Farming at 30, with no experience

A start with no land, no money and no experience. Working at the Kansai office of a natural-farming growers’ network, he farmed part-time for about two and a half years.

Mr Doi, Mr Kihara, Mr Atsumi. Meeting these three is where our natural farming began to take shape.

From a six-se paddy

Our first son was born in February. Our natural farming began with a rice paddy of just six se and a small tea field in Ujitawara.

The only tea we made that year was hojicha.

Yusando Inc. is founded

We were able to rent tea fields in Nara, and when the area passed one chō we founded the company. The name comes from our late father’s nickname “Yu-san”; the logo is based on his posthumous Buddhist name “Hōryō”.

Me and my sister, one year younger. A small company of two.

Organic JAS certification

We took over a ride-on harvester, “Nanako”, and roughly tripled our work rate. The same year we obtained Organic JAS certification.

It costs money every year, but we think of it as our tea’s passport.

Building a tea factory ourselves

We built our own tea factory by hand. Being able to finish our harvested leaves ourselves opened up fermented tea-making all at once.

More and more people told us, “Your black tea has really changed.”

Renting the farmhouse; the fields grow

We rented a farmhouse over a hundred years old and made it Yusando’s base. Processing and gatherings now all start from here.

• Tea fields expand into Minamiyamashiro

Field and daily life became connected in one place.

The year the tea field came back to life

In April we carried out environmental improvement work on a field long said to be beyond recovery, and a great deal of water came gushing out. In July our JGAP certification arrived, making three alongside Organic JAS and Shumei Natural Agriculture.

Student part-timers joined, and rice-growing with a welfare workshop began.

A team of more than twenty

Closer collaboration with welfare workshops solved our long-standing shortage of hands. More than twenty people are now involved with Yusando.

In our eighth year, the best tea yet. Our fourth child, Dōzaburō, was born.

The year we connected with the world

Jeff, from the United States, joined as a regular member, and we welcomed visitors from Taiwan, Australia and Korea. Ten years since we began natural farming.

• An electric stone mill improved our matcha

First attempts at growing table rice, glutinous rice and sake rice. The idea of a “natural way of tea” began to take shape.

Farm shop opens

The farm shop we had aimed at for so long finally opened: a place right by the fields to hand over freshly made tea in person.

• Started accepting interns
• Yusando Tea Ceremony Club founded
• Yusando Rice Paddy Division founded

Not only making, but handing over, telling and sharing.

Partnership with Riverside Tea Factory

Joining hands with an outside tea factory widened the range and volume of tea we can make.

Instead of carrying everything alone, sharing the work with partners.