Green tea has become the national drink for the Japanese, but it was originally introduced from China in the late Nara period (710-794).

In this article I’m going to explain the history of Japanese tea in the Nara and Heian periods.

The introduction of tea

It is said tea was introduced to Japan about 1,200 years ago and when monks who had studied in China such as Saicho, Kukai, and Eichu, brought back solid tea called “Heicha” from China.

The earliest record of tea drinking is found in Nihon Koki, which records that Eichu offered tea to Emperor Saga in 815.

As a result, Emperor Saga decided to have tea grown in areas such as Yamato and Harima in June of the same year and ordered it to be offered every year.

This was the beginning of tea cultivation in Japan.

The tea drunk before the Heian period

As mentioned above, the earliest record of tea drinking can be found in 815, during the Heian period (794-1185), but it is believed the tea was drunk even before that.

This is because there is a material that shows there were already tea utensils in the late Nara period.

In other words, tea had already introduced to Japan through the Japanese envoys to the Tang dynasty at that time.

However, the tea of this period was a drink for the upper classes and was not available to the common people.

What is Heicha (Dancha)?

The type of tea that was drunk in the Nara and Heian periods was called “Heicha (Dancha)”.

Heicha is a kind of tea that is made from steamed tea leaves into powder and solidified like Mochi (rice cake) at the finishing stage.

When Japanese people drank it, they would cut off the necessary amount, roasted it with a fire, then powdered it and put it in hot water to drink.

Later, Dancha, a solid tea made with a mortar to finely grind the tea leaves, was also introduced, but Heicha and Dancha had a disadvantage of having a strong smell.

As a result, Heicha and Dancha did not suit Japanese tastes and gradually faded away.

The achievements of “Tea Saint OTANI Kahee” are not limited to the tea industry.

I’m going to introduce the life of OTANI Kahee, who devoted himself to the tea industry and Japan, sometimes even investing his own money.

The life of OTANI Kahee, a great businessman of the Meiji period who played an active role on the world stage.

Birth to adolescence

OTANI Kahee was born in 1845 in what is now Matsusaka City, Mie Prefecture. At the age of 19, Kahei started working for the tea trade company,“Iseya” in Yokohama (just south of Tokyo) run by OGURA Tohee.

Kahee was adopted by Iseya as his work was recognized, but he couldn't agree with his adoptive father and separated from him.

After that, Kahee worked for Smith & Baker Company as a tea buyer and head of overseas trading.

Adolescent to mature age

He changed his childhood name from Tokichi to Kahee at the age of 23.

While working for Smith & Baker, he opened “Tomoeya”, his own company in Yokohama.

He would improve the company's performance and increase his influence on the tea industry.

In addition, he also worked to improve the quality of tea when it declined due to the rapid increase in tea exports.

He established the Central Tea Industry Headquarters in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce to oversee the tea industry throughout the country.

He was also active in politics and held prominent positions in the tea and trade industries.

Mature to late life

At the age of 49, he founded Japan Seicha Co., Ltd. and started direct export transactions without going through the foreign trading houses.

After that, he opened branch offices overseas with government support. Around the same time, he became the president of the Yokohama Chamber of Commerce.

At the World Commerce Congress in Philadelphia in 1899, he met with the President of the United States of America as the representative of Japan. He petitioned for the elimination of tariffs on tea and proposed laying a “Transpacific cable”.

He was active in politics and business until his last years, and died in 1933 at the age of 90.

Achievement of OTANI Kahee

A man called “The Tea Saint”

A 19 years old with foresight

When Kahee was 13 years old, the Japan-US Friendship and Trade Treaty was signed.

Japanese green tea has grown to meet the tastes of foreigners, and its export value has increased year by year, becoming the second largest export product after raw silk.

Raised in Ise (Mie Prefecture), a tea production area, Kahei grew up with a sense of its potential.

At the age of 19, Kahei works for “Iseya”, a tea trade company in Yokohama run by a man from his neighboring village.

Kahee was convinced of the “tea's potential” in his teens and decided to be involved in the tea industry. It can be said that Kahee had “foresight”.

A 23-year-old in a big game

Kahee was ordered to buy tea that was in short supply due to a sudden increase in demand, and he went to Osaka.

Just by looking at tea samples, he boldly purchased about 4 tons of tea.It is said that they spent about 10.4 billion yen.

At that time, all the transactions were done in cash, so he had a large safe at the entrance of the hotel where he stayed in.

It is said that so many spectators rushed to see a rare sight.

After earning large money, he opened “Tomoeya”, his own tea company in Yokohama while working for Smith & Baker.

This episode illustrates Kaibei's daring as a businessman.

Further activities

Kahee made a great contribution to the tea industry, education, and bridge building of his hometown, Ise. Thanks to the power of Kahee, many Ise teas were exported overseas, enriching the local economy.

Moreover, Kahee’s activities did not stop even in his later years.

He served as the chairman of the Japan Foreign Trade Association, president of several banks, and was involved in the establishment of Taiwan Railway Company, South Manchuria Railway Company, the Bank of Korea, Joban Life Insurance Company, and Kawamata Electric Company.

He received the Silver Medal with Yellow Ribbon, Order of the Sacred Treasure (the Fifth class), Order of the Sacred Treasure (the Third class), the Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon, and the Order of Leopold I from Belgium.

The variety of his activities and the number of medals he received allow us to see how active Kahee was.

International contribution

At the World Commerce Congress in Philadelphia in 1899, he met with the President of the United States of America as the representative of Japan.

Kahee appealed directly to the President for the elimination of tariffs on Japanese tea carried out from the previous year.

As a result, the tariff was abolished and tea exports increased again.

Furthermore, in order for the Japanese tea industry to compete in the world, it was necessary to have a means of information transmission on overseas situations promptly, so he proposed laying cables under the Pacific Ocean and contributed to the development of infrastructure.

Understanding of new initiatives

When Kahee was the chairman of the Central Chamber of the Tea Industry, a tea farmer was struggling to “variety development of tea” without gaining the understanding of the people around him.

Recognizing the need for “variety development of tea”, Kahee invested his private funds to purchase the land and offered it as a test site to encourage the project.

That tea farmer was SUGIYAMA Hikosaburo, the father of “Yabukita”, which currently accounts for 80% of tea production in Japan.

Kahee who contributed privately to the development of tea varieties that no one understood, can be said to be another father of Yabukita.

More you know the great businessman of the Meiji period, “The Tea Saint OTANI Kahee” who played an active role in Japan and the world, more you find exciting stories of Japanese tea.

Despite his success as a doctor, TAKABAYASHI Kenzo devoted his life to inventing tea processing machines. I’m going to introduce his eventful life.

About TAKABAYASHI Kenzo "Father of the tea processing machine"

From the world of Medicine to Tea

At the age of 16, Kenzo aspired to become a medical doctor. He studied Chinese medicine and Western surgery, and was successful as a doctor.

However, worrying about the trade imbalance at that time (the Meiji period), he started to run a tea farm, saying “promotion of tea is an urgent task”.

In order to improve the efficiency of tea cultivation and production, which were done entirely by hands at the time, he decided to mechanize the process and began developing tea production machines at his own expense.

Later, he invented and patented “tea roasting machine”, “raw tea leaf steamer” and “tea leaf rubbing machine”.

From adversity to death

Kenzo’s ultimate goal was to automate the entire process. At the age of 54, he quit his job as a doctor and focused on development of the tea processing machine.

“The independent tea processing machine” was finally completed, but it was found to be defective and products manufactured by this machine were returned.

As a result, he faced financial hardship, but he continued to develop without yielding, At the age of 68, he completed “tea leaf rolling machine" and obtained the patent.

After that, he lived in Shizuoka as an auditor for the machine, but passed away in 1899 due to a cerebral hemorrhage.

The achievements of TAKABAYASHI Kenzo

The first civilian to receive a patent

The Japanese patent system started around the same time when Kenzo developed “raw tea leaf steamer”, “tea roasting machine” and “tea leaf rubbing machine” one after another.

Kenzo immediately applied for patents, and each machine obtained a “Patent No. 2,3, and 4”.

The first Japanese patent was for a warship paint invented by an engineer of the Imperial Household Ministry, so Kenzo became the first civilian inventor to obtain a patent in Japan.

In addition, he obtained Patent No. 60 for an improved electric fan, Patent No. 150 for a tea leaf rolling machine, and Patent No. 3301 for a tea leaf roughly rolling machine. Kenzo was a brilliant inventor with six patents.

Setback and failure of the independent tea processing machine

Kenzo quit his job as a doctor and devoted himself to the development of “the independent tea processing machine”. He completed it in 1887.

At first, with the support of the government, briefing sessions were held for tea companies in Japan, and orders flooded in.

However, complaints arose one after another, and even products manufactured by this machine were returned due to defects.

In addition, this is followed by the misfortune of losing his house in a fire.

At the discretion of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, he set up a tea factory for research, but the finance of the family was in a difficult situation.

Despite a suffering from a lung disease, Kenzo continued his efforts toward machine development.

Invention of the tea leaf rolling and drying machine

Kenzo is said to be “father of the tea processing machine”.

“Tea tea leaf roughly rolling machine” has greatly changed the working style of the tea industry.

Kenzo's machine is a wonderful invention whose principle and structure are still used in tea making machines all over Japan.

Furthermore, considering that tea was a major export at the time, it was a big invention that could be described as “contributed to the Japanese economy”.

Japanese tea industry | Before and after mechanization

The tea industry before mechanization

At present, fresh leaves picked in tea gardens are as follows: steamer →roughly rolling machine→ rolling machine→ middle rolling machine → fine rolling machine → drying machine. Then they are commercialized.

Before mechanization, this process was done entirely by hands, so each artisan could only produce 3 to 5 kg of tea a day.

As a result, the production of tea continues to be unable to keep up with the increase in tea exports, resulting in a surge in inferior products.

The mechanization of tea production was an urgent task for Japan.

The post-mechanization tea industry

Kenzo's goal of “mechanisation” was to achieve the same quality as hand rolling, while at the same time mass-producing at low cost.

Unfortunately, Kenzo was not able to automate the entire process, but he contributed greatly to the labor saving of the under-rolling work.

The production volume was less than 10,000 tons at the beginning of the Meiji period (1868-1912), but by the end of the Meiji, it exceeded 30,000 tons.

Kenzo aimed to be a machine that faithfully imitated the human handiwork, so the quality of tea did not deteriorate.

As proof of this, a comparison of OISHI Otozo, the best tea-maker in Japan and Kenzo's “tea leaf rolling machine” showed that the machine was superior in both efficiency and quality.

There was an episode that OISHI Otozo himself bought this machine.

The more you know about the life of TAKABAYASHI Kenzo, the more you would appreciate the beauty of “tea leaves”.

The Japanese tea history cannot be told without NAGATANI Soen.

In this article, I’m going to explain NAGATANI Soen, who invented “Method for producing green Sencha (Green Sencha Method)” and contributed greatly to the spread of Sencha (steeped green tea).

About NAGATANI Soen

NAGATANI Soen was born in Kyoto in 1681. The ancestor of the NAGATANI family was samurai, but in 1592, they cultivated the land of the village in Kyoto, made a tea garden, and started a tea manufacturing business.

NAGATANI Soen, who was engaged in the family business of tea manufacturing, was also a “leader of the village” who led the improvement of farmland.

Even after his death in 1778 at the age of 97, he was respected as the founder of Japanese green tea and enshrined as “Chaso Myojin (god of the tea)” in the Daijingu (Shrine) adjacent to his birthplace.

Connection to the company everyone knows

Some of you may have heard the name of NAGATANI Soen. NAGATANI Soen has a deep connection with “Nagatanien” which is famous for its “Ochazuke seaweed”.

Nagatanien was established by NAGATANI Yoshio, the 10th generation of the NAGATANI family.

By the way, “Nagatanien” is the company name of the NAGATANI family.

In the early days of the company's establishment, Nagatanien was engaged in the tea manufacturing industry and the sale of tools for the Sencha tea ceremony.

With the launch of “Ochazuke seaweed” in 1952, the company’s business became immovable.

Today, most of Nagatanien's products, such as furikake and instant miso soup, have nothing to do with tea, but the ingredients of “Ochazuke seaweed” are made with Matcha (powdered green tea).

The achievements of NAGATANI Soen

There were two NAGATANI Soen’s achievements in tea.

He produced “Green Sencha Method” which became the basis for the current Sencha production method

At that time, the rich drank Matcha and the common people drank Sencha (steeped green tea), but Sencha was dark red and the taste was not very good.

The “Green Sencha Method” led to the production and widespread use of tasty Sencha with good color, so that the common people can also enjoy delicious tea.

He succeeded in selling Uji tea in Edo.

The company focused on Edo (Tokyo), which became Japan's largest consumption area, and succeeded in expanding the sales channel of Uji tea, which had begun to decline due to high nengu (land tax) and other tea production areas.

Another famous company “Yamamotoyama” with close ties to NAGATANI Soen

At first, there were no tea traders who appreciated the new method of tea production in Edo.

However, it is said that when Soen visited Yamamotoyama in 1738, which dealt in Japanese paper, tea and tea utensils, YAMAMOTO Kahee, the fourth liked Soen’s tea and bought it immediately.

Later, when this Sencha was named “Tenka-ichi (the best in the country)” it became very popular and spread from Edo to the whole country.

There is a story that Yamamotoyama, who made a huge profit from NAGATANI Soen's tea, gave 25 ryo of koban (former Japanese oval gold coin) to the Nagatani family as a reward every year until 1875.

What is the Green Sencha Method?

Before the Green Sencha Method, the tea leaves were heated and then dried, so the color was dark and the taste was not very good.

It was called “black” because of the color of the tea.

Soen's idea for the Green Sencha Method was to add a “rolling” process to the steamed tea leaves before they are dried, giving it a beautiful color and a rich flavor.

Without NAGATANI Soen who invented the Green Sencha Method, it would not have been possible to enjoy the beautiful colors and taste of today's Sencha.

In the Meiji period (1868-1912), tea was exported in large quantities as an important means of earning foreign currency.

In this article I’m going to introduce the history of tea in the Meiji and Taisho (1912-1926) periods and the mechanization of tea production. 

Tea has become a major industry in Japan

During the Meiji to Taisho period, tea was regarded as an important export item for Japan.

That was triggered by the signing of the Treaties of Amity with Europe and the United States in the Edo period.

At that time, as much as 181 tons of tea was exported overseas from Dejima (island) of Nagasaki as a trading window.

Even after the Meiji Restoration, tea continued to dominate the export market, with an export volume of 20,000 tons.

Achievements of OTANI Kahee

OTANI Kahee made the greatest contribution to the development of the tea industry in the Meiji period.

He was originally the largest tea seller in Yokohama, but in 1894 he established Japan Tea Products Corporation.

He thoroughly managed the quality of exported tea, and when the United States imposed tariffs on tea, he went to the United States to carry out a campaign to eliminate the tariffs on tea production.

He devoted his life to the promotion of Japan's tea industry.

The mechanization of tea production

I have already mentioned that tea was an important means of earning foreign currency in Japan.

However, Japan at that time had no manufacturing means to meet the rapidly increasing demand yet.

Therefore, in the Meiji period, mechanization was promoted to produce tea efficiently.

In particular, TAKABAYASHI Kenzo played an important role in the mechanization of tea.

He was originally a doctor, but later became an inventor in the tea industry.

In 1884, he manufactured a tea roasting machine and other products, and in 1896 he completed a roughing machine that greatly improved the efficiency of the work previously done by hand kneading.

In addition, hand scissors were also invented to improve the efficiency of the harvest, which gradually made the mass production of tea for export possible.

Development of Makinohara Plateau in Shizuoka

Even today, Shizuoka Prefecture is one of the leading tea producing areas in Japan, but the cultivation of Makinohara Plateau in the Meiji Period triggered this.

Originally, the Makinohara Plateau had been empty land until the end of the Edo period, but it was reclaimed because the demand for tea increased rapidly as the export of tea started.

The people who worked to cultivate the land were the warrior clans who had lost their jobs due to the Meiji Restoration.

However, the warrior clans were fed up with unaccustomed hoes and hard work, and gradually broke away.

From then on, the work was handed over to the river ferryman, but they were unable to endure the hard work and poverty, and many people dropped out.

It is thanks to the hard work and efforts of such people that we are able to enjoy good quality tea in Shizuoka even today.

History of Japanese tea: Muromachi and Azuchi-Momoyama periods

Japan's tea ceremony culture flourished during the Muromachi period (1336-1573) and the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573-1603).

The foundation of modern tea ceremony was formed by the activities of tea masters such as MURATA Juko, TAKENO Jyoo, and SEN no Rikyu.

In this article, I’m going to introduce their achievements and the overview of Wabicha.

The great achievement of the tea ceremony

“Chanoyu (the tea ceremony)” means to invite guests and entertain them at a cup of tea.

Today, it is generally called “Sado” but the term Sado came to be used to refer to art in the Edo period. “Chanoyu” was the mainstream name in the Muromachi and Azuchi-Momoyama periods.

MURATA Juko, TAKENO Jyoo, and SEN no Rikyu are some of the people who achieved great success in Chanoyu.

Let's take a quick look back at the achievements of these three people.

MURATA Juko

MURATA Juko (1423-1502) was a master of the tea ceremony in the Muromachi Period.

Originally, Juko was an apprentice at a temple, but he didn't get involved in ascetic practices, so he went to Kyoto and started the tea ceremony.

One of Juko’s achievements is that he created a unique style of decorating a four-and-a-half Japanese tatami room with carefully selected specialties, while paying close attention to the tea ceremony utensils, the paintings and calligraphy used to decorate the teahouse.

He said, “It is good to have good tea utensils in a poor space”. It can be said that the foundation of the tea ceremony, which loves simplicity was formed here.

TAKENO Jyoo

TAKENO Jyoo (1502-1555) was also a master of the tea ceremony in the Muromachi period, like MURATA Juko.

TAKENO Jyoo was originally an influential merchant of Sakai, but at the age of 27, he learned waka and renga (Japanese poetry) from a nobleman named SANJYONISHI Sanetaka.

After that, he intended to become a priest and master renga even more, but he turned his attention to the tea ceremony, which was emerging as a new art at that time, and decided to take lessons from Juko's disciples.

The great achievement of TAKENO Jyoo was not to limit the tools to decorate the teahouse to Chinese ones, but to freely decorate the imported goods from Nanban and the things made in Japan.

It can be said that his achievements were very significant in that he stopped sticking to tradition and added more creativity to the tea ceremony.

SEN no Rikyu

SEN no Rikyu (1522-91) was a master of the tea ceremony in the Muromachi and Azuchi-Momoyama periods, and is commonly known as the great master of Chanoyu.

He started practicing the tea ceremony in his teens, and in his 40s he was serving ODA Nobunaga through the introduction of a friend.

After the death of ODA Nobunaga, he served TOYOTOMI Hideyoshi who became the ruler of Japan, but he was forced to commit seppuku and died an unnatural death.

As already mentioned, MURATA Juko and TAKENO Jyoo had built the foundation of the tea ceremony, but SEN no Rikyu’s tea ceremony was a further refinement of them.

His style of tea ceremony can be summed up as “ultimate simplicity”.

SEN no Rikyu made the original four-and-a-half tatami teahouse even smaller and completely removed the glittering decorations.

As a result, the spirit of the tea ceremony that values simplicity, which is popular even today, was achieved.

What is “Wabicha”?

SEN no Rikyu is often called “the great master of Wabicha”.

The word Wabicha, in dictionary terms, refers to “the tea ceremony that values the state of wabi.” (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, Second Edition).

It is difficult to explain the spirit of wabi in one word, but to put it simply, it means “a spirit that celebrates imperfection and simplicity”.

For example, SEN no Rikyu removed extraneous or luxurious things from a teahouse to the utmost extent, and conducted tea ceremonies using tea utensils that looked shabby at first glance.

Let go of your obsession with everything and find true beauty in simplicity.

It can be said that the purpose of reaching this state of mind is “Wabicha”.

The promotion of Uji tea

SEN no Rikyu preferred “Uji tea”.

It is said that Uji tea originated when monk Myoe Shonin sowed tea seeds in Uji, but in the late 16th century, a new cultivation method called “covered cultivation” was developed in Uji.

The tea leaves grown under the cover had a vivid dark green color and a strong umami.

SEN no Rikyu liked such Uji tea and positioned it as the best tea.

In addition, what was drunk at that time was not Sencha (steeped green tea) like today, but Matcha dried without rolling tea leaves.

During the Kamakura period (1185-1333), Matcha, which we are familiar with, came to be drunk frequently.

In this article, I’m going to introduce the spread of green tea cultivation in the Kamakura period and the culture of “Tocha” in the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties (1333-1392).

The beginning of green tea cultivation

Generally, it has been said that the origin of tea cultivation is that Zen monk Eisai (1141- 1215) brought back tea seeds from China and planted them on Mt. Sefuri in Fukuoka Prefecture.

However, actual historical documents show that Emperor Saga had already had tea grown in various places during the Heian period.

Popularization of tea in Kyoto and the eastern part of Japan

As mentioned above, Eisai was not the first person to cultivate tea in Japan.

However, he played an important role in “spreading tea to Kyoto and the eastern part of Japan”.

When Eisai built Kennin-ji (Temple) in Kyoto and became its chief priest, he gave tea to a monk called Myoe Shonin.

Myoe Shonin planted it in the precincts of Umeo Kozan-ji (Temple) and cultivated it, and sowed its seeds in Uji, Kyoto.

This is said to be the origin of the famous “Uji tea”.

Eisai also served as the chief priest of Jufuku-ji (Temple) in Kamakura (just south of Tokyo), and it is said that this led to the spread of tea in the eastern part of Japan.

What is Kissa Yojoki ?

Another great achievement of Eisai was that he wrote the first tea book in Japan, titled Kissa Yojoki (Drinking Tea for Health care).

Kissa Yojoki was originally written as a medical book, and it is a book about the medicinal benefits of tea, tea cultivation methods, and tea drinking methods.

According to the history book Azuma Kagami, the book was presented to the third shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate, MINAMOTO no Sanetomo, with tea when he was suffering from a hangover.

What is Tencha?

In the Nara and Heian periods, solid tea, called “Heicha (Dancha)” was drunk mainly, but in the Kamakura period, “Tencha” became the mainstream tea.

To put it simply, Tencha is a tea which is the raw material of Matcha.

Matcha is made by grinding Tencha with a mortar and making it into fine powders.

At that time, Matcha was used by Zen monks to repel the drowsiness that came during their practice and fix their minds on it.

What is Tocha?

In the Kamakura period (1185-1333), samurai and nobles began to enjoy green tea as a social occasion.

To entertain guests, they decorated paintings and vases from China and brewed tea using Tang Dynasty tea utensils.

Around 1320, the custom of drinking tea in social gatherings became more amusing and developed into a “Tocha” which is the practice of guessing the place of origin by drinking tea.

In the beginning, Tocha was simply a matter of guessing whether the tea was from “Honcha” brought by Myoe Shonin or from another region.

However, by the beginning of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it gradually became more radical, bringing in alcohol, and food and gambling.

In the end, Tocha was banned by the law called “Kenmu Code” issued by ASHIKAGA Takauji.

We introduce Takeo Shaowo, who succeeded Sen no Rikyu in the perfection of "Wabicha," the art of tea ceremony that began with Murata Juko.

About Takeno Joo

Takeno Joo (1502 -1555) was born in Yamato (now Nara Prefecture), Japan, and began living in Kyoto in his 20s. At 27 years old, he studied classics and waka poetry under Sanjonishi Sanetaka, the most significant cultural figure of his time.

At 31, he moved from Kyoto, devastated by the Onin War, to Sakai, where he was ordained as a monk, received the Buddhist name of "Joo," and devoted himself to the tea ceremony, pursuing the path of "Wabicha."

Murata Juko's goal of "Wabicha"

Joo was a grandson of Murata Juko. The "Wabicha" discovered by Murata Juko was further refined by Joo and perfected by Sen no Rikyu, a disciple of Joo.

By learning the words left by Joo, we can understand the source of the "Wabicha" that Joo aimed for.

Words about "THINGS"

Juko left the following: "It is important to muddle through the boundary between the Japanese and Chinese arts." In contrast to the trend that favored only Chinese ceramics, he insisted that it was essential to pay attention to the simple beauty of Japanese ceramics and brought a new aesthetic sense to the world of the tea ceremony.

The tea utensils left by Juko are called "Juko Meibutu," and there is an anecdote that Sen no Rikyu used one of his tea bowls.

The phrase "I do not like the moon to be hidden among the clouds (the moon that appears and disappears among the clouds is more elegant than a full moon that shines brightly)" reveals the "new chanoyu," which appreciates the beauty of "beauty of lack." This aesthetic sense also influenced the creation of the tea room. Juko aimed to create beauty by dividing the room into four-and-a-half tatami mats and eliminating decoration.

Words about "mind and spirit"

Influenced by Zen, Juko pursued the "beauty that appears when things are eliminated to the utmost limit." He sought to make up for what he lacked in material things with the richness of his heart.

Juko emphasized the "heart and spirit" of chanoyu, and he believed that the greatest obstacle to the way of the tea ceremony was "pride and attachment to oneself." He taught that no matter how much one progresses, one should be honest with others and help beginners in their training.

In the following passage, Juko writes to his disciples, "Do not let your mind be your teacher." It means, "Be the master of your mind but do not let your mind be your teacher." Juko aimed to make chanoyu a "place for spiritual practice," where one could control one's mind and confront oneself.

"Wabicha" by Takeno Joo

Joo inherited the tradition from Murata Juko and introduced more spirituality into "Wabicha." We want to introduce two people who influenced him.

Sanjonishi Sanetaka, a cultural figure

Learning renga and waka poetry from Sanjonishi Sanetaka, one of his time's most significant cultural figures, greatly influenced Joo's "Wabicha."

Joo said, "I say that renga is withered and cold. I want the end of the tea ceremony to be like that." This means that the concept of "cold and withering" in renga is the heart of facing the tea ceremony. "cold and withering" means "the chilly air of early winter when the trees are dying. Or the fresh and dignified feeling one gets there." Joo aimed to approach the tea ceremony with such a mind.

Another poem that expresses the state of mind that Joo aimed for is found in a waka poem. It is "Miwatashiwa, hana mo momiji mo nakari keri ura no tomaya no autumn dusk" by Fujiwara no Sadaie. The concept of beauty in this scene leads to the idea of "wabicha," "to be content with what is not enough and to act with modesty."

Zen monk Dairin Sōto

By learning Zen from the Zen monk Dairin Sōto at Nansōji Temple, Soto combined the tea ceremony's spirit with the Zen spirit more than ever before. This led Sen no Rikyu to perfect the concept of "Chazenichimi." It means "Tea and Zen are different in the appearance of what they do, but they are not separate in their essence, and both are paths of human development."

The tea ceremony was linked to Zen by Murata Juko amid a sense of impermanence during the Warring States period. Furthermore, Takeno Joo refined the tea ceremony together with the essence of waka and renga, moving toward the Zen spirit of "essentially nothingness (everything is empty, so one should not be bound by anything)," leading to the perfection of "wabicha" by Sen no Rikyu.

The Makinohara Plateau in Shizuoka Prefecture was a desolate place, abandoned even by local farmers during the great transformation at the end of the Edo period (1603-1868).

In this article, I’m going to introduce CHUJO Kageaki, who led the “amateur farmers’ group” made up of over the 200 samurai and transformed the area into one of Japan’s leading tea producing regions.

About CHUJO Kageaki

Samurai days

CHUJO Kageaki was born in 1827 as an illegitimate child of the samurai in Edo (Tokyo). He served Iesada, the 13th Shogun, and was an expert swordsman who taught martial arts to samurai in his family. In 1867, when Yoshinobu, the 15th Shogun, moved to Shizuoka after the return of his political power to the Emperor, Kageaki guarded the enemy as a member of elite troops. After that, the elite troops were disbanded after completing their mission.

In the Meiji period (1868-1912), the samurai including Kageaki, who lost the Shogunate, were forced to make a new choice in life.

Cultivation begins

Kageaki decided to challenge the cultivation of Makinohara Plateau, leading the “Kanayahara (present Makinohara Plateau) Cultivation Group”. At that time, the Makinohara Plateau was a desolate place that even local farmers gave up on. It is said that he swore to KATSU Kaishu that “If you give me this land, I would pledge myself to cultivate the land”.

Later, at the age of 42, Kageaki led the “Kanayahara Cultivation Group” and began cultivation, but it was not until four years later that he was able to harvest the first few tea buds.

Late days

As time went by and land that had been owned by the government became available for individual purchase and sale, the members of the Cultivation Group were gradually divided from those who remained as farmers to those who left the land.

In such a situation, there was a request to the Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, but he refused it in order to continue the cultivation.

After that, he tried to establish the “Makinohara Tea Manufacturing Company” in order to collect the produced tea, manufacture it jointly for export. However, the petition for the business fund was rejected and it was never realized.

Despite this hardship, he devoted his life to the cultivation of Makinohara plateau and died in 1896 at the age of 69.

Achievements of NAKAJO Kageaki

Outstanding leadership

Kageaki was an outstanding leader, having been acquainted with the leader of the era, KATSU Kaishu and YAMAOKA Tesshu,

The “Kanayahara Cultivation Group” led by 42 year-old Kageaki had about 200 people, and including their family, it was quite a household.

Moreover, the members of the Cultivation Group were “an amateur group in agriculture” with various backgrounds, from high-ranking samurai to Noh actors.

The leadership of Kageaki, who achieved the cultivation of Makinohara Plateau by compiling such a wide variety of “an amateur group in agriculture”, was admirable.

With the pride of a samurai, he dedicated his second life to the Makinohara Plateau.

Today we can easily imagine how difficult it must have been for him to make the transition from an “elite bureaucrat” guarding the shogun's personal affairs to the unknown field of cultivation and tea planting.

Kageaki, who was also an excellent leader, made a request to the governor of Kanagawa Prefecture. However, he refused, saying, “Once I have climbed a mountain, no matter what I would never come down. It would be the fertilizer of the tea tree.” It suggests Kageaki’s sincerity.

At the funeral of Kageaki, who did not cut the topknot in his life and dedicated himself into Makinohara Plateau cultivation with the samurai's pride, KATSU Kaishu served as the funeral committee chairman in respect of his great achievement.

Furthermore, members of the Cultivation Group who mourned the death of Kageaki visited his grave for 21 days, which reminds us of his personality.

The present Makinohara plateau

The Makinohara Plateau turns bright green in the season of the first tea, but when the land was first cultivated, it was a wilderness with an area of 200 hectares (about the 42 times the size of Tokyo Dome) and with an insufficient water supply.

The “Kanayahara Cultivation Group” cultivated the land to 5,000 hectares (about the 1,063 times the size of Tokyo Dome) and turned it into a large tea garden.

After the death of Kageaki, the land and tea leaves were improved repeatedly, and the prototype of the “Deep steamed tea” method was devised.

Thanks to the continued efforts of the people, “Makinohara tea” with deep green light blue color and rich taste is now one of the representative brands of Shizuoka.

We today have much to learn from the way of life of CHUJO Kageaki, who risked his second life to venture into unknown field during the tumultuous period from the Edo to Meiji.

YAMAMOTO Kahee and his achievements in “Yamamotoyama”

YAMAMOTO Kahee is an essential figure in the history of Japanese tea.

However, YAMAMOTO Kahee is not a single person. This is because the heads of the Yamamoto family have called themselves “Kahee” for generations.

In this article, I’m going to introduce the achievements of YAMAMOTO Kahee, the first, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth, among the successive family heads of the Yamamoto family.

YAMAMOTO Kahee, the First - The beginning of Yamamotoyama

YAMAMOTO Kahee, the first owner, moved from Kyoto to Edo and founded a shop named “Kagiya” in Nihonbashi in 1690, dealing in Japanese paper, tea and tea utensils.

This is the beginning of the ongoing “Yamamotoyama”. The stage family name of “Kagiya” subsequently changed to “Kamiya Kahee”, “Toryuken Kahee”, “Yamamotoya Kahee” and “Yamamotoya Kahee Shoten”.

Then, in 1941, the shop was renamed “Yamamotoyama” after a popular tea it was selling.

YAMAMOTO Kahee, the Fourth - The rise of Yamamotoyama and Nagatanien

In the era of YAMAMOTO Kahee, the fourth head of the company, the chance to make a breakthrough “Yamamotoyama” came.

NAGATANI Soen who developed the Green Sencha Method, visited Yamamotoyama to promote Sencha (steeped green tea).

After drinking the Sencha, which no other tea merchants were able to match YAMAMOTO Kahee, the fourth generation owner who drank it, was so surprised by its beautiful color and depth of taste that he decided to buy it immediately.

This Sencha was later named “Tenka-ichi (the best in the country)” and became a very popular product not only in Edo but throughout Japan.

There is an episode that Yamamotoyama thanked the Nagatani family for the huge profit he made by this and kept sending 25 ryo of koban (former Japanese oval gold coin) to the Nagatani family for about 130 years.

Then, Nagatanien was established by NAGATANI Yoshio, the 10th generation after NAGATANI Soen.

YAMAMOTO Kahee, the Fifth – The discovery of “Sayama Tea”

The fifth generation, YAMAMOTO Kahee, discovered “Sayama Tea” that was grown in what is now Saitama Prefecture.

In Sayama, where tea was originally produced, people began to make tea following the Sencha method, which was popular nationwide at that time.

YAMAMOTO Kahee the fifth recognized the good taste of the tea and repeatedly gave advice on how to make it and the result was “Sayama Tea”.

In 1819, they signed a sales contract and named it “Shimo no Hana (Frost Flower)”, “Yuki no Ume (Snow Plum)” and it became popular.

Sayama tea has become known as “Three major teas in Japan” along with “Shizuoka tea” and “Uji tea”. There is a Sayama tea picking song that is said ‘Shizuoka has the finest color, Uji is the finest fragrance, and the tea with the best taste is Sayama’.

YAMAMOTO Kahee, the Sixth - Creating the “Gyokuro”

It is said that YAMAMOTO Kahee, the sixth invented the production method of Gyokuro. At that time, every tea dealer was competing fiercely to differentiate Sencha, which was very popular.

YAMAMOTO Kahee, the sixth came up with the idea of roasting tea leaves like dew when he visited Uji (Kyoto), and this is said to be the reason for the birth of “Gyokuro”.

“Gyokuro” became popular with hatamoto and daimyo for its mild and elegant flavor.

By the way, there is another theory that the name comes from the unique taste of Gyokuro like the dew of the ball.

Furthermore, it is said that TSUJI Riemon (the founder of Tsujiri) perfected Gyokuro in its current stick form in the Meiji period.

Sugiyaa Hikosaburo was a Japanese man who pursued cultivar development of tea throughout his life. In his hometown of Shizuoka, he is called “Hikosaburo Okina (old man)” and respected even after his death.

In this article, we're going to explain Hikosaburo, the father of “Yabukita”.

Who is Sugiyama Hikosaburo?

Hikosaburo Sugiyama was born in 1857 in Arito Village, Abe County (now Shizuoka City). He gave up his father's liquor brewery and Chinese medicine practice to his younger brother, who became a farmer.

Around the time of Hikosaburo's birth, Japan concluded the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the United States. As a result, tea became the second largest export item after raw silk and became a flourishing industry. During this time, Hikosaburo Sugiyama began tea cultivation, learning from experience and without a teacher.

Due to the rapid development of the tea industry, he became the secretary of the tea industry association, which controlled the inferior products in the mixed tea industry. Still, his sincere character can be seen from his recollection that he was ashamed of not being able to produce good quality tea himself.

Hikosaburo was ashamed of not being able to produce good tea by himself, which shows his sincere personality.

Although he succeeded in breeding the "Yabukita" after much hard work, he died in 1941 at 83, without ever seeing it flourish.

Today, a monument to his achievements stands in Shizuoka City, and the original "Yabukita" tree has been designated a natural monument by Shizuoka Prefecture. There is also the "Sugiyama Hikosaburo Award," which is given to those who have contributed to the tea industry.

The achievements of Sugiyama Hikosaburo who changed Japanese tea

The Beginning of "Cultivar Breeding"

Hikosaburo, who had cleared his land and created a tea plantation, was almost self-taught in tea cultivation. Instead, he learned tea making from officials of the Kannou Bureau (an internal bureau of the Ministry of the Interior in charge of agricultural promotion) and his distant relative, the tea master Yamada Bunsuke.

He learned tea making from his distant relative, Yamada Bunsuke, a tea master who believed that "to make good tea, you need good tea leaves."

Hikosaburo realizes that some teas grow faster and some slower and that the quality of tea leaves cultivar depends on the cultivar.

These things are now taken for granted, but at that time, it was commonplace to have different broad cultivars of tea in a single tea plantation, and the quality of the tea leaves harvested varied widely. Under such circumstances, this realization was a great discovery and the first step toward improving tea cultivars.

Development of “Yabukita”

Convinced that good tea plants were necessary to produce a stable supply of high-quality tea, Hikosaburo focused on improving tea cultivars. However, this was a process of trial and error without any academic knowledge.

Today, what Hikosaburo did is recognized as "breed improvement," but people did not understand him and treated him as an eccentric at the time.

Even so, from around 35, he began to develop new varieties one after another. Finally, he selected good tea trees and named the one planted on the north side of the bush "Yabukita" and the one planted on the south side "Yabu-Minami" and started cultivating them. The "Yabukita" was found to be resistant to disease and easy to grow, producing tea leaves with a well-balanced flavor.

Although "Yabukita" was recognized for its quality after its announcement, it was not until 14 years after Hikosaburo's death that it finally spread throughout Japan due to the intervening war.

Dedicated to promotion of the local tea industry

Hikosaburo Sugiyama's achievements were not limited to cultivar improvement.

In his fifties, he finally found a supporter in Kahei Otani, the chairman of the Central Chamber of Tea Industry. He worked on a cultivar improvement project at the test site, but when Otani stepped down as chairman, he could not obtain continued support from the Central Chamber of Tea Industry and was forced to give up the test site.

However, the 77-year-old Hikosaburo did not give in to this predicament.

He continued his research at the tea plantation he had purchased and asked for the cooperation of young men in the neighborhood to pass on the knowledge and experience he had gained in breeding to future generations. He also generously shared his expertise with neighboring farmers, and when new machines were developed, he was quick to introduce them and mechanize the tea industry. This is why he is still called "Mr. Hikosaburo" in his hometown, even after his death.

Click here to read an article detailing the process of "breed improvement" that Hikosaburo pursued throughout his life.

Three episodes telling the passion of sugiyama Hikosaburo

The man called “a weasel”

It is said that to find good tea plants, Hikosaburo wandered around the tea fields day and night, sometimes even entering people's fields. Even though he was ridiculed as a "weasel" for crawling on the ground and moving around in the tea fields, he never stopped searching for the perfect tea tree.

Whenever he found a tea tree, he thought, "this is the one!" So he chewed the tea leaves raw and examined them so thoroughly that he was missing his front teeth.

He put all his passion into his search for the ideal cultivar.

Travel anywhere for tea trees

Hikosaburo's passion for finding good tea moved him endlessly.

In an era when transportation was not well developed, he traveled all over Japan and even to Korea in search of tea plants. He always brought along water moss for water retention and sometimes stuck branches into the cut ends of vegetables to get back good tea plants when he found them.

Even if all his 20 years of hard work is turned into firewood

Hikosaburo was 77 years old when he lost his supporters and was forced to give up the test land. All the tea trees he had poured his heart and soul into growing for more than 20 years at the test site were pulled out and used as firewood.

Despite his advanced age of 77, Hikosaburo's passion for continuing his research and nurturing the next generation of tea growers can be described as his persistence.

When you think of the hard work and passion that Hikosaburo Sugiyama, who was an amateur tea grower, spent his life to achieve, you may feel that his usual tea is something special and flavorful.