Reijiro Izumi, Lecturer
Born in 1989 in Kyoto, as the second son of Masakazu Soko Izumi, who was the second son of Genshitsu Sen, 15th Grand Master of the Urasenke Chado Tradition. Graduated from Doshisha University, Kyoto, where he was enrolled in the Department of Commerce, Faculty of Commerce. In March, 2018, completed a postgraduate doctoral course at the Kyoto University of Art and Design, and earned a Ph.D. (doctoral thesis: “Research on Kyoto Kettles of the Early Modern Period: Focusing on Tsuji Yojiro”). 
Was involved as a part-time curator for Sakai City in the establishment of the Sen no Rikyu Chanoyu Museum at the Sakai Plaza of Rikyu and Akiko. 
Board Member, Urasenke Tankokai Federation
Vice Director and Curatorial Department Chief, Chado Research Center, Urasenke Foundation 
Vice Principal, Urasenke Gakuen Professional College of Chado 
Chairman, Wa no Gakko, NPO 
President, Sabié 
Visiting Professor, Ritsumeikan University

Kunio Kirisako, Lecturer
He was born in Wakayama Prefecture in 1960 and studied under Professor NAKAMURA Masao during his master’s program at the Kyoto Institute of Technology. He holds a Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Tokyo.
He currently serves as Vice Principal of the Kyoto Architectural College and lectures part-time at several universities. His areas of expertise include architectural history and design, tea ceremony culture, and the preservation and adaptive reuse of traditional architecture.
He was the first in the field of architecture to receive the Encouragement Award of the Tea Culture Academic Prize for his book Cha no Yu Kūkan no Kindai (The Modernity of the Tea Ceremony Space, Shibunkaku Publishing).
His publications include Chashitsu 33-sen (33 Selected Teahouses, A U, editor and author), Sekai de Ichiban Yasashii Chashitsu Sekkei (The World’s Easiest Tea Room Design, also available in Traditional and Simplified Chinese), Kindai no Chashitsu to Sukiya (Modern Teahouses and Sukiya Architecture), and co-authored works such as Washitsu Raisan (In Praise of the Japanese Room), Washitsugaku (Japanese Room Studies), Akogare no Sumai to Katachi (Dream Homes and Their Forms), and Chashitsu Roji Daijiten (The Encyclopedia of Tea Rooms and Roji Gardens), among others.
He is a licensed First-Class Architect and holds the tea ceremony name Sōhō.

Hitoshi Abe, Organizer/ Moderator
Hitoshi Abe, Professor and former Chair in the Department of Architecture and Urban Design at the School of Arts and Architecture and Chair in the Study of Contemporary Japan and the Director of the UCLA Paul I. and Hisako Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies. Since 1992, when Dr. Hitoshi Abe won first prize in the Miyagi Stadium Competition and established Atelier Hitoshi Abe, he has maintained an active international design practice based in Sendai, Japan, as well as a schedule of lecturing and publishing, which place him among the leaders in his field. https://aha.design

1.「間」Ma: Time and Space in Japanese Architecture
Hitoshi Abe & Tezzo Nishizawa, Michael Osman
Oct. 29, 2024 (Recorded video will be available)

間 (MA) is a Japanese concept that defines the interval or space between two entities, encompassing both temporal and spatial dimensions, and serves as a foundational principle in various aspects of art, architecture, and life.

2.「矩」Kane: The Canon of Japanese Architecture
Don Choi & Takaharu Tezuka & Yui Tezuka
Dec. 10, 2024 (Recorded video will be available)
In Japanese architecture, the notion of 矩 (kane) serves as a guiding framework for practicing, norms and measurements are harmonized to create a unique aesthetic order. The speakers will talk about how this modular system affects the way they think and design.

3.「廃墟」Hai/kyo: Destruction and Rebirth of Japanese Architecture
Ken Tadashi Oshima & Alicia Volk 
APR. 16, 2025 (ONLINE) 

廃墟 (HAI/KYO) refers to ruins that embody the remnants of historical destruction caused by disasters such as earthquakes, fires, floods, and wars, while also symbolizing themes of rebirth, recovery, and the creation of new urban landscapes.       

4.「陰影」In/Ei: Images of Japanese Architecture
Tohru Horiguchi & Liam Young
MAY 16, 2025         

陰影 (IN/EI) refers to the concept of shadows that highlights the importance of darkness as a vital element in representation, contrasting with the Western focus on light and clarity, and emphasizing the true essence of architecture and form.