Sea Lake HAMANA Jenne introduces the various charms of the Hamamatsu/Lake Hamana area.

This time, the girls headed to Muramatsu Shoten, a Hamamatsu deep-steamed tea specialty store in Nishi-ku, Hamamatsu City, to try out the historic tea kabuki game. It seems that the winner of “Cha Kabuki” will receive a special special prize today, but who will get it? ?

Muramatsu Shoten has been around since before the war.

Muramatsu Shoten, where you can experience Cha Kabuki, is a Hamamatsu deep steamed tea specialty store that has been in the tea manufacturing business since before the war in Nishiyamacho, Nishi Ward.

The landmarks are the “Hamamatsu Deep Steamed Tea” sign and the store with an ivory-based triangular roof. The parking lot is located next to the store and across the road.

This time, four people will be experiencing Cha Kabuki: Rika Jenne, Haruka Jenne, Yusa Jenne, Ayano Jenne, and one more person. Finally, the secret Jenne appears.

Before the tea kabuki experience, Jenne and her friends enthusiastically say, “We’ll do our best!” I’m looking forward to seeing who wins.

Muramatsu Shoten has its own tea gardens in about 30 locations, including the one in front of the store. Jenne and her friends decided to tour the tea garden in front of one of the stores.

“Buds are sprouting from the branches. It’s strange~” Yusa Jenne whispered as she gazed at the tea garden.

What unfolds before their eyes is a tea garden where the first tea leaves have been pruned and trimmed after being harvested. This way, you will be able to pick more delicious new shoots the following year.

After the tour of the tea garden, we had a special experience riding a tea harvester and touring a tea factory.

Muramatsu Shoten specializes in tea made in-house, which is rare in Hamamatsu. We do everything from tea cultivation to tea manufacturing and sales.

Yusa Jenne and Ayano Jenne will take turns riding the large tea mowing machine. When the manager Muramatsu asked them to start the engine, the two were very excited, saying, “The sound was amazing!” and “I could smell the tea from below.” This is not easy to do.

What is Cha Kabuki?

After the tour, we headed to the Japanese-style room on the second floor of the store to experience today’s main event, Cha Kabuki. Here, manager Muramatsu will give you a brief explanation about Cha Kabuki.

Tea kabuki is a tea play that was popular among samurai from the Nanbokucho period to the Muromachi period. However, it was no longer just a game of tea, but gradually began to involve gambling with luxurious prizes, so the Ashikaga Shogunate decided to issue a ban.

Manager Muramatsu explained, “They were betting their house on it,” and Jenne and the others shouted, “The whole house!” and “It’s too big!” but it’s okay. The prize this time is not that big.

This is the tea kabuki procedure that Jenne and others experience.

1) First, check the aroma of the five types of tea leaves you will be comparing (Flower: Yabukita Sencha, Bird: Gyokuro, Wind: Saemidori Sencha, Moon: Genmaicha with matcha, Customer: Kukicha).

In order to remember the name tag on the tea leaf container and the scent, each student writes down the characteristics of the scent on a sheet.

The four Jenne people who checked the scent had different reactions.

Ayano Jenne shows a serious expression.

Haruka Jenne, next to her, has a feeling of being lost.

Rika Jenne is very serious as she approaches the tea leaves.

It looked like Yusa Jenne was alone, but what was the outcome? ?

2) Next, do a tasting.

The tea leaves for tasting were “Hana”, or Yabukita Sencha. Translate the taste of this tea into your own words and take notes on a sheet in hand to prepare for the actual event.

First round

Cha Kabuki has competed twice. Before each match, choose one person from among the participants to shuffle cans containing five types of tea leaves.

At first, Jenne and her friends were following the cans with their eyes, but it seemed like they couldn’t keep up with Jenne Ayano’s high-speed shuffle.

After the shuffle, it’s time for the tea kabuki to begin!

3) Manager Muramatsu will serve you tea brewed in a teapot, so you can take a look at the color, aroma, and cloudiness of the tea before tasting it.

All tea leaves are brewed under the same conditions. As a result, the taste of Gyokuro, which is normally brewed at a low water temperature over a long period of time, changes considerably. Try it out and see how it changes!

4) After drinking and deciding on your answer, paste the sticker that was distributed along with the sheet in your hand onto the board brought by the staff. This sticker is printed face down so that it is difficult to tell who selected which tea leaves.

By the way, once the sticker is pasted, it cannot be changed later. That’s why it’s so difficult! !

Rika Jenne stares at Haruka Jenne as she decides on the answer for the third cup and puts a sticker on it. Yeah, I’m curious too.

By the way, Jenne and the others’ reactions when they drank this third glass were, “Huh? Huh?” “This is something…” “Absolutely not!” “I understand this! It was embarrassing.”

After that, on the fourth drink, Jenne Ayano said, “Finally!” “I think this is the only thing I understand.” For the fifth and final drink, you can put the remaining sticker on your hand before drinking it.

The second round is expected to be turbulent...?

After the first round was over and the results were announced, we had Muramatsu Shoten’s original rich gelato with “hojicha flavor” as a palate cleanser.

The purpose is to reset your mouth in preparation for the second round. After finishing the refreshing and fragrant hojicha gelato, the next game begins.

The second round also started with a shuffle of tea cans. The winner of the first round was shuffled. picture? Want to know who won the first round? We’ll find out soon.

The second round will be held in the same manner as the first round. At this point, Manager Muramatsu says, “Let’s cut back on the amount we drink.” Including the tasting, I drank 6 cups, so I’m grateful that they take this into consideration when brewing.

“There’s no link between the scent of tea leaves and the taste of tea,” Jenne and the others said, looking more serious than in the first round. As the cups continued, they said, “I might have made a mistake!” “I just have to trust my intuition!” “The color…” .

As the girls grumbled, store manager Muramatsu helped them by saying, “If you add hojicha (of different colors and flavors), the competition will be easier, but if it’s easy, it’s not fun.”

Upon hearing those words, Yusa Jenne nods and says, “That’s true.”

In addition to the matcha-infused genmaicha that was served in the fourth cup of the first round, if hojicha is added, the difficulty level will decrease. But that would make it less interesting. After all, there will be some nice prizes this time.

The winner of the second round, which felt more difficult than the first, was Jenne Ayano. “I should have bet on the mansion.”

Secret Jenne will appear in the finals

This is where the secret Jenne comes in. In fact, the total points for the winners of the first and second rounds are the same.

We decided, “Let’s play this tie!” and had another cup brewed.

In Cha Kabuki, the tea is brewed in a teapot, then poured into another teapot, and then poured again into the teacup, so that the tea in every teacup has the same strength.

Since it’s the finals, there are two bowls. Only the store manager, Muramatsu, knows which tea leaves were used.

The winner of the first round was Jenne Mitarai, who accompanied us to take still photos. The reason I couldn’t see her among the Jenne lined up at the store was because she was taking photos.

So, what do you think the answers they gave? same? Or… The answer given by Jenne Ayano was “bird”, and Jenne Mitarai’s answer was “wind”.

However, the tea leaves brewed by manager Muramatsu are “flowers.” Of the two types of Sencha, it was Yabukita Sencha.

Since both are tied, it’s a rock-paper-scissors game at the end! Both said, “It’s been a long time since I’ve played rock, paper, scissors this exciting.”

In the end, it was Jenne Ayano who won the rock-paper-scissors game.

The gift from the staff was a “Kirk Bottle” that allows you to easily make cold brewed tea. Ayano Jenne wants to make something using this bottle.

If you are curious about what you want to make, please watch the video on YouTube’s “Jenne Channel”.

“[Hamamatsu] Gambling in the Muromachi period!? Serious competition at ‘Cha Kabuki’!”

「https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tjmwkqpc9Vw&t=6s」

“I was able to see the behind-the-scenes of a tea shop and had a valuable experience.”

When the tea kabuki ends, smiles appear on the faces of Jenne and the others. Thank you for your hard work.

The timing of the tea kabuki experience introduced this time is detailed in the Hamamatsu/Lake Hamana short travel guide “Experience tea culture – Enjoy a graceful moment through tea kabuki”.

https://hamamatsuat.hamamatsu-daisuki.net/experience/323/

Also, if you would like to watch a video of the tea kabuki that the girls experienced at Muramatsu Shoten, please check out the “Jenne Channel” on YouTube.

“[Hamamatsu] Gambling in the Muromachi period!? Serious competition at ‘Cha Kabuki’!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tjmwkqpc9Vw&t=6s

Muramatsu Shoten sells homemade Hamamatsu tea in a variety of prices and types, from gifts to everyday items. The rich gelato is also delicious, so please give it a try.

Click here for details on Muramatsu Shoten, which Jenne visited this time▼

Muramatsu Shoten Ltd.

2365 Nishiyama-cho, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture 432-8001

TEL : 0120-394-108

TEL : 053-487-0264

Reception hours : 9:00-18:30 (excluding Tuesdays)

Muramatsu Shoten Co., Ltd. official website (external link)

https://394108.jp/

Interview date: 2022.7.7

Sea Lake HAMANA Jenne: Rika Oishi, Haruka Isobe, Chiemi Yusa, Ayano Ogawa, Satomi Mitarai

#Hamamatsu City

#Muramatsu Shoten

#Cha Kabuki

＃Cha Kabuki experience

#Hamamatsu tea