Omotesenke – Success!

And you thought I was done after these 2 punches? My meeting with the Secretary General of Omotosenke, Mr. Uzuoka, was an honor, went indubitably well, and extended far beyond me dwelling on their architecture.

I am overjoyed to announce that the Omotesenke Chanoyu School, the oldest school in the Sen Family line, has accepted our proposal for a Strategic Partnership with The Tea Institute at Penn State. This partnership includes the training of 10 students per semester at Penn State by a Professor of Omotosenke (4 days per month, we will expand to larger classes as our members gain rank), research cooperation on historical, anthropological, and architectural projects, and a new Summer Experiential Learning Opportunity at Fushin’an in Kyoto.

The Tea Institute now has Strategic Partnerships with all of the SanSenke: Omotosenke, Urasenke, and Mushanokojisenke (in NYC); and with EdoSenke (in Japan). This is a huge step for the Institute, allowing our students to train in Chanoyu with the school of their choice, and giving these lineages the ability to teach, present, and show Penn State University’s 45,000+ students their tradition. We know more than a few will join.

While this is quite an achievement, we have a long way yet to go. It is my goal to see all of these lineages work with the Institute to find permanent, year round instructors for the training of Penn State students, faculty, staff, and the surrounding community, and the infrastructure of Japanese tea houses to support it.  At the same time, I will be working to expand our Summer Experiential Learning Opportunities to Urasenke and Mushanokojisenke.

I want to thank everyone who has been involved thus far with the Institute (I could not have done it without you), and I invite anyone who would like to get involved, near or far, to contact me (I don’t want to do it without you). We are always looking for support.

– Jason