On October 1, 2026, the "Ogura Tea Festival" was held at the Ogura Community Center in Ogura-cho, Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture. Organized by the Ogura Tea Festival Association, the event brought together local tea producers and wholesalers to express gratitude to their ancestors and pray for the continued development of the tea industry.

Tea producers and wholesalers from the Ogura area performing a Shinto ritual in front of the "Monument to the Origins of Gyokuro Tea Production" (Ogura-cho, Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture)

The Ogura area is considered the birthplace of *gyokuro*—a type of tea produced by shading the tea leaves from sunlight, a process that concentrates their savory *umami* components.

The ceremony took place in front of the "Monument to the Origin of Gyokuro Tea Production," located beside the entrance to the community center. Following a ritual to invoke the presence of the *kami* (deities) performed by a Shinto priest from Ogura Shrine, the chairman of the association offered tea—prepared using *gyokuro* grown in Ogura—to the deities. The priest also recited a *norito* (Shinto prayer), and attendees offered *tamagushi* (sacred branches) as part of the proceedings.