tHE TROPICAL AGRfCULTtJRISt, 



[Mav I, 1884, 



exhibition published by the Japanese Comniissiouei:s 

 in pamphlet form I quote as follows : — 



Tho number of exhibits and exhibitors is more than 

 4,4S() and 3,810 respectively. Of the former, 786 are from 

 tho profectm'e of Saitama, 535 from Shiga, and more than 

 300 from Osaka and Miye; while Tokiyo, Kiyoto, Kanagawa, 

 Niigata, Ohiba, Ibaraki, Gitii, Fukushima, Fukui, and 

 Kumamoto — two cities and eight prefectures in all — ex- 

 hibited less than 300 and more than 100. The exhibits 

 from all other prefectures were less than 100 in number. In 

 a special apartment, were exhibited several samples of 

 teas from the Botanical Gardens and the Engineering 

 Bureau of the Imperial Household Department ; tables and 

 books on the use of tea, as well as drawings of the tools 

 employed in the tea plantations, — sent from the Commer- 

 cial and Agricultui'al Bureau, the Industrial yections of 

 the various Prefectures, and by exhibitors from dilferent 

 localities. 



The address dchvered by His Excellency .Shiuagawa runs 

 as follows: — 



Tlie origm of the growth of tea in our country can by 

 no means be accurately ascertained, yet topographical iu- 

 vestigatiou leads us to the conclusion that the staple has 

 growu wild in the Empire from very remote periods. As to 

 the motliod of its culture and production, we are also rmablo to 

 obtain any preci.se knowledge. Keferring to the old anuals, 

 however, we remark that when the Emperor Saga proceeded 

 to Kanzaki in Shiga, Omi, in the spring of the 6th year 

 of Kojin — about 070 years ago— and took up a temporary 

 lodgiug at the temple called Bonshakuji, the Abbot Yeichiu, 

 of the temple Sofukuji, prepared tea in person, and pre- 

 sented it to the Emperor and his younger brother. From 

 those facts it may be inferred that the cultitte of tea as 

 well as t bo method of jireparing it for drinking purposes has 

 had its origin in the knowledge accpiircd by Yeichiu when 

 he travelled in China in the epoch of Yenriyaku. However, 

 the use of tea was temporarily abandoned, until, in the 

 reign of the Emperor Toba II. during the years of Bunji, 

 the priest Yeisei, founder of the temple Keuninji, who hail 

 previously been dispatched to So, m China, to study 

 Chinese literature, returned with tea seeds and founded a 

 plantation on the mouutaui called Seburiyania, in the 

 province of Chikuzen. His produce was known by the name 

 of Iwakami tea. Later he presented some plants to Hoye 

 Shonin, rector of the Toganowo temple, in the province of 

 Yamasbiro, This priest planted them in Uji, and thus the 

 cultivation of tea has been in progress duiing more than 

 860 years. Therefore the reijutatiou of the Uji tea is trace- 

 able to these facts. 



The exportion of our tea to foreign countries is of recent 

 date — after the opening of Naga saki to foreign commerce. 

 Tho quantity exported was then so insignificant as to be 

 hardly worth recording. "When Y'okohama was opened 

 to foreign trade in the 6th year of Ansei, some American 

 incrcha,nts made purchases of tea, and tliis gave rise to 

 extended exportation. Later on, the ex])ort of the staple 

 increased year by year, to such an extent that one-fourth of 

 the total value of our exports from the 1st year of Meiji 

 to tho 14th year (1S6S-1881} was contributed by tea, 



I have heard that the American Government has lately 

 prohibited tho import of spurious teas. That America, 

 our chief custumur, has adopted such a measui'e, will 

 serve to terrify cunning and fraudulent, and encourage 

 upright, dealers. Both oiu: tea cultivators and manufacturers 

 must work candidly, taking legitimate measures for pack- 

 ing and transportation, so that they may be enabled to 

 compete with rivals of other countries and maintain the 

 reputation which our teas earned from Heaven more tlian 

 one thousand ye.ari? ago. This is the reason why the 

 Second Competitive Exliiliitiou of tea is opened, and wliy 

 I call the attention of pruducers to the facts that 1 have 

 mentioned above." 



As regards spurious and doctored teas, I do not sup- 

 pose the Japanese are so much to blame as American 

 retailers and niiddje-olass dealers who will have 

 something cheap and even trashy. The following 

 ouLspokcu remarks are fro.n tho report of an American 

 Consul in Japan, written about six months ago, and 

 with special reference to the Hiogo-Osaka districts of 

 which Kobe is the tirat : — 

 Tile tea tr.ido has gone from bad to worse, until it has 



now become unsatisfactory, both to the Japanese producer 

 and the foreign exporter. Whether as a result of over- 

 supply, or of such deterioration in the quality of the teas 

 shipped as tends to check consumption, the prices to which 

 tea has fallen in the United States are ruinously low, and 

 if some improvement be not effected, this important com- 

 merce will be shunned by all who have anything to lose. 

 Some movement is now taking place among the growers of 

 tea here against the production of the inferior loaf which 

 gives the exporter lus excuse for colouring the article to 

 conceal that inferiority, and probably a larger projiortion 

 than usual of pure uncoloured tea will this year be shipped 

 to the United States. But this movement wUl fail of 

 success unless tea-drinkers in the United States can some- 

 how be awakened to the fact that bluish-grey and broken 

 leaf is not the natural and proper form of this precious 

 commodity, and that coloured teas are neither clean nor 

 wholesome, whereas the natural leaf of Japan is both good 

 and deUcious. If the American demand could be redirected 

 towards these sound and pure teas, it is probable that the 

 use of the fine and fragrant leaf produced in Japan would 

 so increase as to restore vitality to a trade now vitiated by 

 manipulations which naturally disgust all who become 

 aware of them, and are perhaps the principal cause of the 

 paralysis now ijrevailing in the tea business. 

 Fortunately the attention of the American authorities 

 has latterly been directed to this matter of spurious tea, 

 and more than one confiscation has taken place at 

 the port of New York, a fact which has also directed 

 attention to the pure teas which India is ready to 

 supply. It will be some time, however, before the 

 American consumers are educated to the pitch of giving 

 up the light green fusionless Japanese and Chinese 

 teas in favour of the stronger teas of India and Ceylon. 

 One curious fact told to me on the "Oceanic" is that 

 Ceylon tea is being imported into Yokohama, and 

 that the foreign residents have taken to it very readily 

 — so that it is likely to become their drink — nhigh 

 compliment this 1 



The rise in prices of tea in America desired above 

 has been partly realized, and the satisfaction of some 

 of our passengers on arriving at San Francisco was 

 very m.arkcd in hearing of good sales for their teas 

 at increased prices. One merchant interested in about 

 a million lb. shipped in November and held on for 

 the rise had a good many thousands of dollars of 

 profit to connt on ; while his companion who, shipped 

 in December, found that a " stupid " agent had sold 

 all off, just before the rise ! Such is the chance of 

 trade. 



Sixty per cent of the tea consumed in America is 

 claimed to be distributed from the one port of New 

 York, and the imports there for 18S3, 1 see, are given 

 as follows ; — 



lb, 

 "Green "Teas ... 16,257,673 



" Jajian " Teas ( ? all green) 16,370,368 



Black Teas ... 23,149,775 



Indian Teas ... 680,746 



Tolal lb, ,.. 06,358,562 



Against in 1882 lb. 54,387,000 



Increase in lS831b. 1,971,562 

 An act of Cougrcis is now in operation prohibiting 

 the import of ".adulterated " tea?, and it is said that, 

 as a consequence, the importation last year showed a 

 better average quality. The press are in favour of 

 the law. 



It is evident to me from the information now col- 

 lected, that our Directory statistics of tia production 

 and consumption in both China and Ja])au must bo 

 modified. Tho home confumptioii is not nearly so 

 great as I estimated on the authority of a report by 

 Consul Allan of Shanghai, who wrote that tho quantity 

 of tea drunk by the rest of the world was simply a 

 trifie as compared with the consumption within China 

 itself. While iidiuittiug that there wore uo more 



