Chuo-ku Tourism Association correspondent blog

Hello. This is a new correspondent, Hanes.
This is the continuation of the 72nd National Tea Festival Report.

After a hand fir tea experience and tasting until 11:00 before, go to the long-awaited keynote speech.
Dr. Isao Kumakura, former president of Shizuoka University of Arts and Culture, under the theme of "Japanese Culture and Japanese Tea".
The more you know, the more interesting the history of tea, the easier it is to understand.
Here's a brief introduction to some of them.



■History of Tea in Japan
・It was introduced from China during the time of Emperor Saga.
・In 815, "Nippon Shoki" states, "Emperor Saga was served by Emperor Saga by roasting tea at Bonshakuji Temple in Oomi." This is the first description of Japanese tea in the country's history book.
・Tea cultivation has already been carried out in the early Heian period, and you can see the word "tea garden" in the upper right of the "Heian-kyo Ouchi Back Figure". Because it is located in the upper right, in other words, unlucky direction in the Tohoku region, it seems that tea had the meaning of breaking down evil. There is also a description that tea was planted in the grave.



・In Meian Eisai's "Cafe Yoseiki", "Tea is a herbal medicine for curing. It's a magic of age."
・Tea was brought not for the health of the Japanese, but for the ceremony of Zen sect. Zen sect was influenced by samurai, and tea spread to common people through samurai.
・At the beginning of the 15th century, tea sales began to sell green tea in Kyoto.
・In "Takao Kankae Figure Screen", sake (man, spicy) and tea (female, sweet) are compared and drawn.



・The tea room in the mountain (the entrance is narrow) was also considered as an entrance to another world from the view of Yamanaka and other worlds, or as an entrance reborn from the same way of thinking as a passing through the womb.
・The song "I wake up Taihei's sleep, I can't sleep at night because I can't sleep at night" has a meaning behind the scenes. It is said that as a result of drinking 4 cups of Uji's fine tea "Kamikisen", he could not sleep at night due to caffeine.
・ More than 20 kinds of teas collected by Siebold are located at the Leiden National Museum of Ethnology in the Netherlands, in which "Kamikisen" is located.



・From the end of the Tokugawa period, tea exports became popular. Whether or not there are crops that can be exported overseas determines whether modernization (acquire foreign currency and obtain overseas information and technology). In Japan, there were silk and tea (at peak, 25,000 tons (25% of total exports)).
・In recent years, domestic demand for tea and soy sauce (one-half consumption of the Edo period) has been sluggish, while overseas demand has increased.

I tried to make a bullet point so easily, but the arrival of Kurofune → Kamikisen → There was also a connection with Siebold, an unexpected Chuo-ku.
Before the excitement of such unexpected discoveries cooled down, go to the rest of the booth!

■Mino Ibi Tea Promotion Association



■JA Shizuoka Keizai Federation



■Tamaya Co., Ltd.



■Choju Suzuki Shoten Co., Ltd.



■Fukuoka Tea Industry Promotion Council



■The Nogi Tea Promotion Council, the Tosa Tea Sales Countermeasures Council in the All-Agricultural Kochi Agricultural Products Sales Section



This is part of the exhibition booth, but from tea leaves to handy types of tea with tea bags and madlers are available.
From the introduction of sweets using tea to the brewing course, can you tell us that it is really fulfilling?
But this is not the end of the tea festival!
The booth (part) where you can experience the charm of tea with your five senses will be introduced in the next article.

■Recommendation Books
Sakae Tsunoyama, "The World History of Tea Revised Green Tea Culture and Tea Society" (Nakakou Shinsho, 2017).
Satoru Matsushita's "Japanese Tea" (Fengyusha, 1969).

■Reference website
Isao Kumakura, "Tea and Japanese", Journal of Medical History, Vol. 45, No. 2 (1999), pp. 155-157．
http://jsmh.umin.jp/journal/45-2/155-157.pdf