Omar Francis
Omar Francis, 2nd degree instructor in the Urasenke Tradition of Chadō (Japanese Way of Tea), started his formal art training at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1990. During his time earning his BFA in Photography, he was exposed and introduced to the other arts featured on campus. His fiery adventures in glass blowing still hold a special place in his stories of the art program. Halfway through his time on campus, Francis enrolled in Prof. Kimiko Gunji’s (MS ’71, MA ’79) class on chanoyu (the Japanese tea ceremony). When asked, he would describe that time as a “homecoming” because Japan House was “a place where I could open my heart wide and share it with others.”
“For me, studying the art and culture of tea [chanoyu] has never been about amusing myself with something exotic. What really drew me in was discovering that what I believed to be my own personal ideas about life, art, and relationships, already existed outside of myself in the Way of Tea.”
After graduating with his BFA, Francis moved to Chicago to continue work in the commercial photography industry, building on experience gained from internships under Douglas Bush (BFA ’74) and Big Deal studios. While working in this field, he continued his weekly studies of the Urasenke Tradition of Chadō under Joyce Kubose in Chicago. This led up to his taking a year-long break from work to enroll in the Midorikai program in Kyoto, Japan. Midorikai is the intensive full-time program of the Urasenke Tea Tradition for non-Japanese students. Days were filled with lectures, kimono wearing, Japanese traditional culture, and a most serious study of the Way of Tea.
Since returning, Francis has been a longtime member of the Urasenke Chicago Association, including 16 years as Vice-President of the organization. Some of the many places he has taught and/or presented chanoyu over the past 30 plus years include: Loyola University, Norte Dame University, Chicago Botanic Garden, Anderson Japanese Garden, and Japanese Information Center (Consulate of Japan). Through his work at the Japanese Culture Center, he has worked to expose the Way of Tea and culture to high school aged students and younger. In 2008, Francis was granted the prestigious level of instructor and given the name Sōbin by the Urasenke Grandmaster, Sen Sōshitsu XVI. Simultaneously, during this time he was diagnosed with a slowly progressing form of ALS but his commitment to chanoyu did not slow down. Due to his many activities spreading tea culture, Omar Francis was awarded the Cultural Achievement Award by The Japanese America Society of Chicago in 2017.
In addition to the achievements above, Francis would say that he has been greatly fortunate to be able to contribute to the programs of Japan House on the Urbana campus. “Even when asked to teach or present chanoyu at Japan House, I find that I am the one who is learning and growing each and every time that I am there.” Most recently, Francis has also been teaching a course for the U of I, ARTJ 397 Zen, Tea, and Power. This course uncovers how the mutually beneficial relationships of religion, war, politics, and the arts gave rise to the tea ceremony in Japan.
“The influential people of pre-modern Japan didn’t study tea as a hobby only after they became powerful. I believe that the study of tea helped make them powerful. It has also been my goal to present this subject in a way that encourages the students to see how their own hobbies and private pursuits are not side notes to their lives but powerful forces that shape who they are and who they will become.”
Currently Omar Francis is one of only three instructors of the Urasenke Tradition of Chadō in the Chicagoland area. Going on ten years, he continues to teach regular classes at the Japanese Culture Center.