Tsuen Tea (通圓, Tsūen) is the oldest tea house in the world, founded in 1160 in Uji city, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.[1] It is also the 13th oldest company in Japan, and the 30th oldest in the world, appearing on the List of oldest companies. Located across from Uji Station on the Keihan Uji line, just east of Uji Bridge (originally constructed in 646), successive generations of Tsuen owners provided tea to travelers as "bridge guardians." The shop is the subject of a Kyōgen farce called "Tsuen" and also appears in Eiji Yoshikawa's epic novel Musashi. Today it is operated by the 24th generation of the Tsuen family.[2]
The current Tsuen tea shop and teahouse, built in 1672Well bucket made by Sen no Rikyū on display in the shop (June 2017)Exterior in or around the 1930sLightly-steamed sencha tea from Tsuen Tea
The founder of Tsuen was Furukawa Unai, a samurai vassal of Minamoto no Yorimasa. After retiring in his later years, Furukawa adopted the last character of his master's name (政 Masa), and called himself Tsuen Masahisa (通圓政久). He became a monk and took up residence at the east end of Uji Bridge. His descendants carried on the Tsuen surname, serving as guardians of Uji Bridge, by praying for the durability of the bridge as well as the safety and health of the people who used it. As part of this role, they also served tea to travelers. Various historical figures have been recorded as having tea at Tsuen, including the shogunsAshikaga Yoshimasa, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.[3]
Buildingedit
The current building incorporates the remains of a merchant residence built in 1672. Viewed from the front, it has overhanging eaves with a wide frontage and few support pillars. This method of construction is from the early Edo period, and makes it easy for people to come and go from the shop. Inside the entrance there is a display of ceramic tea jars that are several hundred years old, along with a small wooden statue of the Tsuen founder presented by Ikkyū Oshō. A wooden well bucket reputed to have been made by Sen no Rikyū can also be seen.[4]
Main productsedit
Today, the shop sells tea products including the following:[5]
tsuen, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains, verifiable, maintains, consistent, citation, style, several, templates, tools, available, assist, for. This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Tsuen Tea 通圓 Tsuen is the oldest tea house in the world founded in 1160 in Uji city Kyoto Prefecture Japan 1 It is also the 13th oldest company in Japan and the 30th oldest in the world appearing on the List of oldest companies Located across from Uji Station on the Keihan Uji line just east of Uji Bridge originally constructed in 646 successive generations of Tsuen owners provided tea to travelers as bridge guardians The shop is the subject of a Kyōgen farce called Tsuen and also appears in Eiji Yoshikawa s epic novel Musashi Today it is operated by the 24th generation of the Tsuen family 2 The current Tsuen tea shop and teahouse built in 1672Well bucket made by Sen no Rikyu on display in the shop June 2017 Exterior in or around the 1930sLightly steamed sencha tea from Tsuen Tea Contents 1 History 2 Building 3 Main products 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory editThe founder of Tsuen was Furukawa Unai a samurai vassal of Minamoto no Yorimasa After retiring in his later years Furukawa adopted the last character of his master s name 政 Masa and called himself Tsuen Masahisa 通圓政久 He became a monk and took up residence at the east end of Uji Bridge His descendants carried on the Tsuen surname serving as guardians of Uji Bridge by praying for the durability of the bridge as well as the safety and health of the people who used it As part of this role they also served tea to travelers Various historical figures have been recorded as having tea at Tsuen including the shoguns Ashikaga Yoshimasa Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu 3 Building editThe current building incorporates the remains of a merchant residence built in 1672 Viewed from the front it has overhanging eaves with a wide frontage and few support pillars This method of construction is from the early Edo period and makes it easy for people to come and go from the shop Inside the entrance there is a display of ceramic tea jars that are several hundred years old along with a small wooden statue of the Tsuen founder presented by Ikkyu Oshō A wooden well bucket reputed to have been made by Sen no Rikyu can also be seen 4 Main products editToday the shop sells tea products including the following 5 matcha ground green tea gyokuro shaded green tea sencha whole tea leaves infused in hot water karigane contains also twigs of the tea tree hōjicha roasted green tea genmaicha mixed low level green tea and roasted brown rice See also editJapanese tea ceremony List of oldest companiesReferences edit http www glbrain com index php r tool view amp id 10441 amp toolType 1 Tsuen Tea 通圓とは 通圓とは Tsuen Tea 宇治茶の老舗 通圓 通圓とは 通圓とは Tsuen Tea 宇治茶の老舗 通圓 商品カタログ Tsuen Tea 宇治茶の老舗 通圓 External links editCompany website34 53 36 N 135 48 25 E 34 8932899 N 135 8069955 E 34 8932899 135 8069955 nbsp This article about a Japanese corporation or company related topic is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tsuen Tea amp oldid 1185968120, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
