Thehistory of tea in Japan began as early as the 8th century, when the first known references were made in Japanese records.Tea became a drink of the religious classes inJapan when Japanese priests andenvoys sent to China to learn about its culture brought tea to Japan. TheBuddhist monksKūkai andSaichō may have been the first to bring tea seeds to Japan. The first form of tea brought from China was probablybrick tea. Tea became a drink of the royal classes whenEmperor Saga encouraged the growth of tea plants. Seeds were imported from China, and cultivation in Japan began.

Tea consumption became popular among the Heian gentry during the 12th century, after the publication ofEisai'sKissa Yōjōki.Uji, with its strategic location near the capital atKyoto, became Japan's first major tea-producing region duringthis period. Beginning in the 13th and 14th centuries, Japanese tea culture developed the distinctive features for which it is known today, and theJapanese 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 ofsencha 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.

The first Japanese contact with tea most likely occurred in the 8th century during theNara period, when Japan sent several diplomatic missions toChang'an, the capital of China'sTang dynasty. These early delegations brought back knowledge of Chinese culture and practices, as well as paintings, literature, and other artifacts.^[1] TheChakyō Shōsetsu indicates thatEmperor Shōmu served powdered tea to a hundred monks in 729, but there is some uncertainty regarding the reliability of the text.^[2]

In 804, the Buddhist monks Kūkai and Saichō arrived in China to study religion as part of a government-sponsored mission during theHeian period. TheShōryōshū, written in 814, mentions that Kūkai drank tea during his time in China. He returned to Japan in 806.^[2] Kūkai is also the first to use the termchanoyu (茶の湯), which later came to refer specifically to the Japanese tea ceremony.^[3] Upon their return to Japan, Kūkai and Saichō founded theShingon andTendai schools of Buddhism, respectively. One or both of them are thought to have brought back the first tea seeds to Japan during this trip.^[1] Saichō, who returned in 805, is often credited for being the first to plant tea seeds in Japan, although the documentary evidence is uncertain.^[3]

The bookKuikū Kokushi records that in 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.^[4][5] The reign of Emperor Saga was characterized by hissinophilia, which included a passion for tea. He was fond ofChinese 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.^[6][7]

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.^[1] In the three centuries after Emperor Saga's death, interest in Tang Chinese culture declined, as did the practice of drinking tea.^[8] Records from this period continued to recognize its value as a medicinal beverage and stimulant,^[9] and there are mentions of it being consumed with milk, a practice that subsequently died out.^[5]

The form of tea consumed in Japan at this time was most likelybrick tea (団茶,dancha), which was the standard form in China during the Tang dynasty.^[10] The world's firstmonograph on tea,Lu Yu'sThe 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.^[11] This procedure is thought to have evolved into the method of preparing powderedmatcha that later emerged in Japan.^[12]

TheZen monkEisai, founder of theRinzai school of Buddhism, is generally credited for popularizing tea in Japan.^[1] In 1191, Eisai returned from a trip to China and brought back tea seeds which he planted on the island ofHirado and in the mountains ofKyushu.^[8] He also gave some seeds to the monkMyōe, abbot of theKōzan-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 termshoncha andhicha came to refer to Uji tea and non-Uji tea, respectively.^[8][13]

In 1211, Eisai wrote the first edition of theKissa Yōjōki (喫茶養生記,Drink Tea and Prolong Life), the first Japanese treatise on tea.^[1][14] TheKissa 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 thefive vital organs (a concept intraditional 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.^[14] Eisai goes on to list the many purportedhealth effects of tea, which include curing fatigue, lupus, indigestion,beriberi disease, heart disease, and so on, in addition to quenching thirst.^[15] TheKissa Yōjōki also explains the shapes of tea plants, tea flowers and tea leaves and covers how to grow tea plants and process tea leaves.^{[citation needed]} The treatise says little regarding the drinking of tea for pleasure, however, focusing instead on its medicinal value.^[16]

Eisai was instrumental in introducing tea consumption to thesamurai class.^[1] He presented a version of hisKissa Yōjōki in 1214 toshōgunMinamoto no Sanetomo, who had been suffering from ahangover after drinking too muchsake. Eisai also served tea to the young shōgun.^[8][14] Zen Buddhism, as advocated by Eisai and others, also became popular during this period, particularly among the warrior class.^[15] The Zen monkDōgen promulgated a set of rules for Buddhist temples based onRules of Purity forChan Monasteries, a Chinese text of 1103. Dōgen's text included notes on etiquette for the serving of tea in Buddhist rituals.^[8] Tea was considered central to practitioners of Zen Buddhism.Musō Soseki went as far as to state that "tea and Zen are one".^[17]

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.

In the 14th century, tea competitions (闘茶,tōcha) emerged as a popular pastime. Unlike tea competitions in China, the object oftōcha was to distinguish between tea grown in different regions, in particular betweenhoncha andhicha.^[18] These events were known for their extravagant betting. SamuraiSasaki Dōyō was particularly famed for hosting such competitions, with lavish decoration, large quantities of food andsake, and dancing. This taste for the extravagant and the vulgar was known asbasara (婆娑羅) and was the cause of some moral outrage among writers of the time.^[19] Also popular during this period was a passion for Chinese objects (唐もの,karamono), such as paintings, ceramics, and calligraphy.^[20]

In the 15th century, ShōgunAshikaga Yoshimasa constructed the first tea room in theshoin chanoyu (reception room tea ceremony) style. This simple room in his retirement villa atGinkaku-ji allowed the shōgun to display hiskaramono objects when holding tea ceremonies.^[20] Theshoin style room developed from the study rooms of Zen monks. They featured wall-to-walltatami covering in contrast to earlier plain wooden floors, and ashoin desk (writing desk) built into the wall. These rooms were the predecessors of modern Japanese living rooms.^[21] The austerity of this new style of tea room (茶室,chashitsu) is thought to have been a step towards the formalchanoyu tea ceremony that emerged later.^[22]

It is said that Yoshimasa's tea master wasMurata Shukō, also known as Murata Jukō.^[20] 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 awabi aesthetic came to be referred to aswabicha.^[23] Shukō, however, did not embrace the idea of a fullywabi approach tochanoyu.^[24] By contrast,Takeno Jōō, who studied under one of Shukō's disciples, was dedicated to the elaboration of thewabi style in tea utensils as well as the decor of the tea room.

The historical figure considered most influential in the development of the Japanese tea ceremony wasSen no Rikyū. Rikyū served as tea master to bothdaimyosOda Nobunaga andToyotomi Hideyoshi. He lived during the upheavals of theSengoku period, in which political and social structures were radically transformed. Rikyū grew up inSakai, where the wealthy merchant class was able to establish itself as a cultural and economic force capable of shaping Japanese tea culture.^[25] Rikyū, the son of a Sakai fish merchant, studied tea under Takeno Jōō. Like Jōō, he was a proponent of thewabi style of tea.^[26]

At this time, the tea ceremony played a prominent role in politics and diplomacy. Nobunaga went as far as to prohibit anyone other than his closest allies from practicing it.^[26] The austerewabicha style Rikyū advocated was less favored for these political gatherings than the more lavish mainstream style. After Nobunaga's death, Sen no Rikyū entered the service of Hideyoshi and constructed a simplewabi tea hut calledTaian, which became one of Hideyoshi's favorite tea rooms.^[27] In contrast to the shingled roof preferred by Shukō, Rikyū specified a thatched roof.^[28] Called the "North Pole of Japanese aesthetics", this room exemplifies the rusticwabi style that came to dominate Japanese tea culture.^[25] In addition to the rustic tea room, Rikyū established the etiquette of the modern tea ceremony as well as the ordained procedure and the choice of utensils to be used.^[29] He also developed the idea of thenijiriguchi, a small entryway through which guests must crawl to enter the tea room.^[27][30]

Though Hideyoshi forced Rikyū to commitseppuku in 1591, Rikyū's descendants were allowed to continue in their profession. The three main schools of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony today, theOmotesenke,Urasenke, andMushakōjisenke, were all founded by children ofSen no Sōtan, Rikyū's grandson.^[25]

Developments in the Japanese tea ceremony during the Sengoku period motivated new trends in Japanese teaware. Rikyū's discipleFuruta Oribe served as Hideyoshi's tea master after Rikyū's death. Oribe's preference for green and black glazes and irregular shapes led to a new style of pottery calledOribe ware.^[29] Rikyū also influenced Japanese tastes in ceramics, rejecting the smooth regularity of Chinese-influencedtenmoku ware in favor of uneven rice bowls produced by ethnic Korean potters in Japan. This style of tea bowl orchawan was calledraku ware after the name of the Korean potter who produced the first pieces for Rikyū's tea ceremonies, and is known for its appropriatelywabi look and feel.^[29]

Modern Japanesematcha is made by grinding loose dry tea leaves (rather than grinding the bricks of tea originally introduced from Song dynasty) into powder. Matcha's sweet flavor and deep green color are created by shading the tea leaves from the sun in the last weeks before plucking, increasing thechlorophyll and decreasing thetannin content of the leaves.^[31] This technique emerged in the 16th century among Uji tea growers.^[32] It is also used to producegyokuro andkabuseicha.

Under theTokugawa shogunate of Japan'sEdo period (1603–1868), new forms of tea emerged, accompanied by new developments in tea culture. Influenced by China'sMing dynasty, steeped loose leaf tea emerged as an alternative to powdered tea, leading to the development ofsencha.

By the 14th century, the practice of drinking powdered brick tea had fallen out of fashion in China. Instead, most tea was hand-fired over a drywok to stop the process of oxidation and purchased as loose leaves rather than compressed bricks.^[33] At first, the loose leaves would still be ground into a powder and whisked with hot water to produce the finished beverage. By the late 16th century, however, tea connoisseurs were steeping the leaves in hot water inteapots and pouring the tea into teacups.^[34] This new way of producing and drinking tea arrived in Japan in the 17th century.^[34] Its advocates, most notably the monkBaisao, were opposed to the strict rituals of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, which was based around the older practices of powdered tea. Instead, they promoted a carefree, informal approach to tea, inspired by ancient Chinese sages and the scholar-recluse tradition.^[35][36]

The method of steeping loose tea leaves in hot water came to be known as "boiled tea" (煎茶,sencha), and it soon led to a new way of producing green tea that would work well with this technique. In 1737, an Uji-based tea grower named Nagatani Sōen developed what is now the standard process for making leaf teas in Japan: tea leaves are first steamed, then rolled into narrow needles and dried in an oven.^[37][38] The process imparts a vivid emerald color to the leaf, along with a "clean", sometimes sweet flavor.^[39] Nagatani's tea caught the attention of Baisao,^[37] becoming synonymous with thesencha method of steeping tea. It thereafter came to be known by the same name.Sencha grew in popularity over time and is now the most popular form of tea in Japan, representing 80 percent of all tea produced each year.^[40]

At the end of theMeiji 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.

In the 20th century, automation contributed to improved quality and reduced labour. Sensor and computer controls were introduced to machine automation so workers can more easily produce superior tea without compromising quality.

Automation has also taken over sectors of the growing and harvesting of tea in Japan. On the steep hillsides there is a mechanical harvester operated by 2 people at each end of the tea tree. The harvesting machine trims the leaves and collects them in a bag affixed to the machine. On flat fields there are riding-type harvester tractors which can harvest well maintained tea plantations within 1mm of accuracy. InKagoshima prefecture some of these tractors have been affixed with computers and sensors that allow the harvester to be operated autonomously.

• Anderson, Jennifer Lea (1991).An Introduction to Japanese Tea Ritual.SUNY Press.ISBN 978-0-7914-0749-3.
• Benn, James A. (2015).Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History.Hong Kong University Press.ISBN 978-988-8208-73-9.
• Chow, Kit Boey; Kramer, Ione (1990).All the Tea in China.China Books.ISBN 978-0-8351-2194-1.
• Graham, Patricia Jane (1998),Tea of the Sages: The Art of Sencha,University of Hawaii Press,ISBN 9780824820879
• Harney, Michael (2008).The Harney & Sons Guide to Tea.Penguin.ISBN 978-1440642036.
• Heiss, Mary Lou; Heiss, Robert J. (2007).The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide.Ten Speed Press.ISBN 978-1-58008-745-2.
• Elison, George; Smith, Bardwell L., eds. (1981).Warlords, Artists, and Commoners: Japan in the Sixteenth Century.University of Hawaii Press.ISBN 978-0-8248-1109-9.
• Mair, Victor H.; Hoh, Erling (2009).The True History of Tea.Thames & Hudson.ISBN 978-0-500-25146-1.
• Keene, Donald (2006).Yoshimasa and the Silver Pavilion: The Creation of the Soul of Japan.Columbia University Press.ISBN 978-0-231-13057-8.
• Saberi, Helen (2010).Tea: A Global History.Reaktion Books.ISBN 978-1-86189-892-0.
• 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.
• Willson, K.C.; Clifford, M.N. (2012).Tea: Cultivation to Consumption.Springer Science+Business Media.ISBN 978-94-011-2326-6.
• Murai Yasuhiko (1989). "The Development ofChanoyu". InVarley, H. Paul; Kumakura Isao (eds.).Tea in Japan: Essays on the History of Chanoyu.University of Hawaii Press.ISBN 978-0-8248-1717-6.
• Waddell, Norman (2009).The Old Tea Seller: Life and Zen Poetry in 18th Century Kyoto.Counterpoint.ISBN 978-1-58243-976-1.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

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