Japan Consulate honors UH Mānoa Center for Japanese Studies, Way of Tea

Reading time: 2 minutesPast and present CJS members accept commendation

The Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu honored the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Center for Japanese Studies (CJS) and our Way of Tea Club with the Commendation of the Consul General, recognizing the lasting impact they contribute to Japan-Hawaiʻi relations and cultural understanding.

Commendation honored the lasting UH legacy of late tea master Genshitsu Sen. Credit: Howard Wolff Photography

CJS, founded in 1986, has been a driving force in advancing Japanese studies across UH. The Center has grown out of more than a century of Japanese language and culture instruction at the university. Today, it connects 29 full-time faculty members and 11 language instructors, and supports the offering of more than 100 courses each year that explore Japan through disciplines ranging from sociology and law to theatre and history.

“We study and teach about Japan in order to prepare the next generation for their futures spending time in Japan, working with Japan, helping us understand Japan, and for that, especially drawing upon UH’s remarkable strength in language and cultural instruction,” said Mark Levin, director of CJS and a professor at UH’s Richardson Law School.

Former CJS directors attended the special ceremony, including Patricia Steinhoff, Robert Huey and Mary McDonald, alongside former associate director Gay Satsuma. Their decades of leadership have helped shape the program’s national reputation and global reach.

Preserving Chadō

The UH Mānoa Way of Tea Club was also recognized for its work preserving and teaching the Urasenke Chadō tradition, a refined practice of preparing and serving Japanese tea. Beyond its ritual, Chadō embodies the values of harmony, respect, purity and tranquility that have influenced Japanese art, architecture, philosophy and business.

Some members of the UH Manoa Way of Tea Club with instructor Akiko Ono (fourth from right).

Consul General Yoshinori Kodama praised the Center and the club for its dedication to bridging Japan and Hawaiʻi. He also paid tribute to the late Daisōshō Genshitsu Sen, the 15th-generation Grand Master of Urasenke, whose guidance deeply shaped both organizations.

Accepting the commendation on behalf of the club was UH Mānoa lecturer and Way of Tea instructor Akiko Ono, who continues to share the spirit of Chadō with a new generation of students.