Uji Green Tea: Uji, Kyoto, Japan 2007

Uji, Kyoto, Japan 2007

The cultivation of tea in Uji is said to have its origins at the beginning of the 13th century, during the Kamakura Period. Blessed with good soil quality and topography, among other favorable conditions, tea cultivation in Uji rapidly expanded.

　The custom of tea drinking began to spread during the mid-1400s. Uji tea was considered a first-class gift, and the tea-guessing game “Tocha” was created.

　Eventually, tea drinking and cuisine were combined. “Cha no Yu,” tea ceremony prizing tea ceremony tools and sitting room ornamentation, was developed and was spread through Japan by merchants and others.

　In the 15th century, Uji became as big a tea producer as the famed Toganoo in Kyoto. The tea plantation “Oku no Yama,” one of Uji’s “Seven Famous Gardens”, was founded during the Muromachi Period, and is still present in Uji today.

from: http://www.ujicha.or.jp/%E5%AE%87%E6%B2%BB%E8%8C%B6%E3%81%AB%E3%81%A4%E3%81%84%E3%81%A6/the-culture-and-history-of-uji-tea/