TOKYO (AP) — Genshitsu Sen, a former Kamikaze pilot trainee and grand master of the Japanese tea ceremony who promoted peace through the art of tea, has died, officials said Thursday. He was 102.

Sen had been hospitalized since falling and experiencing difficulty walking in May. He died early Thursday after developing breathing trouble, Urasenke officials said.

As a survivor of Japan’s wartime Kamikaze suicide program who saw many of his fellow pilots take off for one-way flights, Sen was a staunch anti-war advocate and promoted “peacefulness through a bowl of tea.”

“Serving tea brings peace to everyone,” he said. “If everyone feels peaceful, there will be no war.”

Sen became the 15th Grand Master of the Urasenke school of Japanese tea ceremony in 1964. Urasenke is one of three top sch

See Full Page