The Urasenke International Association (UIA) is a membership-based organization founded on the motto of “Peacefulness through a Bowl of Tea.” The goal of UIA is to contribute to the realization of world peace through promotion of the internationalization of chado.

Established: September, 1985 by Daisosho SEN Genshitsu, 15th generation Urasenke iemoto

History: In November, 1981, the first Urasenke Chado International Seminar was held at Urasenke headquarters in Kyoto. The number of applicants grew with each seminar, and soon, former participants hoping to reapply had to be turned away. It was at this time, in November of 1985, that Daisosho SEN Genshitsu (iemoto at the time) established the Urasenke International Association (UIA) with the goal of training seminar alumni, internationally-minded tea practitioners, for promoting international exchange through chado under the motto, “Peacefulness through a Bowl of Tea.” Since then, with each year’s International Seminars, the number of alumni who join UIA has continued to grow. As of April 2016, UIA boasts 546 members.

Since its inception in 1985, in conjunction with the spread and development of the overseas promotion of chado, UIA has organized and dispatched chado envoys for participation in nearly every overseas event hosted by the Urasenke head family. In addition, a voluntary endeavor of nearly three hundred members of the UIA resulted in the production of the English-language Urasenke Chado Textbook and A Chanoyu Vocabulary: Practical Terms for the Way of Tea, two essential books for non-Japanese students of chado. As the UIA continues to thrive and grow, even larger-scale activities are anticipated in the future.

Contact information

International Affairs Department
Urasenke Tankokai Federation Headquarters
Tel: (075) 451-5166
Fax: (075) 451-3926
mail : info@urasenke.or.jp