Japan Heritage story
800 years of Japanese tea in Uji and southern Kyoto
日本茶800年の歴史散歩
Matcha, sencha and gyokuro were all developed in the tea country south of Kyoto. Walk through 800 years of tea: shaded gardens, old merchant houses and one of the oldest tea houses in Japan.
Key facts
- Theme
- Sea and waterside, Forests and timber, Festivals and rituals, Food and sake
- Era
- Kamakura, Muromachi, Azuchi-Momoyama, Edo
- Region
- Kansai
- Official name in Japanese
- 日本茶800年の歴史散歩
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 京都府（宇治市，城陽市，八幡市，京田辺市，木津川市，久御山町， 井手町，宇治田原町，笠置町，和束町，精華町，南山城村）
The story
Tea came to Japan from China. In the 13th century the monk Myoe is said to have taught the people of Uji how to grow it, and by the 15th century Uji tea was the favourite of the Ashikaga shoguns. In the 16th century growers began shading their fields with reed screens at the request of tea masters such as Sen no Rikyu. Shading cut the bitterness and gave the bright green, rich matcha used in the tea ceremony.
Later the region also gave Japan sencha, the everyday green tea, and gyokuro, a luxury shaded tea. Its fields, tea merchants' streets and tea festivals still show each stage of that history.
What to see
- Uji Bridge and Tsuen tea house: the tea house at the foot of the bridge is said to be the oldest in Japan; tea is still served by the 24th head of the family.Google Maps 通圓 宇治 (opens in a new tab)
- Nakauji: the old tea merchants' quarter, including the house of the Kambayashi Shunsho family.
- Okunoyama tea garden: one of the shogun's Seven Famous Gardens, farmed without a break since the Muromachi period.
- Shirakawa in Uji: tea fields still shaded with natural reed screens.
- Wazuka and the hill villages: tea fields across the slopes of southern Kyoto.
Uji is an easy day trip from Kyoto city; see the Kyoto prefecture guide.
Good to know
- Join a tea-picking or tea-rolling session to understand the work behind each cup.
- Taste matcha, sencha and gyokuro side by side; the difference is clearer than you think.
- Combine Uji's tea houses with a visit to shrines and temples such as Koshoji, built on one of the old shogun tea gardens.
Questions travellers ask
What is the difference between matcha and gyokuro?
Both come from shaded tea plants. Matcha is ground into powder and whisked; gyokuro is whole leaves brewed at a low temperature.
Where is Japan's oldest tea house?
Tsuen, at the foot of Uji Bridge, is said to be the oldest. It appears even in kyogen comic plays.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- Lake Biwa Canal: the waterway of hope from Otsu to Kyoto
- Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage: Japan's 1,300-year journey of the heart
- Tango chirimen: 300 years of silk on Kyoto's north coast
- Yokosuka, Kure, Sasebo and Maizuru: Japan's naval port cities
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.