Tsujiri

Tsujiri is a historic tea house dedicated to preserving the honour of Uji tea and safeguarding Japan’s rich tea culture. Nestled in Uji, a region blessed with abundant rainfall and frequent mists due to temperature variations between day and night, this area has long been renowned for producing exceptional tea.

Founded in 1860, during the turbulent final years of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tsujiri emerged when the once-thriving Uji tea plantations faced neglect and decline. Tsujiri’s visionary founder, Tsuji Riemon, revolutionised the tea industry by devising a new method of storage — the tea chest (or canister), which improved preservation and expanded distribution.

Additionally, he perfected the ‘gyokuro method,’ which produced beautiful, needle-like leaves of vibrant green, cementing Uji tea’s reputation as a symbol of luxury. The story of Tsujiri is inseparable from the revival of Uji tea, with its legacy deeply rooted in both innovation and tradition.