Sen Genshitsu Dies at 102, Disseminated Traditions of Tea Ceremony across World

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:09 JST, August 14, 2025

Sen Genshitsu, the former head of the Urasenke tea ceremony school that carries on the legacy of 16th-century master Sen no Rikyu, has died at the age of 102.

He was known for disseminating the traditions of the tea ceremony widely across the world.

Rikyu’s legacy has been preserved by the members of the San-Senke, or three tea ceremony schools of the Sen family — the Omotesenke, Urasenke and Mushakojisenke.

Sen Genshitsu was born as the eldest son of the 14th head of the Urasenke school. He joined the Japanese Imperial Navy when he was a Doshisha University student and volunteered to be a pilot in a suicide squadron. However, he ultimately returned without taking part in a mission.

In 1964, he succeeded as the 15th head of the school and inherited the name of Sen Soshitsu.

He inherited the Konnichian foundation, established by the 14th head to promote the tea ceremony and preserve cultural assets such as chashitsu tea rooms. He also took over Tankokai, an incorporated association composed of tea ceremony instructors and others, and worked to expand the organizations, while leading the largest number of disciples among tea ceremony schools.

Drawing on his wartime experiences, he advocated the idea of “peacefulness from a single cup of tea.” He made a total of over 300 trips to more than 70 countries to advocate world peace while introducing tea ceremony culture. That earned him the nickname “the flying head of the tea school.”

He performed tea ceremonies at the U.N. headquarters in New York in the presence of the U.N. secretary general and representatives from various countries in 2000, 2010, 2015 and 2023.

In 2002, he transferred the title to his eldest son and named himself Sen Genshitsu as a master of the tea ceremony.

In 2011, Sen Genshitsu invited Japanese and U.S. officials to the USS Arizona Memorial in Honolulu, which commemorates people killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and made tea in front of them.

In 1970, he established a study abroad program for the tea ceremony. Through this program, more than 500 people from at least 40 countries visited the Urasenke school in Kyoto to study tea and Japanese culture.

In 1997, he became the first person in the tea ceremony world to receive the Order of Culture.

He continued his overseas visits after assuming the name of Sen Genshitsu. In his later years, he was vocal about the promotion of peace and defense issues based on his wartime experiences, giving lectures in Okinawa Prefecture and his hometown of Kyoto.