Fading and Reviving Japanese Tea Culture: Tradition and Innovation in the Succession of Family Businesses

Abstract (English)

This paper examines the decline and recent revitalization of traditional Japanese tea culture from anthropological and critical management perspectives, with particular focus on the creative succession of a family business spanning four generations. The object of study, Japanese tea, is not merely a beverage, but a cultural representation imbued with multiple layers of meaning—ritual, aesthetic sensibility, personal communication, social relationships, regional identity, and historical memory.
Among the many regional teas, Ise tea has a unique historical trajectory. Introduced alongside Buddhism during the ancient Nara period, it became widespread among commoners from the medieval Kamakura era through the early modern Edo period, particularly within the culture of pilgrimage to the Ise Grand Shrine. Unlike famous Uji tea (associated with high culture) or Shizuoka tea (representing industrialized tea production), Ise tea embodies a fusion of popular culture and religious sanctity, deeply tied to local memory.
Following the modernization process of the Meiji era, Ise tea was commercialized and exported to the U.S., Russia, and other countries etc., eventually establishing itself as a regional industry. However, amid changing lifestyles, Japanese tea has faced a long-term trend of decline.
This paper examines Roshoen—a long-established company representing Ise tea that was founded in 1887 (Meiji 20) as a modern business—as a case study, to explore the process of brand reconstruction as an attempt to reinvent a declining tea culture. The key research question centers on the "politics of memory": who narrates and transmits the memory and value of tea culture, and in what ways?
As branding and commodification as tourism resources advance, traditional production techniques and the voices of farmers tend to fade into the background. Conversely, new narratives are emerging through associations with the Ise Grand Shrine and images of “elegance” and “healing.” While sales companies and tourism media foreground these values, the practices and voices of the diverse people involved in the tea industry remain largely invisible.
Roshoen, upholding the philosophy that “tea is a fresh product,” has preserved a unique deep-steaming method passed down over generations. At the same time, it has explored possibilities in the sustainable luxury tea market and in tea as a functional food. The company is also engaged in environmental initiatives, organic farming, and contemporary marketing strategies. Underpinning these efforts is the everyday practice of Fueki Ryuko, a concept coined by the haiku poet Matsuo Bashō during the Edo era, and frequently invoked as a management philosophy concerning tradition and innovation in long-established family businesses.