History of tea in Japan

The history of tea in Japan began as early as the 9th century, when the first known references to tea were made in Japanese records. Tea became a drink of the religious classes in Japan when Japanese priests and envoys sent to China to learn about its culture brought tea to Japan. The Buddhist monks Kūkai and Saichō may have been the first to bring tea seeds to Japan. The first form of tea brought from China was probably brick tea. Tea became a drink of the royal classes when Emperor Saga, the Japanese emperor, encouraged the growth of tea plants. Seeds were imported from China, and cultivation in Japan began.

Tea consumption became popular among the gentry during the 12th century, after the publication of Eisai's Kissa Yōjōki. Uji, with its strategic location near the capital at Kyoto, became Japan's first major tea producing region during this period. Beginning in the 13th and 14th centuries, Japanese tea culture developed the distinctive features for which it is known today, and the Japanese tea ceremony emerged as a key component of that culture.

In the following centuries, production increased and tea became a staple of the general public. The development of sencha in the 18th century led to the creation of distinctive new styles of green tea which now dominate tea consumption in Japan. In the 19th and 20th centuries, industrialization and automation transformed the Japanese tea industry into a highly efficient operation, capable of producing large quantities of tea despite Japan's limited arable land area.

Early history

Emperor Saga (786–842; reigned 809–823)

The first Japanese contact with tea most likely occurred in the Nara period (710–794), when Japan sent several diplomatic missions to Chang'an, the capital of China's Tang dynasty (618–907). These early delegations brought back knowledge of Chinese culture and practices, as well as paintings, literature, and other artifacts. The Chakyō Shōsetsu indicates that Emperor Shōmu served powdered tea to a hundred monks in 729, but there is some uncertainty regarding the reliability of the text.

In 804, the Buddhist monks Kūkai and Saichō arrived in China to study religion as part of a government-sponsored mission during the Heian period (794–1185). The Shōryōshū (814) mentions that Kūkai drank tea during his time in China. He returned to Japan in the year 806. Kūkai is also the first to use the term chanoyu (茶の湯), which later came to refer specifically to the Japanese tea ceremony. Upon their return to Japan, Kūkai and Saichō founded the Shingon and Tendai schools of Buddhism, respectively. One or both of them are thought to have brought back the first tea seeds to Japan during this trip. Saichō, who returned in 805, is often credited for being the first to plant tea seeds in Japan, although the documentary evidence is uncertain.

The book Kuikū Kokushi records that in the year 815, a Buddhist abbot served tea to Emperor Saga. This is the earliest reliable reference to tea drinking in Japan. Subsequently, the Emperor is said to have ordered the establishment of five tea plantations near the capital. The reign of Emperor Saga was characterized by his sinophilia, which included a passion for tea. He was fond of Chinese poetry, much of which praised the benefits of tea. Emperor Saga's poetry, and that of others at his imperial court, also make references to the drinking of tea.

Subsequent writings from the Heian period indicate that tea was cultivated and consumed on a small scale by Buddhist monks as part of their religious practice, and that the imperial family and members of the nobility also drank tea. The practice, however, was not yet popular outside these circles. In the three centuries after Emperor Saga's death, interest in Tang Chinese culture declined, as did the practice of drinking tea. Records from this period continued to recognize its value as a medicinal beverage and stimulant, and there are mentions of it being consumed with milk, a practice that subsequently died out.

The form of tea consumed in Japan at this time was most likely brick tea (団茶, dancha), which was the standard form in China during the Tang dynasty. The world's first monograph on tea, Lu Yu's The Classic of Tea, was written a few decades before the time of Kūkai and Saichō. In it, Lu Yu describes the process for steaming, roasting, and compressing the tea into bricks, as well as the process of grinding the tea into powder and stirring it to a froth in hot water prior to consumption. This procedure is thought to have evolved into the method of preparing powdered matcha that later emerged in Japan.

Eisai and the popularization of tea

The Zen monk Eisai (1141–1215), founder of the Rinzai school of Buddhism, is generally credited for popularizing tea in Japan. In 1191, Eisai returned from a trip to China and brought back tea seeds which he planted on the island of Hirado, and in the mountains of Kyushu. He also gave some seeds to the monk Myōe, abbot of the Kōzan-ji temple in Kyoto. Myōe planted these seeds in Toganoo (栂尾) and Uji, which became the sites of the first large scale cultivation of tea in Japan. At first, Toganoo tea was seen as the finest in Japan, and was called "real tea" (本茶, honcha), as opposed to "non-tea" (非茶, hicha) produced elsewhere in Japan. By the 15th century, however, Uji tea surpassed that of Toganoo, and the terms honcha and hicha came to refer to Uji tea and non-Uji tea, respectively.

In 1211, Eisai wrote the first edition of the Kissa Yōjōki (喫茶養生記, Drink Tea and Prolong Life), the first Japanese treatise on tea. The Kissa Yōjōki promotes the drinking of tea for health purposes. It opens with the statement that "Tea is the most wonderful medicine for nourishing one's health; it is the secret of long life." The preface describes how drinking tea can have a positive effect on the five vital organs (a concept in traditional Chinese medicine). Eisai subscribed to a theory that the five organs each preferred foods with different flavors, and he concluded that because tea is bitter, and "the heart loves bitter things", it would especially benefit the heart. Eisai goes on to list the many purported health effects of tea, which include curing fatigue, lupus, indigestion, beriberi disease, heart disease, and so on, in addition to quenching thirst. The Kissa Yōjōki also explains the shapes of tea plants, tea flowers and tea leaves and covers how to grow tea plants and process tea leaves. The treatise says little regarding the drinking of tea for pleasure, however, focusing instead on its medicinal value.

Eisai was instrumental in introducing tea consumption to the samurai class. He presented a version of his Kissa Yōjōki in 1214 to Shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo, who had been suffering from a hangover after drinking too much sake. Eisai also served tea to the young shogun. Zen Buddhism, as advocated by Eisai and others, also became popular during this period, particularly among the warrior class. The Zen monk Dōgen (1200–1253) promulgated a set of rules for Buddhist temples based on Rules of Purity for Chan Monasteries, a Chinese text of 1103. Dōgen's text included notes on etiquette for the serving of tea in Buddhist rituals. Tea was considered central to practitioners of Zen Buddhism. Musō Soseki (1275–1351) went as far as to state that "tea and Zen are one".

Soon, green tea became a staple among cultured people in Japan—a brew for the gentry and the Buddhist priesthood, alike. Production grew and tea became increasingly accessible, though still a privilege enjoyed mostly by the upper classes.

Roasting process introduced to Japan

In the 14th century Ming Dynasty, southern China and Japan enjoyed much cultural exchange. Significant merchandise was traded and the roasting method of processing tea became common in Kyushu, Japan. Since the steaming (9th century) and the roasting (13th century) methods were brought to Japan during two different periods, these teas are completely distinct from each other.

Tea competitions and early chanoyu

From the end of Japan's Kamakura period (1185–1333) through the beginning of the Muromachi period (1336–1573), tea competitions (鬥茶, tōcha) emerged as a popular pastime. Unlike tea competitions in China, the object of tōcha was to distinguish between tea grown in different regions, in particular between honcha and hicha. These events were known for their extravagant betting. Sasaki Dōyō (1306–1373) was particularly famed for hosting such competitions, with lavish decoration, large quantities of food and sake, and dancing. This taste for the extravagant and the vulgar was known as basara (婆娑羅), and was the cause of some moral outrage among writers of the time. Also popular during this period was a passion for Chinese objects (唐もの, karamono), such as paintings, ceramics, and calligraphy.

Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436–1490) constructed the first tea room in the shoin chanoyu (reception room chanoyu) style. This simple room in his retirement villa at Ginkaku-ji allowed the shogun to display his karamono objects when holding tea ceremonies. The shoin style room developed from the study rooms of Zen monks. They featured wall-to-wall tatami covering in contrast to earlier plain wooden floors, and a shoin desk (writing desk) built into the wall. These rooms were the predecessors of modern Japanese living rooms. The austerity of this new style of tea room (茶室, chashitsu) is thought to have been a step towards the formal chanoyu tea ceremony that emerged later.

It is claimed that Yoshimasa's tea master was Murata Shukō (1423–1502), also known as Murata Jukō. Shukō is credited with developing the muted, "cold and withered" motifs of the Japanese tea ceremony. He advocated combining imported Chinese wares with rough ceramics made in Japan, in an effort to "harmonize Japanese and Chinese tastes". This intentional usage of simple or flawed utensils with a wabi aesthetic came to be referred to as wabicha (侘茶). Shukō, however, did not embrace the idea of a fully wabi approach to chanoyu. By contrast, Takeno Jōō (1502–1555), who studied under one of Shukō's disciples, was totally dedicated to the elaboration of the wabi style in both tea utensils and the decor of the tea room itself. Jōō's contribution marks the transition between Murata Shukō and the fully developed Japanese tea ceremony of Sen Rikyū (1522–1591).

Japan tea culture emerges

Japanese tea ceremony

The historical figure considered most influential in the development of the Japanese tea ceremony was Sen Rikyū. Both the beverage and the ceremony surrounding it played a prominent role in feudal diplomacy. Many of the most important negotiations among feudal clan leaders were carried out in the austere and serene setting of the tea ceremony. By the end of the 16th century, the current "Way of Tea" was established. Eventually, green tea became available to the masses, making it the nation's most popular beverage.

Modern Japanese green tea

In 1740, Soen Nagatani developed Japanese sencha (Japanese: 煎茶), which is an unfermented form of green tea. To prepare sencha, tea leaves are first steam-pressed, then rolled and dried into a loose tea. The dried leaves are brewed with hot water to yield the final drink. Sencha is now one of Japan's mainstay teas.

Rolling machines

At the end of the Meiji era (1868–1912), machine manufacturing of green tea was introduced and began replacing handmade tea. Machines took over the processes of primary drying, tea rolling, secondary drying, final rolling, and steaming.

Automation

Automation contributed to improved quality and reduced labour. Sensor and computer controls were introduced to machine automation so unskilled workers can produce superior tea without compromising quality. Certain regions in Japan are known for special types of green tea, as well as for teas of exceptional quality, making the leaves themselves a highly valued commodity. Uji is still famous for its tea. Today, roasted green tea is not as common in Japan and powdered tea is used in ceremonial fashion.

Works cited

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• Benn, James A. (2015). Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 978-988-8208-73-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
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• Saberi, Helen (2010). Tea: A Global History. Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1-86189-892-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Sen Sōshitsu XV (1998). The Japanese Way of Tea: From Its Origins in China to Sen Rikyū. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1990-3.
• Varley, H. Paul (1977). Hall, John Whitney; Toyoda Takeshi (eds.). Japan in the Muromachi Age. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-02888-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |editorlink1= ignored (|editor-link1= suggested) (help)
• Murai Yasuhiko (1989). "The Development of Chanoyu". In Varley, H. Paul; Kumakura Isao (eds.). Tea in Japan: Essays on the History of Chanoyu. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1717-6. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |editorlink1= ignored (|editor-link1= suggested) (help)