History
It’s stated that in 1677 (Eiho 5), the first generation Suzuki, Magosuke Suzuki, moved to Shimada-Shi (former Kanaya), the same exact location as we live and perform operations to this very day.
This is the period that the fourth generation Samurai Shogun, Ietsuna Tokugawa held its reign and governance during the period of the Edo Era.
"Portrait of Tokugawa Ietsuna"
In 1830 (Tenho Gannen), in the late period of the Edo Era, Shimada shi had been beautifully portrayed by the renowned Ukiyo-e master, Hiroshige Utagawa and Hokusai Katsushika.
"Kanaya-juku", from one of the the Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō art, and "Mount Fuji from Kanaya on the Tokaido Highway" are such timeless art pieces which still lives on today.
"Hiroshige Utagawa Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido" <Kanaya-juku>
"Katsushika Hokusai Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji" <Tokaido Kanaya no fuji>
In 1905 (Meiji 38), by the forefathers who had passed down the rice faming tradition, tea farming was founded and started by the tenth generation Suzuki, Magoji Suzuki.
Marumago's founder Magoji, started to cultivate the land which originally wasn't suitable and fit for growing Japanese green tea.
Everything started from zero, literally, from the ground up.
It was in the fortitude, the pure Japanese spirit which made this possible.
Back in the days, all the harvesting and the production had been processed by hand.
Times change to the Taisho era with the Second generation.
Second generation had aimed for the modernization of tea production,
and focused in cultivating further for having mountains to be usable for tea farms
by creating roads that led up to these farms.
This had set forth to broaden tea farms to the top of mountains.
Additionally, implementation of harvesting machines
had led to achieving stable tea quality.
And by shifting manual tea production performed
by hand to machine usage had increased production volume.
These advancement had prepared the foundations leading into the Showa era
with the Third generation, leading to the expansion of tea farms.
To the contrary to the expansion of the business growth in the early Showa era,
Japan gradually heads into difficult times.
Male ancestors were drafted and sent into the heart of war,
and tea business were protected dearly by the female ancestors.
We are truly thankful to the ancestors for protecting the tea farms during such hard times, and we are strongly valuing the importance of its existence today.
Times shifted from the dramatic and turbulent Showa era to the Heisei era,
from the Third generation who had widely expanded the tea farm to the Fourth generation that implemented automated machines which had boosted the efficiency of production.
These changes indeed had reflected each historical background respectively.
Bigger harvesting machines was used to carefully harvest the tea leaves while efficiently providing larger output, and the newly built tea factory had aided to produce tea at its highest quality in large quantities.
In the modern-day of the current Reiwa era, the Fifth generation is sought to present tea to meet the needs of this modern day world, all based upon the long history, traditions and culture, the very farm and values which had been protected and passed down for generations by the ancestors.
The goal is to preserve these values of Japanese tea to adapt to the new values in today’s world and to be recognized anew.
Times had changed, but our styles of growing
and producing everything in-house hadn’t changed.
We are committed to continuing to pursue the growth of safe
and high quality Japanese tea, and to the production of green tea filled with sweet aroma.
To this very day, ever since the very first days of the first generation Magosuke, 350 long years had passed.
And 120 years had passed since the tenth generation Magoji who opened up a new chapter in tea farming.
The Japanese spirit and the dedicated passion towards farming and its tradition still lives on, being carried forth and valued to this very day by MARUMAGO.