Overview

• Sen Genshitsu died on August 14, 2025, in Kyoto at the age of 102.
• He became Urasenke’s 15th iemoto in 1964 and led the school until transferring the title to his son in December 2002.
• Conscripted as a student in World War II, he served in the Imperial Navy aviation unit and was assigned to a special-attack squadron before returning home after Japan’s surrender.
• Following his tenure as iemoto, he acted as UNESCO goodwill ambassador and advisor to Japan’s foreign ministry, using tea ceremony to foster international cultural exchange.
• Sen was honored as a Person of Cultural Merit in 1989 and in 1997 became the first tea master to receive Japan’s Order of Culture.