Chado Urasenke Las Vegas School

01/04/2026

On Saturday, January 3rd we celebrated Hatsugama. Kathleen Blakely Honorary Counsel General of Japan Las Vegas Representative joined us and provided remarks about the New Year and the fire horse year. The attendees were Jodie, Jeannie, Miyuki, Kuniyo, Aki, Naoto, Jessica, Aynsley, and John joined us for zenzai. A plum kosen was served in the den. Then we enjoyed zenzai in the living room. After zenzai we moved to the tea room.

The scroll read ume hokorobi setsu zen ni kaori. The fragrance of plum when the buds are opening, snow is all around. Written by the 14th generation grand tea master Tantansai. The flowers were chysanthemum and lily in a Richard Milgrim KonkoGuro Tetsuki Hanaire (with Mentori) (Konko Black Faceted Vase with Handle). Jodie laid the charcoal made by her husband John.

Miyuki utilized a kotobuki tana and made koicha using a ohi chawan with a horse pattern carved into it and an Aizu Hongoyaki kasane chawan from the Munagata kiln. The chaire was a The Kokuhaku-Yū Mimitsuki Chaire is a Black & White Glaze Tea Caddy with “ears” made by Richard Milgrim. The chashaku was made by Shoju Shoshin and named Yuetsu—Joyfulness. The shifuku was an ichimatsu pattern on Thai silk.

Kuniyo make usucha for all of the guests. The natsume was a Ryukyu lacquer with a yuna design. The chashaku was named Shojyu everlasting longevity. It has Gensh*tsu’s kao. The first chawan was an Aka Shino made by Richard Milgrim. The other chawans were Kyoyaki with a nanten pattern, Kyoyaki with a pine pattern, Mashiko, and Kutani dento utushi.

After tea we retired to the living eoom to enjoy some delicious brownies that Kathleen made.

11/23/2025

Here are a few more Robiraki pictures.
Sorry for the continual updates.

11/23/2025

Today we celebrated Robiraki by having Kylie’s certificate presentation ceremony. It is finally cool enough to enjoy the sunken hearth.

The students prepared the food last night with Keiko leading the kitchen. Miyuki and Jessica helped out. John and I prepared the tea room. This morning all the students helped with thr final food prep. Helpers and guests also included Seiko, Azuma, Paul, Derrick, and John.

We had a konbu kosen (seaweed flavored water) Then I presented Kylie with her Nyon, Konarai,and chabako certificates.

The scroll read Ichigo Ichie and was written by Zuiryu sanun from Takusenji temple. The scroll also says Rinsai sect Daitokuji It means we should make the most of this moment becaue we will never have this moment in time again. The flowers were purple daisies. The flower vase was an e-shino tsurihanaire made by Richard Milgrim. He used his wife Mari Sensei’a obijime to hang it on.

Miyuki prepared the charcoql(sumi). The incense container (kogo) was an usu made by the 15th generation Miraku Kamei.

Jessica brought the homemade sweets to first guest in a Richard Milgrim Oribe bowl. The sweets were named Miyage no yama ( Mountain treasures). A kasane chawan tea ceremony was presented since their were 9 guests. The tea that was served was Ikuyo no Mukashi from Ippodo. The sweets were made by the students and named Miyage no yama (treasures from th mountains)
The first tea bowl was a red raku bowl made by Seinyu (13th generation Kichizaemon). The 2nd bowl was Aizu honga yaki made by the Munagata kiln in Fukushima. The tana was Koundana, the mizusashi was made by Kogon and was Rakuzan yaki from Shimane prefecture. The lid was made by Shikkosai and the box was signed by Hounsai. The tea container was kokuhaku-yu mimitsuki chaire made by Richard Milgrim. The glaze was black with white spits that looked like snow. The chashaku is as made by Kyobi Sotsuroku and was named Furosato (country villlage). The shifuku was ichimatsu kumo donsu. The kensui was Akahda yaki made by Rakusai Onishi. The furaoki was Greenglazed and a gift from Kumiko Nakata. I do not know the kiln.

Lunch was served after thick tea. The meal was a clear broth dashi with cod, shimeji mushrooms, kabu (turnup). We also made chestnut rice, baked salmon with a ponzu sauce , gingered pork with sh*take muahrooms, daikon(radish) and kaki (persimmon) with namasu sauce, nori wrapped spinach with goma(roasted sesame seeds), oolong tea, and yuzu sake.

After lunch thin tea was made by Aki. The sweets were jellies with beautiful seasonal designs in a dust basket made to pick up leaves. The first bowl was a Tantansai konomi 4 season ninsei bowl made by Toho Tezuka. The natsume was large lack lacquered tea container with a chrysanthemum design made the the 13th generation Sotetsu. Other chawans used were a chabaiyu (tea ash) glazed bowl by Richard Milgrim. The other bowls were Bizen, Tamba(made by Tohoku), green Ohiyaki(made by Buzan). The chashaku was a wajima nuri with ginko leaves. It was named Shigure(sudden brief showers in this season). The kensui and futaoki were made by the 16th generation Takatori potter Hisako Miraku.

11/08/2025

Making tea sweets for Robiraki. Used Willams Sonoma pie molds for the pumpkins, leaves, and acorns.

10/12/2025

Another wonderful Aki Matsuri(Fall Festival). Urasenke Chado Las Vegas performed 7 tea ceremonies and served tea and sweets to 80 guests. It was hor and windy. We had to be creative with the utensils.

08/14/2025

Sen Gensh*tsu
　It was announced on the 14th that Sen Gensh*tsu (Hounsai), former head of the Urasenke school of tea ceremony and recipient of the Order of Culture, has passed away. He was 102 years old. He was born in Kyoto City. Funeral and memorial services have yet to be decided.

[Photo] Sen Gensh*tsu reflects on his wartime experiences in March of this year .

　He was born in 1923 as the eldest son of the 14th head of the school, Sekisō Sosh*tsu (Mugensai). He was drafted as a student to fight in the Pacific War, commissioned as a naval ensign, and underwent su***de attack training at the Tokushima Naval Base. The war ended just before he was due to be deployed. After his demobilization, he graduated from Doshisha University in 1946 and also studied at the University of Hawaii. He was ordained under the abbot of Daitokuji Temple, Gotō Zuigan, in 1949, and succeeded to the headship of the school in 1964, taking the name of the 15th Sosh*tsu. In December 2002, in an unusual move to pass the throne to his eldest son, the 16th Zabosai, he assumed the name Gensh*tsu. Having experienced war, during which he nearly died, he sought global peace and harmony through tea, advocating "Peacefulness from a Single Bowl." Since visiting Hawaii in 1951, he has traveled more than 300 times to approximately 70 countries around the world, promoting the spirit of peace based on the tea ceremony's principles of "Wa Kei Sei Jaku." He established 113 overseas bases in 38 countries and regions, and also accepted tea ceremony students. He has continued his international peace activities by offering tea at sites symbolic of war and peace around the world, including tea offering ceremonies at the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, China in 1996 and at the site of the former Berlin Wall in 2000. In particular, in 2013, 2010, and 2011, he held tea offering ceremonies and tea gatherings at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to pray for world peace, and hosted the Secretary-General and representatives from various countries attending the General Assembly, leaving a strong impression of peace.
　In 2011, he offered tea at the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the site of the outbreak of the Pacific War, to commemorate the war dead and pray for lasting peace, something he had longed for. In 2012, he became a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, and devoted himself to preserving culture both at home and abroad. He was awarded the Medal with Blue Ribbon in 1973 and the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1980. In 1994, he received the Order of the Rising Sun, Second Class, and the Order of Culture in 1997.

千玄室さん - Yahoo!ニュース(京都新聞)

08/10/2025

Today the Urasenke Las Vegas students participated in Nisei Week in Los Angeles. Nisei week celebrates 2nd generation Japanese Americans and their culture. The week is held in August around the same time as the Obon festival which honors our ancestors.

In the alcove the chapter provided the alcove items. The scroll read Taki-waterfall and was written by Sekio Fukumoto. The flower was Rose of Sharon and cats tail in a basket. The incense container was in the shape of an uchiwa fan with a stick. The pattern on it was grass with young ayu fish.

Aki Stewart performed nagaita futatsu oki(with a kettle and brazier and water container on a long board. Miyuki Oh was the helper. Keiko Araki was first guest and Takako from Miwa Sensei’s class was our second guest. Dry sweets from Finland called Finnish marmalade were served to Keiko and Takako.

The chapter provided and Amidado shaped kettle and Doanburo brazier. The water container was made by Nevada’s most well known potter Tom Coleman. The tea container was Hakone Yosegi Zaiku. The tea scoop was made by Daitokuji Taido and name Zuiun(auspicious clouds). The tea bowl was konko yu glaze and made by Richard Milgrim who is very well known in the tea world. The kensui was made by Joeki.

We enjoyed see our tea friends and sharing a bowl of tea. Thank you so much to the LA chapter managers, teachers, and students who make this such a wonderful event.

06/08/2025

Saturday okeiko. Sweets from El Salvador (sweet potato with a hard sugar coating)—thank you Jessica. In a hand built bowl made by Nevada artist Peter Jakubowski. Flowers are Ditch Lily, Rose of Sharon, Chaste, and Field grass in an Indiana made basket. Charcoal (sumi) made by my husband John.

06/01/2025

Todays tea lesson Chawan Kazari and Chasen Kazari, The water container (mizusashi) was made by Andi Goodman of Las Vegas, Nevada. For these procedures we substituted the beautiful matching lid for a black lacquered lid.

04/19/2025

Happy Birthday to Hounsai Daisosho sama on your 102nd birthday. We appreciate your guidance, bringing us the way of tea (chado). May your lifetime mission of “Peacefulness through a bowl of tea,” continue to change the world.