400 years of history
Yame was founded as a castle town in the early Edo period (1603-1868). Many of the wooden and mud-walled streets that existed in various parts of Japan were either rebuilt due to modernization that followed in the twentieth century or destroyed due to natural disasters or air raids during World War II. However, in Yame, many streets with architecture from the late nineteenth century have remained.
A place where business and life coexist
Many of the dwellings called machiya are merchant houses. They have a narrow frontage and are significantly deep, and when you enter a machiya, you typically find a space with an earthen floor which is used for business, and a courtyard for light and ventilation next to the living space, the tatami room. There are usually kura (storehouse) at the far end of the property, which were used as a warehouse for storing valuable items.
Tea farms spread throughout the town
Take a five-minute drive from the castle town of Yame and you have arrived at a tea farm. Tea cultivation at Gōda Seicha is essentially done by a family of four, and the 6 hectares (14.8 acres) of land is as big as the family can manage. They plow the soil, spread fertilizer, pick the tea and transport it. Even in this day and age when the specialized farm equipments used for each phase of the process have been mechanized, the work still takes place late into the night in the spring when tea production is at its peak.
Making tea together as a family
The factory is situated next to his house, which Gōda-san says is a great blessing. He can eat lunch with his family, and play with his children regardless of how busy his day is. His goal is not mass production. It is to continue the traditional family business style which allows him to do things like enjoy meals with his family.
“I don’t know if I want my children to take over the business, but I have to work hard so that they will want to do it.”
Although Gōda-san resides at the heart of tea production at Gōda Seicha, the whole family is involved in the process.
Tea, as an offering to the ancestors
Every morning in most Japanese households, cooked rice is placed as an offering on the butsudan, the family Buddhist altar where family members pray for their ancestors. However, in the Gōda family, tea is brewed, poured into a teacup and placed as an offering. When the new crop tea is ready for consumption, it is offered to the ancestors to share the progress.
Preserving a balanced life
During the period of economic growth, when many Japanese people aspired to be live like developed western society, there was less emphasis on preserving the traditional Japanese way of life. Nowadays, as the population shrinks, and industry stagnates, people have rediscovered the value of slow life. The town of Yame reminds us the beauty of the family-centered lifestyle that once existed in Japan and the importance of preserving this asset of our country.
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