The Soshitsu Sen XV Distinguished Lecture on Japanese Culture
About the Sen Lecture
The Soshitsu Sen Distinguished Lectures on Japanese Culture were established by an endowment of $500,000 from the Urasenke Foundation of Kyoto, Japan. Named in honor of Hounsai Sen Genshitsu, Former Grand Master (Iemoto) Sen Soshitsu XV, of the Urasenke School of Tea, this public lecture series is held annually at Columbia University to increase American awareness and understanding of Japanese culture.
The series began in 1988 with a lecture by Dr. Soshitsu Sen XV entitled "The Heart of Tea." In 1989, the Japanese composer, Takemitsu Toru, presented a lecture "Sound in the East/Sound in the West" which was accompanied by an exhibition of his scores, the first All-Takemitsu concert, a pro-seminar for student composers, and a film series highlighting Takemitsu's music for the cinema. In subsequent years, Sen Lecturers have included Donald Keene, novelists Shiba Ryotaro and Kono Taeko, designer Yokoo Tadanori, and Professor Edwin McClellan of Yale University. In 1993, the Sen Lecture program presented performances of Noh drama featuring the distinguished actors Kanze Hideo and Umewaka Rokuro and sponsored a symposium on Noh theater. In 1996, the program consisted of a major international symposium commemorating the life and work of Abe Kobo. In 1999, writer, photographer and scholar Fosco Maraini spoke on "Japan: The Magic of Mountains", and the 2000 Sen Lecture, "Sitting in a Circle: Thoughts on the Japanese Group Mentality" was presented by the poet Makoto Ooka. More recently, the distinguished lecturers have included poet Gary Snyder in 2008 and chef Masaharu Morimoto in 2011. In 2015, Hisa Uzawa and Hikaru Uzawa, a mother-daughter Noh theater dance perfomers, presented behind-the-scenes details of costume and choreography, and danced clim`actic sequences from four major plays.
| 2024 | Naomi Watanabe, Comedian |
| 2023 | Ruth Ozeki, novelist, filmmaker, and Zen Buddhist priest |
| 2022 | George Takei, actor, social justice activist, social media mega-power, recording artist, and author |
| 2019 | Eiko Otake, dancer/choreographer and interdisciplinary artist |
| 2018 | Toshiko Akiyoshi, jazz composer and pianist |
| 2017 | Minae Mizumura, novelist and author |
| 2016 | Keijiro Suga, poet, literary critic, translator, and writer |
| 2015 | Hisa Uzawa and Hikaru Uzawa, Noh theater dance performers |
| 2014 | Jun Tomita, weaver |
| 2013 | Hyuga Himawari, kōdan storyteller |
| 2012 | Ban Shigeru, architect |
| 2011 | Masaharu Morimoto, chef |
| 2010 | Yasumasa Morimura, artist |
| 2009 | Royall Tyler, translator |
| 2008 | Gary Snyder, poet |
| 2007 | Natsuo Kirino, author |
| 2006 | Genshitsu Sen, tea master |
| 2005 | Setouchi Jakucho, author and Buddhist nun |
| 2004 | Beate Sirota Gordon, former director of performing arts at Japan Society and Asia Society |
| 2003 | Bunzo Torigoe, scholar of Bunraku and Kabuki |
| 2002 | Tadashi Suzuki, experimental theater director |
| 2001 | Burton Watson, translator of Japanese and Chinese works |
| 2000 | Makoto Ooka, poet and literary critic |
| 1999 | Fosco Maraini, professor, writer, and photographer |
| 1998 | Edwin McClellan, professor and translator |
| 1997 | Soshitsu Sen XV, Grand Master of Urasenke |
| 1996 | Kobo Abe Commemoration(symposium, performances, film series, and exhibitions) |
| 1995 | Tadanori Yokoo, graphic designer |
| 1994 | Taeko Kono, novelist |
| 1993 | Kanze Noh Troupe (performance and symposium) |
| 1991 | Ryotaro Shiba, novelist |
| 1990 | Donald Keene, professor and translator |
| 1989 | Toru Takemitsu, composer |
| 1988 | Soshitsu Sen XV, Grand Master of Urasenke |