Ureshino tea - Ureshinocha

Ureshino is a specialty product of the Ureshino region of Hizen Province (Saga Prefecture). It is said that tea production in this area was introduced by Chinese potters who came to Japan in the mid-15th century, but the foundations of the tea industry were laid in the mid-17th century when Yoshimura Shinbei moved to Ureshino and began cultivating tea trees. During the late Edo period, it was used as a trading item in the Saga domain's trade with Nagasaki, but in the Meiji period, because tea was produced using the kettle-frying method, it was overwhelmed by Uji tea, which was produced using the sencha method, and its sales channels were limited to Hizen and Nagasaki. This situation continued into the late Meiji and Taisho periods, and the tea industry was stagnant, but in the early Showa period, Ureshino tea began to be exported because it suited Russian tastes, and this triggered technological reforms, leading to a new stage in which tea picking with scissors and mechanization of tea production were promoted. Sales mechanisms were also slightly improved, and kandate trading began in 1933. After World War II, advances were made in mechanized tea production, and Ureshino became a major tea-producing area in Kyushu.

[Nagano, Japan]

"Ureshino Yoshida Local History" (1928, Ureshino District Educational Association, Saga Prefecture) " Ureshino Town History, Volumes 1 and 2 (1979, Ureshino Town)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

肥前(ひぜん)国（佐賀県）嬉野地方の特産物。当地の製茶は、15世紀中ごろ渡来した中国人陶工によって伝えられたというが、茶業の基礎が築かれるのは、17世紀中ごろ吉村新兵衛(しんべえ)が嬉野に移住して茶樹栽培を始めて以来のことという。幕末期には佐賀藩の長崎貿易における交易品として運用されたが、明治期になると、製茶法が釜炒(かまいり)法であるため、煎茶(せんちゃ)製法をとる宇治茶に圧倒され、その販路も肥前や長崎地域に限られていた。この状況は明治後期、大正期においても続き、茶業は停滞的であったが、昭和初年嬉野茶がロシア人の嗜好(しこう)にあうことから輸出されるようになり、これを契機に技術改革が行われ、はさみ摘みや製茶の機械化が進められて新たな段階に入った。販売機構も若干改善され、1933年（昭和8）には貫立(かんだて)取引が行われるようになった。第二次世界大戦後は機械製茶も進み、嬉野は九州における一大産地となった。

［長野　暹］

『『嬉野吉田郷土誌』（1928・佐賀県嬉野郡教育会）』▽『『嬉野町史』上下（1979・嬉野町）』

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