Uji City: from religious power center to tea & tourism

The ancient and lucrative tea fields of Uji, SE of Kyoto.

When exactly did green tea, Chinese green tea, arrive in Japan? Historical forensics point almost solely to a priest named Eisai who brought seeds back from Sung dynasty China in 1191. They were planted in Uji City, the subject of this post, which even today is one of Japan's most famous tea-growing areas. The second most important area is Shizuoka Prefecture, just west of Edo | Tokyo and Kamakura, the first shogun capital from 1185-1333.

When tea first came to Japan, it was welcomed more as a medicine than a beverage. Although the appellation "green tea" covers many types, basically Japanese tea is of the Chinese type as opposed to the other major category, the Assam types. Today, green tea is grown mostly in Japan, China, Korea, Mongolia, and parts of Indonesia.

Formerly tea-picking and processing was an incredibly labor-intensive job. And tea for the common man only got inexpensive enough with the arrival of machines to process at scale. Today the human work has dropped massively and machines do most of the hard work.

The higher-quality teas must be shaded from the sun. Direct sunlight causes transpiration to occur too quickly. Lowly, inexpensive sencha tea is the product of unshaded bushes. When the bushes are shaded, the tea becomes sweeter. And the tea types known as gyokuro and ten-cha are prized for the powdered tea used in the tea ceremony.

In the past a frame was constructed for the expensive tea bushes, and around the 10th of April, reeds were put on top if the frame. After ten days, straw was placed on top and on the sides to intensify the shade This was left on for ten days. In this way, 95% of the light was blocked. Today, black nylon mesh is used. Apparently this method is unique to Japan.

Fewer young Japanese people are drinking green tea in favor of coffee. Starbucks second largest market is Japan! Tea is so ordinary, unless it's the luxury tea ceremony kind, which is now a flavor for ice cream and drinks.

If you are going to Uji and love countryside strolling then do hop a taxi to the far east side of Uji (south of the river and east of Uji Station) to Uji's stunning tea plantations and the old farmhouses that dot the rolling landscape. A perfect place for fresh air and incredible history!

The rest of this post has two main sections: the history and background of Uji & Uji's amazing green tea industry

Uji history from the Amida Buddha to Zen
Uji green tea and two prominent Uji tea business

Content by Ian Martin Ropke, owner of Your Japan Private Tours (est. 1990). I have been planning, designing, and making custom Japan private tours on all five Japanese islands since the early 1990s. I work closely with Japan private tour clients and have worked for all kinds of families, companies, and individuals since 1990. Clients find me mostly via organic search, and I advertise my custom Japan private tours & travel services on www.japan-guide.com, which has the best all-Japan English content & maps in Japan! If you are going to Japan and you understand the advantages of private travel, consider my services for your next trip. And thank you for reading my content. I, Ian Martin Ropke (unique on Google Search), am also a serious nonfiction and fiction writer, a startup founder (NexussPlus.com), and a spiritual wood sculptor. Learn more!

Uji, SE of Kyoto: Favored Spot of the Fujiwara

Byodo-in Temple, home of the Amida Buddha.

The country town of Uji is just a few kilometers from the southeastern part of Kyoto. Besides being a famous place for its temples, river-side scenery and quaint countryside homes and estates, Uji is the tea capital of Japan. Since Chinese tea plants were transplanted to Uji in the 12th century, Uji tea has always been considered the finest in the land. A short walk out of town in a easterly direction, you can see the low, dark-green tea bushes covering the landscape. May is when the first leaves of the year are picked and if you’re lucky you might even get a cup of newly made tea. However, first and foremost on your stop in Uji should be Byodo-in Temple and it's excellent museum.

Byodo-in is a structure like no other in Japan and though you’ll find its image on every Yen 10 coin in your pocket, it has to be experienced to be appreciated. The era that gave us this legacy of elegance and sophistication is rightly referred to as Japan’s Golden Age. Golden for its cultural and social refinement and beauty, this period is even today thought by many to be Japan’s finest moment. Uji and its place on Japan’s cultural map is largely due to the influence of one family, the Fujiwara. But it would be wrong to think of the Fujiwara as a family. Dynasty is much more appropriate for describing the power and influence they had over the country during the best years of the Heian Period (794-1185), which, for nearly 300 years, was actually the Fujiwara Period.

The Fujiwara Period (894-1185) was the height of elegance and sophistication in the arts and in the social sphere. Similar to the Edo Period, the Fujiwara Period was one of isolation from the rest of the world. Contact between Japan and Tang dynasty China slowed dramatically as the Heian Court system created for itself a culture that was surprisingly self-centered and closed off from the world around it. Central to this era was the Fujiwara clan, who controlled the country through their role as imperial regents and by arranging marriages between their daughters and successive emperors. The men of the Fujiwara clan, aristocratic as they were, took great pleasure in guiding and manipulating the politics of their day. At the same time, the imperial court enjoyed themselves and gradually developed a lifestyle of decadence that in the end corrupted the entire system and allowed for the military class to seize control and move Japan’s base of power to Kamakura. Greatest of the Fujiwara regents was Michinaga who in his time was “father-in-law to two emperors, grandfather to a third, grandfather and great-grandfather to a fourth, and grandfather-in-law to a fifth,” as Ivan Morris wrote in his book The World of the Shining Prince.

Today, little remains of the Fujiwara legacy, perhaps because they devoted themselves to political power and not building temples. Byodo-in and Daigo-ji, both in the Uji area, are the two exceptions. In fact Byodo-in was built by Michinaga’s son Yorimichi, who had the Fujiwara villa in Uji turned into a temple. Central to both Daigo-ji and Byodo-in is the Amida Buddha Hall, a type of building favored by many aristocrats of that era. The Amida was their ray of hope during the decadence and wide spread pessimism of the later Fujiwara Period, when the Buddhist saints prophesized the world was entering Mappo, a dark and corrupt period. The Amida, the enlightened being of the Pure Land, promised the faithful entry to paradise and escape from Mappo. The Amida at Byodo-in is one of the few surviving statues of its kind in Japan today. Contained in a hall surrounded on four sides and above with lavish decorations done in lacquer, mother-of-pearl and gold leaf, the golden statue of Amida is seated in meditation, head surrounded by a magnificent golden halo of clouds and lesser deities.

Of equal beauty and greater fame is Byodo-in’s Phoenix Hall, which graces Japan’s ¥10 coin. With its two wooden wings built to perfect proportions, the central hall is an attempt to create the Pure Land Paradise of the Amida Buddha on earth. Reflected in the large pond in front of it, the Phoenix Hall is an esoteric structure that immediately brings to mind Chinese temples and tantric mandala symbols. The roof is topped with exquisite images of the Phoenix bird which again is a Chinese symbol and one rarely encountered in Japanese architectural details.

Byodo-in is today cut-off from a direct view of the Uji river, but that doesn’t mean the river should be ignored. In fact the north side of the river is an integral part of Uji’s charm and the location of many older homes, temples, shrines and restaurant inns. A walk along the river from Uji Sanjo station is particularly recommended during the daytime and even more so when the moon first rises above the eastern hills.

Uji can be reached via the Keihan Line (change at Chushojima), and JR (from Kyoto Stn.). It’s about 30 minutes from Kyoto. To get to Mampuku-ji get off at Obaku Station (2 stops before Uji). Tourist information (in English): 0774-23-3334.

Uji's green tea industry, today!

Tea first arrived in Japan in the possession of the famous Japanese priest Eisai, who returned from a long stay in Sung dynasty China in 1191. His precious seeds were planted in Uji and flourished there in the warm, moist climate. At that time tea was highly prized in China for its medicinal properties and for use in rituals. And the Japanese priesthood and aristocracy took to tea quickly. However, due to the labour intensive nature of making tea it remained a luxury for nearly 1,000 years, only becoming a part of daily life for the average person at the end of the Edo or early Meiji Period.

Tea leaves are either hand picked or machine harvested. And surprisingly enough the picking method has a strong influence on the final product’s taste. Like when cutting certain vegetables with a knife, tea leaves can take on a metallic taste from the machine blade. Hand picking, despite the fact that it is becoming increasing rare in Japan, still results in the finest teas. Economically, however, the advantages of machine picking are indisputable, yielding 30 times more tea in the same amount of time.

The differences in the type of tea yielded depend primarily on the way the plant is grown and how the leaves are processed. The best qualities of Japanese tea are produced by severely limiting the amount of direct sunlight reaching the leaves, in a uniquely Japanese technique which produces a sweeter tasting tea. However, the biggest difference between Japanese teas and Chinese blends is fermentation. Japanese tea is steamed to prevent fermentation, and this increases the tea’s aroma.

Though tea is consumed widely throughout the world as a daily beverage, it is a well established fact that tea is good for you. The same can not be said for its main competition: coffee. Tea is said to slow human ageing, the outbreak of cavities, lessen the effects of hangovers, prevent colds, and have a cosmetic effect on skin, etc. Specifically, the chlorophyll in tea improves blood and skin quality. Green tea also contains significant amounts of vitamin B and C. Because it is alkaline, it also has a good effect on the stomach. Recently, studies have also shown that green tea can prevent certain kinds of cancer. So drinking a little Japanese tea everyday is something worth thinking about. Below is an introduction to two of Kyoto’s better known tea growers.

Itohkyuemon: Distinguished 300-year-old Uji tea grower

The Itohkyuemon tea plantation and business was established 280 years ago, and at one time it served as the official tea purveyor for the imperial family. Throughout its history, Itohkyuemon has maintained a policy of providing the finest in traditional Japanese green tea from its approximately 2 hectare plantation in Uji (see ad below).

In addition to its firmly established retail business, Itohkyuemon has an extensive wholesale distribution network which extends throughout Japan. Their Byodo-in retail outlet has been in business since 1946, and, in 1996, they opened a new shop and factory (open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm) in the surrounding area. The simple, aesthetic tea room of the main shop is perfectly suited to enjoying and sampling Japanese tea and sweets (see pg 13 for more details). A wide selection of teas are sold in both shops. Mail order requests from overseas are welcome. Itohkyuemon is conveniently located near to Byodo-in Temple, Ujigami Shrine, and Mampuku-ji Temple.

Open 10 am to 6 pm . English speaking staff available. Tel: 0774-23-3993.

Fukujuen Corp., Uji: Japanese tea industry leader

Established in 1790, Fukujuen is one of Japan’s leading corporations in the field of tea growing and promotion, with shops in major Japanese centers, and one in Paris. In addition to their successful retail business, Fukujuen’s Cha Research Center is devoted to the research and promotion of tea. The center includes exhibits related to tea from around the world, tea houses, two research labs, a greenhouse with tea plants from all over Japan, and a hydroponic tea cultivation area. Tea sampling can be arranged at their Kyoto shop on request, where they sell many Japanese and Chinese teas, in powder, leaf, or bag form. High quality Uji teas, such as gyokuro, sen-cha, genmai-cha, houji-cha, are available for less than Yen 1,000 (for 20 tea bags). A visit to their Chakan Shikunshi Tea House (Tel: 752-0148) on the 3rd floor of the Westin Miyako Hotel, or their shop on the 3rd floor of the Kansai International Airport is also recommended.

Fukujuen Group Head Office: Tel: 0774786-3901 (Fax: 3910). Kyoto Shop: on the corner of Shijo and Tominokoji, Tel: 211-1501. Fukujuen Cha Research Center: Located in the Kansai Science and Culture City, Tel: 07747-3-1200.

Uji history from the Amida Buddha to Zen
Uji green tea and two prominent Uji tea business