On September 15, 2012 on occasion of the 20th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Japan Mr. Sen Genshitsu, the grand tea master of the “Urasenke” tea ceremony school, conducted a demonstration of traditional ceremony of preparation and serving tea at the Culture and Arts Center of NTUU "KPI".
The event was organized by the Embassy of Japan to Ukraine and Ukraine-Japan Center of NTUU "KPI".
Grand Master Sen Genshitsu, a head of "Urasenke" school, is a representative of the tea ceremony 15th - generation Grand Master Sen Rikyu (XVI century), the founding father of this tradition.
For the last 60 years Grand Master Sen Genshitsu has been promoting worldwide the art of tea ceremony. He visited more than 120 countries and he is a Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations and UNESCO as well as the President of the UN Association of Japan. The motto of his demonstrations is “Peacefulness through a bowl of tea…” and Mr. Sen Genshitsu embodies it in his lectures and demonstrations that allow people of different cultures to better understand each other. It is the first visit of the Grand Master to Ukraine, so the Ukrainians had good opportunity to see the classic tea ceremony in keeping with traditions and rituals.
At the beginning of the ceremony H.E. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Ukraine Mr. Toichi Sakata delivered a speech. He noted that despite the distance between our two countries, the difference in traditions and history there is much which unites our nations, first of all, this is the experience in overcoming nuclear tragedies.
Yu. Yakymenko, First Vice rector of NTUU “KPI”, academician of NAS of Ukraine, thanked Japanese guests for choosing NTUU “KPI” as a host for tea ceremony demonstration, and expressed confidence that this event will be another step to more strengthen further the friendly relations between Ukraine and Japan.
