Urasenke Gakuen Professional College of Chado

The Urasenke Gakuen, located on the same neighborhood block as the Urasenke home in Kyoto, began as the Urasenke Chado Kenshujo (Urasenke Chado Training Institute) in 1962. The completion of a new classroom building in 1983 corresponded with its formal accreditation as a professional college by the Ministry of Education. It has received much attention as the only accredited school in Japan specializing in chado education. In addition to the regular three-year program, which provides a basic chado education, and also a one-year course that was initiated in 2001, there is a graduate program to train those interested in becoming professional tea instructors. The graduate program is divided into a 2 courses, one in the first half of the year, and one in the latter half.

The graduates, now numbering over 1,000, are active teaching in thier own homes as well as at schools, universities, and companies. The grand master has also sent graduates overseas to teach chado. A few graduates have remained at Konnichian as apprentices to the grand master, or the Gakuen, as instructors.