A tradition of tea, beauty, and connection.

A tradition born among scholars and poets

Senchadō is a traditional Japanese art of tea centered around the preparation of leaf teas such as Sencha and Gyokuro. It is about taking the time to appreciate each element with care—from the natural color, flavor, aroma, and character of the tea leaves to the sounds created as tea leaves meet hot water—while host and guest share and savor the moment together.

The origins of Senchadō can be traced back to the early Edo period. Its roots lie in the tea rituals practiced at Manpuku-ji Temple on Mount Ōbaku in Uji, Kyoto. It was the Ōbaku Zen monk Kō Yūgai Baisaō who began serving sencha to people on the streets of Kyoto. This gradually drew public interest as a new way of enjoying tea, distinct from the traditional Cha no Yu (matcha tea ceremony).

Baisaō’s approach attracted many poets, painters, and intellectuals. In sencha, they found a sense of freedom, simplicity and a distinctive aesthetic, and a culture began to flourish in which people gathered around tea to enjoy poetry, calligraphy, and painting together.

Over the centuries that followed, various schools emerged, each developing its own approach to arranging the tea utensils, handling the teapot, and carrying out the temae.

The origin of the name "Senchadō"

Today, in Japan, the word “sencha” generally refers to a type of green tea. In Senchadō, however, “sencha” originally comes from the expression “to steep tea leaves”. When water is heated over a fire and tea leaves are placed into boiling water, they make a distinctive sizzling sound. The practice of putting tea leaves into hot water and drinking the resulting tea was described as senjiru (“to steep”), which is where the name sencha comes from. It also directly reflects the way tea was prepared and enjoyed in China during the Ming dynasty.

The history of tea is generally said to have begun when the tea plant was discovered in southern India and later brought to China. In China, the way tea was prepared changed with each successive dynasty: compressed tea cakes became common during the Tang dynasty, powdered tea during the Song dynasty, and steeped leaf tea during the Ming dynasty.
The tradition that eventually led to today's matcha comes from the powdered tea of the Song dynasty. Buddhist monks brought this method to Japan, where the practice of dissolving powdered tea in hot water gradually became established. Later, Sen no Rikyū added his own aesthetic sensibility, shaping the Japanese tea ceremony around the ideals of wabi-sabi.In China, meanwhile, the way tea was prepared shifted from powdered tea to steeped leaf tea during the Ming dynasty. This method was eventually introduced to Japan, where it spread throughout the country.