Tea Demonstration and Lecture
September 15th, 2010
6:00 PM
“Tea Demonstration and Lecture”
Demonstration and Lecture by Dr. Genshitsu Sen (Soshitsu Sen XV), Urasenke
Venue: Casa Italiana, Columbia University
Lecturer Information:
Genshitsu Sen was born in Kyoto on April 19, 1923, as the first son of the fourteenth-generation Urasenke grand master (iemoto), Mugensai. He served as the Urasenke grand master for thirty-eight years, up to the end of 2002, when he transferred the iemoto position and the hereditary name Soshitsu that goes with it to his elder son. At the same time, he changed his own name from Soshitsu to Genshitsu. Genshitsu Sen is customarily referred to by the title Daisosho, which literally means “great grand master.” His Buddhist ceremonial name is Hounsai.
Since embarking on his first trip overseas in 1950, Genshitsu Sen has sought actively to promote the way of tea internationally. He has visited more than sixty countries and made over three hundred journeys abroad. He holds a Ph.D. from Nankai University, China, awarded to him in 1991 for the successful defense of his thesis concerning the influence of the Cha Jing, by Lu Yu (8th c.), on the development of Japan’s chado culture, and a Litt.D. from Chung-Ang University, Korea, awarded to him in 2008. Since September 2005, Sen Genshitsu has been serving as Japan-U.N. Goodwill Ambassador, a position he was appointed to by the Japanese government.
