Sen Genshitsu, Japanese Tea Ceremony Master, Dies at 102

Tokyo, Aug. 14 (Jiji Press)--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 suicide attack 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.

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