Following the Meiji Restoration, Japan developed a tea export industry, shipping especially high-quality sencha to the US Midwest, where green tea was popular. The export trade thrived and tea emerged as Japan's second largest export product after silk. However, in the 1920s, socioeconomic trends and racial prejudices pushed Americans toward black teas from Ceylon and India. Facing a glut, Japanese merchants aggressively marketed sencha on their home and imperial markets, transforming it into the icon of Japanese culture that it remains today.

Speakers:
Robert Hellyer, Professor of History, Wake Forest University
Ulrike Schaede, Professor and Director of the Japan Forum for Innovation and Technology, GPS UC San Diego
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This Japan Zoominar @ UC San Diego is organized by the Japan Forum for Innovation and Technology (JFIT) at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy. For more information on JFIT activities, as well as recordings of previous Japan Zoominars, please visit jfit.ucsd.edu.