Tea Growers Pray for Good Harvest, Safety in Historic Site in Shizuoka, Japan

The Yomiuri Shimbun

2:00 JST, March 31, 2026

SHIZUOKA — Tea growers prayed for a good harvest on Sunday in Shizuoka during a memorial ceremony for Shoichikokushi, a 13th-century Buddhist priest known as the father of tea farming in the prefecture.

The ceremony, held in advance of the tea-picking season, took place in the Ashikubo district of the city’s Aoi ward.

The district is believed to be the place where Shoichikokushi scattered tea seeds he brought back from Song Dynasty China. A group of local tea growers erected a stone monument for the priest in the district and has been holding memorial ceremonies for him for more than 50 years.

Farmers participating in the ceremony on Sunday chanted sutras with a priest, burned incense, offered shochu liquor and sweets to Shoichikokushi and prayed for a good harvest and safety in tea picking.

“I hope I can pick many good tea leaves and finish my tea picking safely,” said one 66-year-old tea farmer.