when donated a tea house named 1973, February. Mexico (Mexico City) 1973, August. Hilo, Hawaii 1974, March. Brisbane (liaison office), Australia 1974, November. Peru (Lima) 1976, April. London, England; Düsseldorf, Germany; and Paris, France 1976, August. Brazil (São Paulo) 1980, December. San Francisco, California 1981, February. Seattle, Washington 1986, May. Schwarzwald (liaison office; became Freiburg liaison office in 1997, April), Germany 1991, March. Moscow (liaison office), Russia 1991, May. Beijing (liaison office; became branch in 1993), China 1992, August. Tianjin (liaison office), China 1993, April. Vancouver (liaison office; became branch in 1994), Canada 1993, August. Sydney, Australia 1994, September. Washington D.C. 1997, April. Netherlands (liaison office) Independently registered Foundation corporations The Urasenke Foundation of Hawaii, headquartered at the Hawaii Branch, was established as a USA registered non-profit corporation in 1976 The Urasenke Tea Ceremony Society, Inc, headquartered at the Center, was established as a USA registered non-profit corporation in 1981, when the New York Branch moved into the newly opened Center, located at 153 East 69th St. in New York. The Foundation of California, headquartered at the San Francisco Branch, was founded as a USA registered non-profit organization in 1994. It is generally known as Foundation San Francisco. Urasenke Tankōkai The Urasenke Tankōkai (裏千家淡交会) is the membership organization for Urasenke teachers and students. It was initiated in 1940 by the fourteenth-generation head of Urasenke, Tantansai (1893-1964), with the aim of unifying and encouraging the practitioners of Urasenke chadō. In 1953, it was registered by the Ministry of Education and Culture as a not-for-profit incorporated association (shadan hōjin). It is now registered as a not-for-profit general incorporated association (ippan shadan hōjin). Its official registered name, as such, is Ippan Shadan Hōjin Chadō Urasenke Tankōkai (一般社団法人茶道裏千家淡交会). In English, it is referred to as the Urasenke Tankōkai Federation. Its stated aims are to ensure the standardization of the Urasenke chanoyu rules and tea-making procedures (temae), support research, encourage cooperation and exchange among all members, promote the practice of the principles laid down by the grand master, and expand the chadō population around the world. Also, it provides support for the purposes and activities of the Urasenke Foundation. In Japan, the organization is divided into seventeen districts comprising 165 chapters (shibu) and 2 sub-chapters (shisho). Each district has a liaison council for the Gakkō Chadō (Tea Training in the Educational System) program sponsored by the organization. There are also 167 groups belonging to the