Sen So-oku Brings His Family's Legendary Eye For Quality To GEISAI

Today we bring you another profile of one of our GEISAI#14 jurors: 15th Generation Descendant of the Mushakōjisenke Line Sen So-oku. Without a doubt, Mr. Sen is one of the most famous figures in today’s tea ceremony culture.


Sen So-oku

Mr. Sen is active in a lot of different media, meaning that many of you may have seen him before. In addition to the tea ceremony, his work brings him into frequent contact with the art world at large.

We might also add that Mr. Sen has completed courses for a doctorate in Japanese art history from Keio University and currently teaches courses on the same subject at the graduate school of Meiji University. And as I’m sure we don’t need to remind you, he recently provided a lecture on the nature of collecting in Japan for our own series: GEISAI University.



Mr. Sen’s GEISAI University lecture took place in October 2009. The theme was “collecting and value”.



To this end, he exhibited from his personal collection of tea ceremony utensils in the tatami room of the Kaikai Kiki gallery. His gorgeous presentation did not disappoint.



Guests stare at the items, trying to take everything in.

While Mr. Sen’s particular area of study at university was the history of Japan’s ukiyo-e wood block prints, he has held a high interest in Buddhist statues and imagery from a young age. So much so that he even become a monk at age 15. For this reason, he was selected as editor for a special issue of Brutus Magazine focused on Buddhist statues and called Butsuzou Japan. The issue featured profiles of 32 individual works.


The issue was published to coincide with an exhibition of Asura statues. It was quite popular and copies sold out quickly.

Upon invitation, Mr. Sen was also kind enough to attend Chairman Murakami’s solo exhibition at New York’s Gagosian Gallery, impressing New York art celebrities with his generosity. He made sure to impart the “savor every moment” spirit of ichi-go ichi-e, the philosophy embodied by the Japanese tea ceremony.


In the gallery, surrounded by works from the Daruma series. This was around the time of the series’ debut in May of 1997.


A picture with Chairman Murakami, both clad in hakama. Mr. Sen naturally looks great in a kimono.
（Photo above by Gion）

After this photo was taken, Mr. Sen paid a visit to the Guggenheim New York’s Third Mind exhibition, where he made tea in a golden space created by James Lee Byars.


↑Inside the room titled The Death of James Lee Byars. April, 1994.


↑Boiling tea inside the work itself.

（Photo above by Gen Aihara／Excerpted from Chami in New York)

Further details can be found on Mr. Sen’s personal blog Chami in New York. You’ll also find stories on his visit to Cai Guo-Qiang’s atelier and his special viewing of the Tawaraya Sōtatsu masterpieces at the Freer Gallery of Art. The trips were part of his work as Cultural Ambassador for the Agency for Cultural Affairs. As you can see, Mr. Sen’s connection with the arts runs deep.
http://blog.magazineworld.jp/casabrutus/sen/


Given his status as a luminary of the tea world, research on art museums, and time spent viewing, interacting, and studying the truest of the world’s true art works, it’s safe to say that Mr. Sen possesses a keen eye. Don’t forget that no matter how old it may be now, all artwork must start as something new. And it is people like Sen So-oku who lift these pieces aloft, helping ensure that they survive the trials of history. That same Sen So-oku is waiting now to discover new works at GEISAI, maybe even yours.