Urasenke Sponsors East Asian Tea Symposium and Panel Discussion in Tianjin, China

Urasenke Sponsors East Asian Tea Symposium and Panel Discussion in Tianjin, China

The first ever convention of scholars from Japan, China, and Korea to present a symposium concerning the cultural realm of tea took place in Tianjin, China, on October 23, 2004, co-sponsored by Urasenke and Nankai University, located in this city. The venue was the Tianjin Tianyu Hotel conference hall. The audience numbered nearly three hundred, including twenty Chado Urasenke Tankokai members from Japan.
At the opening ceremony from 10:00 A.M., welcoming speeches were given by Nankai University President HOU Zi Xin and Dr. SEN Genshitsu, representing the sponsoring institutions. There were two keynote lectures during the morning. The first, by Dr. Sen, was entitled "The Tea of China, Korea, and Japan." The second, by Vice President LIU De You of the Chinese Association for Cultural Exchanges with Foreign Countries, was entitled "'Harmony, Respect, Purity, Tranquility' and the Spirit of Tea." Also, Tianjin Mayor DAI Xiang Long delivered a talk.


SEN Genshitsu delivers keynote lecture.


Tianjin Mayor DAI Xiang Long	LIU De You delivers keynote lecture.

In the afternoon, the four speakers and their paper titles were as follows:

PARK Jeon Yull, professor of Japanese language and literature at Chung-Ang University, Korea.
                 "Japan's Way of Tea as Seen through Folklore."
KURASAWA Yukihiro, graduate course professor at Takarazuka University of Art and Design,
                Japan. "The Way of Tea and Play [Asobi]."
OKAMOTO Koichi, professor in the Department of Human Sciences at Toyo Eiwa
                University, Japan. "Psychological Interpretation of the Soothing Power of Chanoyu."
LI Zhuo, professor at the Nankai University Center for Japanese Research, China.
                 "Achieving Insight on Japanese Culture and Society through the Way of Tea."


PARK Jeon Yull	LI Zhuo


KURASAWA Yukihiro	OKAMOTO Koichi

The following morning, October 24, 2004, a panel discussion sponsored by Urasenke was held on the theme of "East Asian Culture and Peace" at Tianjin University of Commerce. The audience of about two hundred included many students of this university and the affiliated Tianjin Urasenke Junior College of the Way of Tea, and of Beijing Foreign Studies University. After the opening ceremony, a keynote lecture entitled "Northeast Asian Issues" was delivered by Dr. NISHIHARA Haruo, former president of Waseda University, Japan. The coordinator for the panel discussion that followed was Professor SUDO Shinji of Kyoto Sangyo University, Japan. The other panelists were Dr. Nishihara; Chairman KIM Yong Woon of the Korea-Japan Cultural Exchange Committee, Korea; Tianjin University of Commerce President LIU Shu Han; and Professor LIU Yu Zhen who teaches in the Japanese Language Department at the Nankai University College of Foreign Languages.


NISHIHARA Haruo	SUDO Shinji


LIU Shu Han	KIM Yong Woon	LIU Yu Zhen