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A Bowl For A Coin
A Bowl for a Coin is the first book in any language to describe and analyze the history of all Japanese teas from the plant’s introduction to the archipelago around 750 to the present day. To understand the triumph of the tea plant in Japan, William Wayne Farris begins with its cultivation and goes on to describe the myriad ways in which the herb was processed into a palatable beverage, ultimately resulting in the wide variety of teas we enjoy today. Along the way, he traces in fascinating detail the shift in tea’s status from exotic gift item from China, tied to Heian (794–1185) court ritual and medicinal uses, to tax and commodity for exchange in the 1350s, to its complete nativization in Edo (1603–1868) art and literature and its eventual place on the table of every Japanese household.
Farris maintains that the increasing sophistication of Japanese agriculture after 1350 is exemplified by tea farming, which became so advanced that Meiji (1868–1912) entrepreneurs were able to export significant amounts of Japanese tea to Euro-American markets. This in turn provided the much-needed foreign capital necessary to help secure Japan a place among the world’s industrialized nations. Tea also had a hand in initiating Japan’s “industrious revolution”: From 1400, tea was being drunk in larger quantities by commoners as well as elites, and the stimulating, habit-forming beverage made it possible for laborers to apply handicraft skills in a meticulous, efficient, and prolonged manner. In addition to aiding in the protoindustrialization of Japan by 1800, tea had by that time become a central commodity in the formation of a burgeoning consumer society. The demand-pull of tea consumption necessitated even greater production into the postwar period―and this despite challenges posed to the industry by consumers’ growing taste for coffee.
A Bowl for a Coin makes a convincing case for how tea―an age-old drink that continues to adapt itself to changing tastes in Japan and the world―can serve as a broad lens through which to view the development of Japanese society over many centuries.
Farris maintains that the increasing sophistication of Japanese agriculture after 1350 is exemplified by tea farming, which became so advanced that Meiji (1868–1912) entrepreneurs were able to export significant amounts of Japanese tea to Euro-American markets. This in turn provided the much-needed foreign capital necessary to help secure Japan a place among the world’s industrialized nations. Tea also had a hand in initiating Japan’s “industrious revolution”: From 1400, tea was being drunk in larger quantities by commoners as well as elites, and the stimulating, habit-forming beverage made it possible for laborers to apply handicraft skills in a meticulous, efficient, and prolonged manner. In addition to aiding in the protoindustrialization of Japan by 1800, tea had by that time become a central commodity in the formation of a burgeoning consumer society. The demand-pull of tea consumption necessitated even greater production into the postwar period―and this despite challenges posed to the industry by consumers’ growing taste for coffee.
A Bowl for a Coin makes a convincing case for how tea―an age-old drink that continues to adapt itself to changing tastes in Japan and the world―can serve as a broad lens through which to view the development of Japanese society over many centuries.
242 pages, Paperback
Published April 30, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 23, 2020
I’m always happy to read books about tea, and finding free books about tea makes me even happier. A Bowl for a Coin by William Wayne Farris is a commodity history of tea in Japan, an angle of Japanese tea history that I’ve not really seen outside my Japanese tea instructor textbook (and even then, my textbook isn’t focused on the commodity angle the way this book is – the information just happens to be included).
But first, what is a commodity history? For Farris, it’s a focus on the following three aspects – the production of tea (how it was grown and how production methods have changed), the tea market (what are the lives of the tea farmers like, and how has the market for tea developed?), and the role that tea may have played in Japan’s economic history. By referencing a variety of documents, including those relating to land and taxes, Farris manages to connect the dots to create a history of tea that complements the cultural histories of tea and the tea ceremony that we might be more familiar with.
A Bowl for a Coin is broken into four main chapters:
The Prehistory of Japan’s Tea Industry (750 – 1300)
Tea Becomes a Beverage for a Wider Market (1300 – 1600)
Tea Triumphs during the Edo Period (1600 – 1868)
Modern Tea (1869 – modern-day)
I highly encourage you to read the book (especially since it’s free – I found it on Amazon) for all the details, but in short: Farris argues that tea may have made its way to Japan in the eight century, where it was regarded as a medicinal beverage, farmed in a small scale, and used mainly as a gift between elites. From there, tea farming and consumption continued to grow and between the 14th to 17th century, “the production, exchange, and consumption of tea in Japan began to undergo a thorough transformation”, in order words entering the second stage of its development. The production of tea increased, tea processing improved and the peasant started to drink tea (especially since many farms also started growing tea, which means that the farming class would be able to drink their own tea). And when we enter the Edo period, we enter what Farris calls the “third stage” of tea’s development, as sencha is developed and tea becomes an integral part of Japanese economy and culture. Finally, in the modern period, the modernisation of tea production carries on and tea is being consumed and marketed in new ways.
Personally, I appreciated the emphasis on the development of tea’s cultivation and farming methods, which is information that I’ve not really seen being shared in English. I also learnt about a few new aspects of Japanese tea history, such as the Bunsei Tea Incident of 1824, where tea producers from Shizuoka fought a thirty-three year legal battle against the merchants who were misappropriating their teas and pretty much cheating them of the money they should have earned.
Personally, I don’t have any quibbles with this book. I read this while also studying for my first module of the Japanese Tea Instructor course, which covers the history and production of tea, and so far none of the information conflicts. As far as I can tell, this book is well-referenced, with most sources being Japanese academic works, and the information in it is reliable.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to people who are looking to delve deep into the history of Japanese tea. While the history of tea cultivation and its economic market is admittedly a very niche topic, there is a lot of useful information here that I’ve not really seen in English works, which would make this a valuable reference for tea enthusiasts.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
But first, what is a commodity history? For Farris, it’s a focus on the following three aspects – the production of tea (how it was grown and how production methods have changed), the tea market (what are the lives of the tea farmers like, and how has the market for tea developed?), and the role that tea may have played in Japan’s economic history. By referencing a variety of documents, including those relating to land and taxes, Farris manages to connect the dots to create a history of tea that complements the cultural histories of tea and the tea ceremony that we might be more familiar with.
A Bowl for a Coin is broken into four main chapters:
The Prehistory of Japan’s Tea Industry (750 – 1300)
Tea Becomes a Beverage for a Wider Market (1300 – 1600)
Tea Triumphs during the Edo Period (1600 – 1868)
Modern Tea (1869 – modern-day)
I highly encourage you to read the book (especially since it’s free – I found it on Amazon) for all the details, but in short: Farris argues that tea may have made its way to Japan in the eight century, where it was regarded as a medicinal beverage, farmed in a small scale, and used mainly as a gift between elites. From there, tea farming and consumption continued to grow and between the 14th to 17th century, “the production, exchange, and consumption of tea in Japan began to undergo a thorough transformation”, in order words entering the second stage of its development. The production of tea increased, tea processing improved and the peasant started to drink tea (especially since many farms also started growing tea, which means that the farming class would be able to drink their own tea). And when we enter the Edo period, we enter what Farris calls the “third stage” of tea’s development, as sencha is developed and tea becomes an integral part of Japanese economy and culture. Finally, in the modern period, the modernisation of tea production carries on and tea is being consumed and marketed in new ways.
Personally, I appreciated the emphasis on the development of tea’s cultivation and farming methods, which is information that I’ve not really seen being shared in English. I also learnt about a few new aspects of Japanese tea history, such as the Bunsei Tea Incident of 1824, where tea producers from Shizuoka fought a thirty-three year legal battle against the merchants who were misappropriating their teas and pretty much cheating them of the money they should have earned.
Personally, I don’t have any quibbles with this book. I read this while also studying for my first module of the Japanese Tea Instructor course, which covers the history and production of tea, and so far none of the information conflicts. As far as I can tell, this book is well-referenced, with most sources being Japanese academic works, and the information in it is reliable.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to people who are looking to delve deep into the history of Japanese tea. While the history of tea cultivation and its economic market is admittedly a very niche topic, there is a lot of useful information here that I’ve not really seen in English works, which would make this a valuable reference for tea enthusiasts.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
Read
March 19, 2024I have been reading this book a page or two at a time for nearly three years now. A freebie download to help me fall asleep. My bedtime book for a long time now. I shall miss you boring tea book.
May 28, 2019
William Wayne Farris did a wonderful job with this book. It’s very enjoyable while being heavily informative. The book does not just tell us the historical aspect of the Japanese tea; it’s a thousand years of journey indeed; but such a marvelous journey about a foreign plant which came to the archipelago as medicine being a building block of Japan civilization and most known and loved cultural represent of Japan around world today.
December 2, 2023
An exhaustive history of the production and market history of tea in Japan, and the role in which tea has played in the evolution of the Japanese economy. It certainly isn't the most accessible book, but I would recommend it to anyone passionate about either Japanese history or tea.
Read
August 26, 2023A Bowl For A Coin is one of the densest, hardest-to-approach historical works I've ever read, beaten only really by Empire's Tracks. It is, however, a phenomenal work on Japanese Tea. Ferris traces the entire history of tea cultivation and trade from its introduction to Japan in the 800s up to the modern day when PET bottles (he loves calling them that) of Itoen green tea can be found in every vending machine in Japan. It's incredibly specific and makes no attempt to cater to a lay audience. I have reasonable knowledge of Japanese history and I got lost a few times in the minutiae of Edo-period currency. This book is directly responsible for getting me into green tea so that's a win, and Ferris does occasionally throw in a beautifully human story to illustrate a point he's trying to make, which I like a lot. Overall, this is a really interesting book for specialists and not really anyone else.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews