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Japan Today
19-05-2025
- Japan Today
Tamaryokucha: Japan's rare green tea you've probably never heard of
By Elizabeth Sok 'Do you have any shin-cha?' the older gentleman to my left asked in a thick Hakata dialect. I had just bought some first harvest tea myself from my favorite tea shop and was waiting for it to be wrapped. 'Yes, we just received a shipment of chiran-cha (tea from the Chiran region of Kagoshima Prefecture) yesterday. Would you like to sample a cup?' the cashier replied. She was already preparing to scoop some fresh tea leaves into a yokode kyusu (single-sided handle Japanese teapot). Mid-scoop, the man interjected, 'What about tamaryokucha?' 'I'm sorry, we just sold the last one. But we have…' It was too late. With no more than a grunt, he brushed by the couple behind him on his way elsewhere in search of his drink of choice. In hushed tones, one of them said to the other, 'What's tamaryokucha?' How green tea took root in Japan This is all that remains of Saga Prefecture's Ryosenji, an important site in the history of tea in Japan. Image: Krkrkrme/CC BY-SA 4.0 Trying not to draw attention to myself as I eavesdropped, I picked up a small pamphlet on display. As well as offering steeping instructions, it also gave a quick history of tea in Japan. Tea was introduced to Japan via China at the turn of the ninth century. But, cultivation was very limited and drinking tea remained primarily among Buddhist monks and some members of the imperial court. Ultimately, interest died out before long. Fast forward to the late 12th century and the pilgrimages of Eisai, a Zen Buddhist monk. He too returned to Japan with tea, this time in the form of tea plant seeds. On the borderlands of present-day Saga and Fukuoka Prefectures on Mount Sefuri, Eisai planted several seeds on the grounds of Ryosenji. Kyoto and Uji were next to cultivate tea, but this time in the first large-scale plantations. Over the centuries, tea production spread to a few other areas, namely Shizuoka and Kagoshima. Sen no Rikyu began to formalize the Japanese tea ceremony in the 16th century and matcha became the drink of choice among the samurai class. Sencha was later developed in the 18th century. Over 100 years later, tea farmers began to produce wakoucha (Japanese black tea) which gained a following overseas and accounted for nearly two-thirds of all tea exports in 1955. These days, you're likely to find some other well-known teas, including houjicha (roasted green tea), genmaicha (roasted brown rice tea) or even gyokuro, a premium-grade green tea. What is 'tamaryokucha'? Steep yourself in this rare green tea Tea preparation in Song Dynasty China before the invention of pan-firing tea leaves. Image: LIu Songnian/Public domain In the end, the couple was won over by the chiran-cha sample and bought a bag as well as some matcha-flavored ice cream for the road. Meanwhile, another store clerk placed a sold-out sign where tamaryokucha would normally be found. In case you didn't notice, tamaryokucha isn't usually on lists of the greatest hits of Japanese teas. And despite Japan's reputation as a consumer paradise, you probably won't find it among the many offerings at most tea shops in Japan. Here's why: tamaryokucha makes up only about three percent of the country's total tea production with the vast majority originating from Saga's Ureshino area. There are two types of tamaryokucha: kama-iri-sei (pan-fired) and mushi-sei (steamed). Out of the two, the steamed variety is by far the most common. Kama-iri-sei tamaryokucha Rather than using steam to heat dry tea leaves, kama-iri-sei tamaryokucha depends on a kama (an iron pot or pan) to roast them in a process developed during China's Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Next, they are rubbed before drying. The pan-fired variety is marked by its more nutty and earthy notes at the heart of a fuller tasting tea. These days, less than one percent of teas in Japan are pan-fired. Mushi-sei tamaryokucha The origins of mushi-sei tamaryokucha go back to the 1920s. Looking for new markets to export its tea, Japan turned to the Soviet Union which had been buying Chinese pan-fired tea. Creating a steam-powered process to increase productivity, but with similarly curly and tasty results, Japan began to export mushi-sei tamaryokucha in high volume to the Soviet Union. Shizuoka quickly became the nation's leading producer, pumping out almost 8,000 tons between 1934 and 1941 and dwarfing Kyushu's collective output. To make mushi-sei tamaryokucha, you first steam dry tea leaves at a high temperature while removing condensation as it appears. This process is repeated until, finally, the leaves are left to dry into their characteristically curly shape. Sencha and other green teas are also steamed, but mushi-sei tamaryokucha is steamed for a longer duration. The result is relatively less astringency and rich flavor that can handle being steeped in 80 to 90-degree water for about a minute. Just because it's a relatively rare tea doesn't mean tamaryokucha is impossible to find. Nor does it mean you'll have to pay a premium price. Where to buy tamaryokucha in Japan or online Nagasaki Prefecture's Sonogi region is home to one of 2024's best Japanese teas. Image: ゆう/Pixta Most big supermarket chains don't stock it on the shelves, but you can find some tamaryokucha sourced from Ureshino and Miyazaki Prefecture in Aeon and OK's online inventories. Aeon Kyushu Online carries tamaryokucha from Nagasaki's Sonogi region. But, while these may be the most convenient options, they can't beat the quality of tamaryokucha sold from dedicated tea shops and cultivators. Founded in 1936, Haraguchien is my go-to for tamaryokucha sourced from Ureshino. With only three stores (all located in Fukuoka) that spotlight teas mainly from Ureshino, Yame (Fukuoka) and Chiran (Kagoshima), it's a local small business with deep roots in southern Japanese tea culture. If you want one of the best tamaryokucha around, look no further than Ikeda Cha-en who earned Platinum prizes at the prestigious 2024 Nihoncha Awards. Located in Sonogi, they've made the underdog tea region proud after being selected out of a field of more than 500 teas of all types. Curious to try pan-fired tamaryokucha? Although Ikeda Noen is a small-scale production, they've been in operation since 1907 and produce my favorite version, complete with a refreshing taste and unmistakable roasted aroma. Tamaryokucha in modern Japanese sweets and treats While the number of tamaryokucha-infused treats on the market is far from the near-monopoly that matcha holds, a few retailers offer alternate ways to savor its rich flavor. Fraglace, a company specializing in organic craft ice cream, offers tamaryokucha-infused scoops along with others featuring tea as key ingredients. Over in Shimane Prefecture, a tea shop named Chadonya sells roll cakes baked with tamaryokucha. Start your day with a cup of tamaryokucha Ureshino may not be a household name, but it's the largest producer of tamaryokucha in the country and the origin of my breakfast tea. Image: kattyan/Pixta 'I apologize for the wait. Here's your tamaryokucha,' the tea store clerk said as she handed me my bag. I thanked her and headed home. Before breakfast the next day, I made myself a pot, steeped in 75 degree water for about 50 seconds for that full-bodied flavor with a touch of sweetness. As the morning wore on, I re-steeped it once or twice more for a little longer, each cup getting a little mellower, revealing faint nutty notes. Some people need to start their day with a cup of coffee. While I'm not one of those people, I get it — just like I understand the plight of the older gentleman. Like me, I hope he finally found his rare cup in a sea of green. © Japan Today
Observer
06-05-2025
- Health
- Observer
Finding balance through ancient wisdom
The fog of depression lifted slowly during my stay at a Zen Buddhist monastery in Kyoto Japan. Each morning I would join the monks in meditation. The simple act of focusing on my breath gradually untangled the knots in my mind that medication alone couldn't reach. My journey with mind-body practices began in desperation. Clinical depression had left me feeling disconnected and hopeless, even with prescribed antidepressants. During retreats at Buddhist monasteries in England and later Japan, I discovered something powerful – while meditation didn't replace my medication, it gave me tools to recognise destructive thought patterns before they overwhelmed me. On the Internet you'll find countless non-qualified 'experts' promoting mind-over-matter theories suggesting you can cure serious diseases through alternative 'natural' medicines with positive thinking. These false masters are dangerous, and some have had their lives cut short by rejecting traditional medical treatment. I'm not therefore suggesting meditation can cure any illness, but evidence supports that practices like meditation can help manage symptoms of serious conditions including the side effects of cancer treatment. Some alternative approaches can complement, not replace, conventional medical treatment. What I experienced personally now has scientific backing. When stressed, your body releases hormones that damage your heart and weaken your immune system. Mind-body practices help lower these stress hormones, allowing natural healing systems to work better. A groundbreaking Stanford study found women with late-stage breast cancer who participated in support groups lived twice as long as those who didn't. The connection between thoughts and physical health isn't just ancient wisdom – it's measurable reality. This understanding isn't new. Hippocrates recognised 'the natural healing force within us' thousands of years ago. While Western medicine historically separated mind from body, ancient healing traditions like Chinese Medicine always viewed them as inseparable. Western science finally caught up in the 1960s when researchers noticed how emotions like depression worsened physical conditions like arthritis. Since my monastery stays I've learned meditation was just one approach among many. Biofeedback uses equipment to show bodily functions in real-time, helping you control them – effective for pain and headaches. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy helps identify and change harmful thinking patterns that worsen depression and anxiety. Other techniques include guided imagery, muscle relaxation and hypnosis for relieving anxiety and pain. During my monastery stays, I noticed improvements not just in mood but also in unexpected areas – better sleep, improved digestion and fewer tension headaches. Research confirms mind-body approaches help reduce effects of numerous conditions beyond mental health: cancer treatment side effects, high blood pressure, asthma, heart disease, chronic pain, digestive issues, diabetes complications and immune disorders. In meditation halls in England and walking monastery gardens in Japan, I learned that sometimes the most profound medicine begins with simply learning to breathe with awareness. The mind and body aren't separate systems – they're one interconnected whole. Mind-body medicine works best alongside conventional healthcare, creating a complete approach to wellness that honours both scientific advances and your body's remarkable capacity to heal. My personal journey taught me that while these practices aren't miracle cures, they can be powerful allies in healing our whole selves.
RTÉ News
25-04-2025
- Health
- RTÉ News
Why rest is not doing nothing
Opinion: If rest enables vital functions for our mind and body, why do we not place greater value on it? "It occurs to me that I am resting. It is not the same as doing nothing. Resting like this is something active, chosen, alert, something rare and precious". So writes Katherine May in her book Enchantment. Composers, orators and athletes similarly appreciate the precious nature of rest. Zen Buddhist teacher Haemin Sunim observes that what makes music beautiful is the distance between one note and another, what makes speech eloquent is the appropriate pause between words. Elite athletes place as much emphasis on sleep, rest and recovery as they do on training. But does rest feature in daily life for everyone? The big four In 1922, Swiss born psychiatrist Adolph Meyer argued that rest should indeed feature. He spoke of how human life was organised around rhythms – "the larger rhythms of night and day, of sleep and waking hours, of hunger and its gratification, and finally the big four-work and play and rest and sleep, which our organism must be able to balance even under difficulty." Balancing needs and demands in this way is indeed difficult, for individuals and societies. Millions of people around the world are experiencing ill-health and disease that can be attributed, in part, to patterns of daily living and living conditions that do not support wellbeing. Non-infectious diseases like ischaemic heart disease, stroke, and diabetes are forecast to be the top three causes of disease burden worldwide in 2050. Mental disorders are amongst the leading causes of disease burden globally. A greater focus on rest in daily life may be one way to mitigate these risks. From RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime, do our busy lives mean we overlook the recuperation benefits of just resting? The brain at rest Rest and sleep are often considered to be one and the same. However, they serve distinct purposes and accordingly both merit their respective place in daily life, as Meyer recognised. While the necessity for sufficient high-quality sleep is now generally well understood, although often still difficult to attain, the place of rest in the rounds of activity that make up our days has attracted less scholarly or popular attention, until more recently. Over the last 20 years, researchers have examined what happens in the brain during rest. In a resting state, awake but not engaging in any focused task or responding to external stimuli, the brain actively connects thoughts and experiences through its default mode network. At rest, when the mind wanders and daydreams, we reflect on our past and present, we think about our future. This regulates our mood and emotions and help us make sense of the story of our lives. If rest enables such vital functions, why do we not place greater value on it? Unrest Ironically, it is perhaps this fundamental feature of rest, this inward focus, sense making and reflection that deters us. When we stop and "do nothing", we think about ourselves and the world. Such thoughts can be overwhelming, not least when the world feels increasingly threatening and threatened. Unrest can feel like danger. Psychologist Sandra Parker writes that we are wired to remove ourselves from the discomfort of unrest, perceived as dangerous, with modern life providing innumerable exit routes, diversions and distractions. Making space for rest then means making peace with unrest. When we rest, we can notice sensations in the body, learn to distinguish danger from discomfort and soothe our nervous system. From RTÉ Radio 1's Reignite, What's the best way to spend your time given we only have 4,000 weeks on Earth? Writer Oliver Burkeman has some pointers. Too busy to rest Rest may also induce feelings of stress and guilt as Claudia Hammond found in the BBC Radio 4/BBC World Service The Rest Test, the world's largest ever study on rest, involving more than 18,000 people from 193 countries. Many people feel too busy, that there are simply not enough hours to meet the essential demands of the day, let alone make time for rest. 'To do' lists rarely get done. In part, this is because the possibilities for how we fill our time are boundless and increasingly boundary less. Remember when correspondence from the world beyond the office arrived once per day in the mail? Remember waiting to watch a favourite TV show when it aired once a week….and having to wait a further week to watch the next episode? Television channels stopped broadcasting as night fell. Businesses closed for lunch. Shops closed on Sundays. Nowadays, such external boundaries are fluid or largely absent, instead we must self-impose our own limits. Rest is radical Maintaining limits in this way may mean saying no to opportunities, no to requests, no to being 'always on'. It might mean letting go of attaching self-worth to busyness, productivity and self-optimisation, experimenting instead with saying 'I have enough', 'I do enough', 'I am good enough'. Letting go in this way is not a moral failing, observes Madeleine Dore, and may in fact be an invitation to others to stop too. Katherine May recognises that "doing those deeply unfashionable things - slowing down, letting your spare time expand, getting enough sleep, resting - are radical acts these days, but they are essential." Poet David Whyte depicts the potential outcome of such radical acts. "Rested, we are ready for the world but not held hostage by it; rested we care again for the right things and the right people in the right way". If this is deemed unfashionable, it's time to start a new trend.
The Guardian
10-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘A place between fiction and reality': small town dreamscapes
Photographer Dylan Hausthor's lyrical visions delve into themes of storytelling, faith, folklore and the inherent queerness of nature. Small-town gossip, relationships to the land, the mysteries of wildlife, the drama of humanity and the unpredictability of human spectacle inspire the stories in these images and installations. What the Rain Might Bring by Dylan Hausthor is published by TBW books Dylan Hausthor: 'I'm fascinated by the instability of storytelling and hope to enable character and landscape to act as gossip in their own right: cross-pollinating and synthesising' Within Hausthor's untamed world, characters and landscapes become conduits, weaving together new narratives that challenge perceptions of reality The imagery – an owl mid-flight, a procession of figures, an infant nursing at its mother's breast, a towering mushroom, spiders in their webs – paints a world where human roles feel fragile, overshadowed by the dominance of nature. Each photograph oscillates between the eerie and enchanting, the humorous and the haunting Hausthor's photography integrates elements of ad hoc investigative journalism, disinformation and performance, disrupting traditional approaches to nature photography. The viewer is drawn into a space where the line between truth and artistic licence is deliberately blurred Dylan Hausthor: 'I was recently visiting my home town and stopped to fill up my car. I noticed a woman sitting outside the gas station drinking coffee and recognised her as my old ballet teacher. I sat down next to her and we caught up. She had been going blind for a decade since I last saw her. She had fallen out of love, started growing a garden and found God. She had a small collection of freshly picked mushrooms next to her and handed me one, saying 'Mushrooms have no gender, did you know that?'' Cultural systems, communities bound by belief, ruralism, the ghosts that haunt landscapes and the disentangling of colonial narratives are what drive these installations, images and videos 'Two moths mating, taken as I wait for a tow truck' 'A strange field of sunflowers, ones that refused to look at the sun. Instead of drinking the sunlight, as most of their species do, this field turned their backs. This image was taken during a time I was working at a sheep farm' 'There is a time of year where the black ice is worse than ever. For a week or so, it overlaps with the time that spiders are still making webs before going into diapause' 'An exercise in care and attention that takes place at a Zen Buddhist monastery in which one person leads another around after they've dunked their head into mud' Photograph: Dylan Hausthor The images evoke a sense of pagan, Wiccan, religious, anarchic and mystic rituals, offering a visual exploration that is at once candid and full of hidden secrets 'I hope for the viewers and readers of my work to find themselves in a space between fiction and reality – to push past questions of validity that form the base tradition of colonialism in storytelling and folklore and into a much more human sense of reality: faulted, broken and real' Hausthor's book is named after David Arora's famed mushroom identification guide, All That the Rain Promises and More It can be seen as an exploration of a post-fact world, where the boundaries between parable and reality dissolve, leaving the viewer to question what they believe
Forbes
26-03-2025
- General
- Forbes
NYT ‘Connections' Hints And Answers For Thursday, March 27
Looking for Wednesday's NYT Connections hints and answers instead? You can find them here: Hey, gang! I hope you're having a great week so far. There's something from a truly memorable early episode (the third season, in case you're interested) of the Netflix series Chef's Table that has stuck with me for, jeez, eight years at this point. The episode focuses on Jeong Kwan, a Zen Buddhist nun who cooks vegan meals for her community and visitors, with much of the flavor in her food stemming from fermentation. It's when she talked about the importance of soy sauce that she said something that really struck a chord with me. 'Soy sauce makes me exited just thinking about it,' the chef said. 'Every food is recreated by soy sauce. Soy beans, salt and water, in harmony, through time.' I found those last four words deeply profound. Yes, certain aspects of life and the world around us decay over time, but others become more robust. Not just flavors, but ideas, wisdom, community, resolve, knowledge, relationships. Although almost everything is temporary, the notion that some elements harmonize and strengthen over time is an immensely beautiful one. Before we begin, I've set up a discussion group for NYT Connections and this column on Discord. We have a great little community over there and we chat about more than NYT games. Everyone who has joined has been lovely. It's a fun hangout spot. It's also the best way to give me any feedback about the column, especially on the rare(!) occasions that I mess something up since I don't look at the comments or Twitter much. Today's NYT Connections hints and answers for Thursday, March 27, are coming right up. Connections is a free, popular New York Times daily word game. You get a new puzzle at midnight every day. You can play on the NYT website or Games app. You're presented with a grid of 16 words. Your task is to arrange them into four groups of four by figuring out the links between them. The groups could be things like items you can click, names for research study participants or words preceded by a body part. There's only one solution for each puzzle, and you'll need to be careful when it comes to words that might fit into more than one category. You can shuffle the words to perhaps help you see links between them. Each group is color coded. The yellow group is usually the easiest to figure out, blue and green fall in the middle, and the purple group is usually the most difficult one. The purple group often involves wordplay. Select four words you think go together and press Submit. If you make a guess and you're incorrect, you'll lose a life. If you're close to having a correct group, you might see a message telling you that you're one word away from getting it right, but you'll still need to figure out which one to swap. If you make four mistakes, it's game over. Let's make sure that doesn't happen with the help of some hints, and, if you're really struggling, today's Connections answers. As with Wordle and other similar games, it's easy to share results with your friends on social media and group chats. If you have an NYT All Access or Games subscription, you can access the publication's Connections archive. This includes every previous game of Connections, so you can go back and play any of those that you have missed. Aside from the first 60 games or so, you should be able to find my hints via Google if you need them! Just click here and add the date of the game for which you need clues or the answers to the search query. Scroll slowly! Just after the hints for each of today's Connections groups, I'll reveal what the groups are without immediately telling you which words go into them. Today's 16 words are... And the hints for today's Connections groups are: Need some extra help? Be warned: we're starting to get into spoiler territory. Today's Connections groups are... Spoiler alert! Don't scroll any further down the page until you're ready to find out today's Connections answers. This is your final warning! Today's Connections answers are... I'm so close to matching my all-time best streak after notching up 30 wins thanks to today's perfect game. Here's how I fared: 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 I got the blues right away here and was a little surprised. I thought they'd be green at most. I was thinking of them more as "banking options" in any case. Pretty straightforward. The greens were next up, though it took me a second to recognize that TO BOOT should go with the other three. The yellows gave me pause as well. I was thinking of PUT AWAY in terms of literally putting some aside, but it's a perfectly valid expression for this group. I did figure out the purple connection before submitting it. I wonder how many Connections players are going to blush at the thought of FOREplay. Also, it's quite meta to have a WORDplay reference in the purple group. That's all there is to it for today's Connections clues and answers. Be sure to check my blog tomorrow for hints and the solution for Friday's game if you need them. P.S. Let's wrap up this little run of more melancholy songs with one last one today, because there's other fun stuff I'm hoping to get to soon. (I'm overflowing with recommendation ideas at the minute, so maybe having a newsletter to offer some extra ones could actually work!) I hate clowns. Can't stand 'em. Their cheerful makeup belies an intent that's mischievous at best, murderous at its worst. I have endured too many horror movies with clowns for my own good. But there's something about a sad clown I quite like. There's something more genuine about it, as it's arguably more difficult for such a creature to mask its intentions. Sad clowns make me happy, as does this wonderful ode to one by the magnificent Joe Purdy: Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Call someone you love! If you're so inclined, please follow my blog for more coverage of NYT Connections and other word games and even some video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot! Sharing this column with other people who play Connections would be appreciated too Also, follow me on Bluesky! It's fun there.
