宇治製茶之図|Illustrations of Uji Tea Production 宇治製茶之図 (Uji sei-cha no zu)

Saitō Motonari 斎藤玄就|Monk Nindō Sōen 忍道宗延

1803 · Handscroll of thirty-two sheets reformatted as a folding album (orihon) · Asian Art

This album captures in remarkable detail every stage of the production process of the famous green tea grown in Uji, near Kyoto. The imagery charts the plant’s growth, beginning in the early spring, as well as the subsequent harvesting, culling, and drying of its leaves. In the second half of the sixteenth century, a new method of tea cultivation was developed in Uji that helped to create the bright green, powdered matcha used in the wabi-cha tea culture associated with Sen no Rikyū (1522–1591). In the eighteenth century, the high-quality green tea enjoyed as sencha—steamed and rolled after picking—was also successfully grown in Uji. Around that time, sencha gatherings became frequent among the literati of Kyoto.

Artist

Saitō Motonari 斎藤玄就|Monk Nindō Sōen 忍道宗延

Date

1803

Medium

Handscroll of thirty-two sheets reformatted as a folding album (orihon)

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2023