For over seven decades, Dr. Sen Genshitsu has traveled across the world in order to promote the ethos of "Peacefulness through a Bowl of Tea".

[5] During World War II, Sen Masoaki served in the Japanese Navy airforce division, and was assigned to be a kamikaze pilot, but in order to prevent an old dynasty from dying out, he was not allowed to participate.

He took Buddhist vows under Gotō Zuigan, the chief abbot of Daitoku-ji temple, and in 1949, received the title Hōunsai.

In the following decades, he has made many contributions to the international academic study of the history and culture of tea, and was awarded a Ph.D. from Nankai University in 1991, and a Litt.D.

In 1997, he was awarded the Order of Culture by the Emperor of Japan, Akihito, the first in the chadō world to receive such an honor.

[8] In December 2002, his eldest son, Zabōsai (born 7 June 1956), succeeded him as the 16th generation head of Urasenke, and inherited the name Sōshitsu.