Bonnie Sōshin 宗心 Mitchell is Seattle’s senior-most Chanoyu instructor and the founding director of the East-West Chanoyu Center. She holds a B.A. from the University of Washington and spent seven years in Kyoto, Japan, engaged in intensive study of Chanoyu. As the only graduate of the Urasenke Professional College in the Pacific Northwest, Mitchell has made enduring contributions to the practice, teaching, and appreciation of the Way of Tea.
In 1981, Mitchell was appointed by the Urasenke Foundation in Kyoto as its official representative in Seattle. For more than thirty years, she taught an accredited course in Chanoyu and Japanese aesthetics at the University of Washington, with classes held both on campus and at the Shoseian Teahouse in the Seattle Japanese Garden. Reconstructed with support from Urasenke, the Shoseian teahouse served as a studio classroom and community venue. In addition to her university teaching, Mitchell developed ongoing public programs at the teahouse, including regular Chanoyu demonstrations that continue to engage the broader community.
Mitchell contributed to the design of the tearooms at the Everett Community College Nippon Business and Cultural Institute, also played a key role the installation of the Ryokusuian Teahouse at the Seattle Art Museum where she continues to serve as an advisor.
Prior to returning to Seattle in 1981, she was granted the professional name Sōshin by SEN Sōshitsu XV. In 2008, she received the Urasenke Seikyōju (Professor Emeritus) degree, and in 2012 she was honored with a Commemorative Award from Consul General Kiyokazu Ota of the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle for her dedication to sharing Chanoyu with the broader public.
In 2012, Mitchell founded the East-West Chanoyu Center (EWCC) and subsequently established its permanent home within the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington (JCCCW), located in the historic Seattle Japanese Language School building. As a longstanding hub for Japanese culture and heritage, the JCCCW provides an ideal setting for the EWCC to share the tranquil tradition of Chanoyu with diverse audiences.
The facility includes two tearooms and a preparation kitchen. Named Zuishin’an (Hut of a Vital Spirit), these tearooms are the first public tearooms in the Pacific Northwest to offer year-round access to interactive tea ceremonies, workshops, and classes for both one-time visitors and dedicated practitioners.
Timothy Sōwa 宗和 Olson Sensei has been an instructor at the East-West Chanoyu Center (EWCC) since 1999 and served as the professor for the University of Washington's Chado course for over 12 years. He studied English literature at Portland State University and the University of Washington before he began tea studies in 1982. Olson received his tea name in 1999 and subsequently pursued further professional training at the Urasenke headquarters in Kyoto, Japan. In 2001, he was awarded the Urasenke certificate of Junkyoju, a senior rank of merit in the Way of Tea.
We sincerely appreciate the generous support of King County 4Culture in ‘Building for Equity’ funding for the tearoom construction, as well as ‘Arts Sustained’ support for programs throughout the year.