On October 25th, at Hiyoshi Taisha Shrine in Shiga, a very special tea offering ceremony took place.
The area surrounding this stunning temple holds an important place in Japanese tea history. It is said that monk Saichō, who brought tea seeds from China in the 9th century, planted them in this very place. Today, the Japan’s Oldest Tea Heritage Project (日本最古のお茶伝承プロジェクト) seeks to shine a light once again on this remarkable legacy and to revitalize the historical memory of the site. The project tends the Hiyoshi Tea Plantation, from which they harvest and produce tea every spring.
During the October ceremony, three events took place.
First, sencha made from the spring harvest of the Hiyoshi Tea Plantation was offered to the deities of Hiyoshi Shrine by Tsusen’an Takanori, the Iemoto (head) of the Obaku Baisa Sencha-dō school, in a solemn ritual held in the main temple hall, Nishimoto Shrine, accompanied by the sound of traditional drums.
Following that, participants were invited to join a sencha-dō ceremony led by Ute Sawada of the same school. We enjoyed a delicate gyokuro served in a beautiful temple room overlooking the forest. The refined, graceful movements of the host as she prepared the tea perfectly complemented the harmony of the tea and sweet pairing.
Finally, in the Shirayama Shrine Hall, a Tang-style tea ceremony was performed – a recreation of how tea was prepared in China some 1,200 years ago, during the time of Saichō. The tea, made in spring from the Hiyoshi Tea Plantation, was shaped in pressed coin form, as it would have been centuries ago. During the ceremony, a tea practitioner carefully crushed and ground the tea into powder, which tea teacher Mika Horii then prepared for participants. The fine powder was mixed with hot water and a pinch of salt – a brewing method that even predates whisked tea traditions. To highlight the autumn season, the tea was served with dried persimmon from a local maker in Nara Prefecture.
We felt truly blessed to take part in such a meaningful tea gathering. The combination of ancient Chinese tea traditions and Japanese sencha-dō, set in a serene natural environment and shared among cheerful tea lovers, made the experience unforgettable.
On the way back, we couldn’t help but stop here and there, noticing tea plants sprouting from stone walls, home gardens, and roadside paths. The deep tea history that lingers in this place still reveals itself… to those who keep an eye open for it.
