Japan Tea Ceremony Master, Peace Champion Sen Genshitsu Dies At 102

KYOTO, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 15th Aug, 2025) Sen Genshitsu, a master of Japanese tea ceremony who devoted his life to traveling around the world to pursue world peace through the art, died Thursday, the tea ceremony school he formerly headed said. He was 102.

According to Kyodo news, Genshitsu, a former grand master of Urasenke, one of the art's top three schools in Japan, visited more than 60 countries to convey his philosophy of "peacefulness through a bowl of tea." In his youth, he was trained to be a kamikaze pilot during World War II.

He was born in 1923 into the family of Urasenke, based in Kyoto, whose roots date back to Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591). The school was known to have perfected the style of tea ceremony based on the "wabi" aesthetic.

Not long after the end of the war, Genshitsu traveled to the United States in 1951 to introduce tea ceremony. He later became the 15th grand master following his father's death and led the Urasenke school from 1964 to 2002.

He served tea to key Japanese government figures as well as foreign dignitaries who visited Japan including Queen Elizabeth II.

After becoming the grand master of Urasenke, he was invited abroad to more events introducing Japanese culture.

He held lectures about the art at the University of Hawaii and had also met with Chinese statesman Deng Xiaoping, after which an educational institution about tea ceremony was established in China.

When Genshitsu went to Vatican, he performed a ritual tea ceremony and also had an audience with Pope John Paul II. Other notable figures he served tea included then U.S. President George W. Bush and Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's ousted civilian leader who was then the country's main opposition leader.

Even after the tea master passed on the headship of Urasenke to his son in 2002, he continued his life's work of promoting global peace through "the way of the tea."

His posts included being a UNESCO goodwill ambassador and a special assistant to the Japanese foreign minister.

Genshitsu received the Order of Culture from the Japanese government in 1997, which was a first from the world of tea ceremony.

He also earned various accolades overseas, including the Legion of Honour, France's most prestigious award, in the rank of commander in 2020.

Urasenke now has 167 chapters and branches in Japan, according to the school. It also has an overseas presence.