A History of Shizuoka Tea: From the Makinohara Plateau to Japan's Tea Capital

Tea growing in Shizuoka is said to date back to the Kamakura period, but it truly flourished in the Meiji era.

Clearing the Makinohara plateau

Former retainers of the shogunate and river porters who had lost their livelihoods after the Meiji Restoration cleared the barren Makinohara plateau and planted tea — the origin of today's vast tea fields.

Tea as an export

In the Meiji era, tea was one of Japan's key exports alongside raw silk, much of it shipped abroad from Shimizu port.

The birth of fukamushi

In the Showa era, longer steaming — "fukamushi" — spread as a way to tame the astringency of Makinohara leaves. It is now the signature taste of Shizuoka tea.