Table: Anniversaries that celebrate Japanese Tea

The Japanese Tea Day on the October 1st is one of the major anniversaries.

It was actually declared by Ito-en, which is a Japanese multinational drink company specializing in tea.

Many events will take place in Japan to celebrate this day, aiming to bring people closer to Japanese tea.

But why in October?

October isn't exactly green tea season. It's interesting that October is chosen as an anniversary.

October 1st is actually an anniversary of the "Kitanodaisanoe" or the Grand Kitano Tea Ceremony which took place in 1587.

This event is not just a normal tea event - it has huge historical implications.

Let's look into some of the history behind this.

1587 is during the Azuchi Momoyama Era in Japan. This is an era of heavy war between the countries within Japan.

In this era, tea had extremely powerful meaning. Tea was reserved for the powerful and rich, and some of the tea tools were said to be as valuable as a whole country!

If you've ever played any games of the Japanese Sengoku (Warring) era, you'll know that tea tools were used as powerful methods of bribery and motivation.

This Grand Kitano Tea Ceremony was significant because this was the first tea ceremony that was open to anyone - even commoners and foreigners.

It was conducted under the order of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was the most dominant Daimyo (Feudal Lord) at that time, to celebrate the conquering of the Kyushu area.

The event was produced by the famous Sen-no-rikyu.

It is a symbolism of spreading the culture of tea to everyone in the country regardless of their economic status, so celebrating Japanese tea day on this anniversary really makes sense.