The first sacred Japanese tea ceremony held aboard the USS Arizona Memorial on Tuesday was meant as an act of reconciliation and a symbol of peace that took six years of work by Hawaii’s former first lady Jean Ariyoshi.

The idea came to Ariyoshi while she and former Gov. George Ariyoshi enjoyed a Pearl Harbor dinner cruise hosted by Adm. William J. Fallon, then head of the U.S. Pacific Command. As the admiral’s barge cruised past the USS Arizona Memorial, which straddles the sunken remains of the Arizona battleship, "I had this vision of people getting together, healing together and honoring the war dead and praying for world peace," Ariyoshi said. "I thought, ‘There’s no more beautiful place than to do it here.’"

Tuesday morning, Ariyoshi’s 6-year-old vision became reality when a Japanese World War II-era sailor named Genshitsu Sen performed a Japanese tea ceremony aboard the USS Arizona Memorial, a national monument and the symbol of Japanese aggression that launched America into the war.

Dignitaries aboard the memorial included three Americans who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and Consul General Yoshihiko Kamo of Japan, who watched Sen dedicate a bowl of tea to the 1,177 U.S. sailors and Marines who died during the attack on Dec. 7, 1941.

Sen, 88, was a sailor in the Japanese Imperial Navy during the war and is also a 15th-generation grand tea master of the Urasenke School of Tea.

"Samurai warriors could use this tool to offer tea to one another, to offer a peaceful way to come together," Sen said through a translator after the ceremony. "Even samurai had to leave their swords at the door, at the entryway of a tearoom. So a tearoom is very symbolic of peace in Japan."

The methodical Zen Buddhist tea ceremony culminates in a cup of tea and is intended to symbolize harmony, purity, tranquility and reverence.

Aboard the USS Arizona Memorial, Sen spent 10 minutes meticulously preparing a single bowl of tea, then carried it to the memorial’s shrine room, which lists the names of the dead Americans on a wall.

After placing the bowl on a wooden altar in front of the names, Sen bowed deeply.

He then prepared a second bowl of tea. He walked it to the shrine room, placed it next to the first bowl and again bowed deeply.

The second bowl of tea was dedicated to the goal of world peace.

When he was done, Sen said through a translator, "I have lived 88 years, and this event here today is going to be the most memorable event for myself, personally."

The ceremony required permission from the U.S. Navy and the National Park Service, said Paul DePrey, superintendent of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument.

The original request had been denied by DePrey’s predecessor because the park service was focused on rebuilding the crumbling Pearl Harbor Visitor Center and did not want the sacred Japanese tea ceremony to detract from the fundraising campaign, DePrey said.

The park service notified the national Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, as well as family members of USS Arizona casualties, about the tea ceremony, DePrey said.

No fee was charged to hold the ceremony on the memorial, DePrey said.

The ceremony began with a Hawaiian oli, or chant. Hawaii recording artist Raiatea Helm sang "Hawaii Pono‘i."

Entertainer Jim Nabors was supposed to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" but was hospitalized Monday night, said Jean Ariyoshi, who presided over the ceremony. A spokeswoman for the event said Nabors suffered from an inflammation in his throat.

A U.S. sailor filled in for Nabors as the Pearl Harbor veterans saluted and civilians held their hands over their hearts.

As the ceremony began, Gov. Neil Abercrombie said, "We stand in solidarity with Japan, one island people to another. … Our histories are intertwined in tragedies and triumphs."

The land-based Pearl Harbor Visitor Center remained open Tuesday morning, but public boat tours to the memorial were temporarily suspended while the ceremony took place.

Hozea Chambers, 64, a retired Air Force sergeant from Bedford, Texas, waited to board a boat to the memorial after the tea service and was conflicted that the memorial hosted the ceremony.

"I understand the necessity for reconciliation," Chambers said, "but I’m torn about those poor souls" who died in the attack.

But Angie Bolle, a 70-year-old visitor at the visitor center from Fort Worth, Texas, liked the idea of the service.

"It’s been such a long time," Bolle said. "People have to figure out a way to heal."

The ceremony concluded with a U.S. sailor playing taps on a trumpet, followed by Kamaki Kanahele leading the dignitaries out with an oli pule.

Pearl Harbor survivor Ray Emory, who shot at Japanese fighter planes 70 years ago with a .50-caliber machine gun during the attack on Pearl Harbor, attended Tuesday’s tea service and struggled to reconcile his emotions.

"Not knowing much about the Japanese culture, it’s hard to understand the ritual," Emory said. "The Japanese government has always been reluctant to recognize that Pearl Harbor even happened. … Maybe, sometimes, it’s a little too late."