Japanese tea and a brief history
Tea was first introduced to Japan from China in the 700s. During the Nara Period (710-794), tea was a luxury product available in small amounts to priests and noblemen as a medicinal beverage.
Around the beginning of the Kamakura Period (1192-1333), Eisai, the founder of Japanese Zen Buddhism, brought back from China the custom of making tea from powdered leaves. Subsequently, the cultivation of tea spread across Japan, notably at Kozanji Temple in Takao and in Uji.
During the Muromachi Period (1333-1573), tea gained popularity among people of all social classes. People gathered in big tea drinking parties and played a guessing game, whereby participants, after drinking from cups of tea being passed along, guessed the names of tea and where they came from. Collecting and showing off prized tea utensils was also popular among the affluent.
At about the same time, a more refined version of tea parties, with Zen-inspired simplicity and a greater emphasis on etiquette and spirituality developed. These gatherings were attended by only a few people in a small room where the host served the guests tea, allowing greater intimacy. It is from these gatherings that the tea ceremony has its origins.