Kanbayashi Shunsho Matcha Collection
The Kanbayashi Shunsho family has been established for fifteen generations since the Eiroku era (around 1560).
The family began when its first generation, Kamon no Jo Hisashige, moved to Uji from Kanbayashi Township in Tanba and became involved in the tea industry, playing an important role in production and distribution as the leading tea master in the Uji tea industry. During the Edo period (1603-1867), he was a “Gomotsu Ochashi,” the highest rank of tea master, and delivered tea to the shogunate and various feudal lords.
However, with the coming of the Meiji era, the shogunate and the feudal lords lost their patronage, and most of the tea masters were forced to change their business. The Shunsho family faced a crisis for the first time since its establishment, but the 11th generation Shunsho attracted a large number of tea lovers by dealing in “gyokuro” and “sencha,” which were newly developed teas at the time, and transformed himself from a tea master to a tea merchant.
Since then, Shunsho has successfully adapted to the changes of the times, keeping the light of the tea business burning under the company motto of “Learning from the past for the future”.
As the only descendant of the Uji tea master, the Kanbayashi Shunsho family boasts a history of 450 years.
The spirit of making the finest tea for generations has been passed down to this day.
