The Tea Jar Procession

Each year for the duration of the Edo Period, new harvest tea (shincha) was transported from Uji in Kyoto to the capital Edo (modern day Tokyo) in tea jars (chatsubo). This delivery of tea was conducted in a grand procession called the "o-cha tsubo do chu" (Tea Jar Procession). The Tea Jar Procession is said to have commenced during the reign of the 3rd Tokugawa Shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1633.

The procession consisted of a supervisor in chief, head tea master, two deputy tea masters, several attendants and a small army of samurai guards. Over time the number of tea jars increased and so too the number of guards. The whole procession eventually amounted to over 400 people making it the largest procession of all in the Edo Period. Being a procession of the shogunate, the Tea Jar Procession was second in authority behind the processions of the imperial family. This meant that any daimyo (feudal lord) procession from one of the domains would have to clear the road and wait for the Tea Jar Procession to pass through, should they meet along the highways. As the Tea Jar Procession would pass the attendants in the procession would shout "Shita nii, shita nii" (Heads down! Heads down!) to those along the road including townspeople as it passed through villages. Should anyone raise their head to view the business of the procession or show any disrespectful behaviour they were punished without mercy. As the country was unified in the Edo Period and with the cessation of civil war, the samurai returned to farming. As the Tea Jar Procession occurred at the same time every year as harvest time, samurai families that ordered to help with the procession were said to have known no greater hardship than dealing with their crops and the demands of the shogunate to provide horses and men for the Tea Jar Procession.

The significance of the Tea Jar Procession can be seen in its appearance in the nursery rhyme:

"zuizui zukkoro bashi gomamiso zui, chatsubo ni owarete to wo pisshyan, nuketara dondokoshyo"

"the tea jar's coming quick shut the door and hide, when it's passed, phew, take a breath".

The highways were repaired in preparation for the tea jar procession and farmers had to stop rice cultivation. Children were banned from playing outside, rock weights were removed from roofs (in case they dropped and disrupted the procession), all cooking fires were put out, and funerals were banned when the tea jar passed through. Not only did life virtually stop when the tea jar passed, it would have also been a very fearful time for people.

The extravagance of the Tea Jar Procession began its decline with reform measures brought in by the 8th Tokugawa Shogun, Yoshimune. The number of tea jars from Uji to Tokyo was limited to three as one of the means for the bakufu to curb expenditure. Then with the demise of the Edo Bakufu in 1867, the Tea Jar Procession ceased after continuing unbroken for 235 years.

Sexy matcha ↑

Matcha preferences: 

1. Young moss - thin, even layer of mousse

→　strong, deep, even consistency of flavour. A wide complexity of flavour is present　

2. frothy matcha cappuccino (thick layer of mousse)

→　light, airy, even consistency of flavour and delightful texture. May need a greater quantity of tea when whisking this way to get complexity of flavour

3. Half moon. Uneven layer of mousse

→　strong, deep, uneven consistency of flavour. Matcha residue at the bottom from minimal whisking.

How matcha is made

(matcha for use in chanoyu)

Grown under a shade cloth as the leaves reach maturity. (Direct sunlight promotes bitter tannins in the leaves.)

Picked by hand

Steamed immediately after harvest

Steamed for 15 seconds and dried immediately

The shows drying the leaves in air chutes immediately after steaming

Leaves are dried for many hours, coursing through a long conveyor belt under dry heat. Here the leaves are entering the large drying machine: 

Tea leaves exiting the drying machine:

Tea leaves are de-stemmed by machine and chopped into ‘aracha’:

Stems after de-stemming:

Leaves are then de-stemmed again and de-veined (veins in the leaves are removed by machine leaving just the ‘meat’ of the leaves). This is called ‘tencha’

Tencha is then ground by a stone mill into matcha.

Image of stone mills (cha-usu) with tencha in the funnels:

Matcha falling from the mill:

Stone mill:

Matcha is packaged, purchased, 

sifted,

 placed into a tea caddy for chanoyu,

whisked and savoured.

Matcha used in chanoyu

1. The matcha must be made into powder by a stone mill

2. The tea leaves must be leaves of the first harvest of the season only (ichi ban cha)

Careful:

1. Do not use matcha to drink if the matcha has been made into powder by high speed blades and not a stone mill. High speed blades oxidise the tea due to heat. Stone mills are gentle, they do not cook the tea.

2. Do not use the matcha to drink if it is not first harvest (first flush) tea. Second and third flush tea is made up of old, bitter leaves not suitable for matcha.

3. Do not use the matcha if the colour is army green or the fragrance is astringent. This usually means the matcha is 1 or 2 above. Or it can mean the matcha is old and therefore ‘off’ (oxidised). 

Should you wish to follow the full drinking protocol followed in the Ueda Sōko Ryū, or even if just curious about the meanings behind the gestures, the etiquette for drinking matcha is detailed here:

• After the host prepares the tea, the guest takes the chawan (tea bowl) and places it before their lap

• Bow to the next guest waiting for tea and saying 'o-saki ni' (excuse me for going ahead of you). Then say 'chōdai itashimasu' (thank you for the tea) to the host

• All chawans have a face, called the shōmen. You can identify the face by looking for the part with a picture, variation in shape, variation in colour of the glaze, or if the chawan looks the same all around, the front is the part that is presented to the guest by the host

• Take the tea bowl in your right hand and rest it on the palm of your left hand. Raise the tea bowl with both hands to a height just above eye-level and bow. This action expresses reverence to all the elements of nature that combined to bring you this tea

• Lower the chawan to a height above your lap and turn the  chawan 45 degrees to the left (clockwise). This is to show humility by not partaking tea from the face, or best part, of the chawan.

• Partake the tea at a leisurely pace in three mouthfuls. Sit with a straight posture when drinking tea, bringing the chawan to your mouth with your arms

• After the first mouthful the host will ask 'o-fuku kagen ikaga desu ka' (How is the tea?). After this, hold the chawan in your left hand while resting it on your left thigh and reply 'kekkō desu' (It's very good)

• After drinking the tea you view the chawan, so ensure you drink the tea clean with the last mouthful

• After drinking, wipe the part of the rim from which you drank with your thumb and index finger. Then wipe a second time with your little finger. The direction is from left to right both times

• As you turned the chawan to the left before drinking, return the chawan so the face is facing you (turn anti-clockwise)

• View the chawan. The chawan is a treasured item of the host, so when viewing, stabilise your hold of the chawan by resting both elbows atop your thighs and view the chawan at a low height just in front of your knees. Now is a good time to promote conversation by asking questions such as “What type of chawan is this?” and “From what maker does this chawan come?”

• Return the chawan to the host by turning it clockwise twice, so that the face faces the host

• The host takes the chawan, places it before them and says 'O-nomi nikū gozaimashita' (I hope the tea was not too displeasing).

• The guest replies 'Kekkō ni chōdai itashimashita' (I enjoyed it very much).