joint tea ceremony practice session with their partners from UH Mānoa on July 28 at the Jakuan Tea House on the UH Mānoa campus.
“What I learned … was that the Japanese beautiful green tea tradition has been passed down from generation to generation, the same as Hawaiian cultural traditions,” said Gardner, a Hawaiian-Pacific Studies major. “I felt that the Jakuan Tea House was a sacred place for everyone, and I was in another world, as if I was at a green tea house in Kyoto, Japan.”
For Wong, highlights of the event included watching the sumi-demae demonstration, the process of preparing the charcoal that is used to heat the kettle during the tea ceremony, as well as performing hishaku, a slightly more advanced form of tea ceremony than what the UH West O‘ahu students had been learning.
“It was an extremely informative experience and, on behalf of my classmates, I can say that we learned so much,” said Wong, who is pursuing a degree in History along with a certificate in Asian Studies. “This experience made me want to keep pursuing the art of tea ceremony and learn more advanced forms of what I already know.”
Gardner added, “I am really grateful to Kumu Madar (Kameda-Madar) for providing these unforgettable experiences.”
