{"title":"Akemi Ishimoto","description":"\u003cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 30px;\"\u003e\n\u003c!-- Column 1: Instagram --\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"flex: 1; min-width: 300px; max-width: 540px; margin: 0;\"\u003e\n\u003cblockquote style=\"margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%;\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/C4VcmXdytzh\/?utm_source=ig_embed\u0026amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" class=\"instagram-media\"\u003e\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cscript async=\"\" src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"\u003e\u003c\/script\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- Column 2: Text --\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"flex: 1; min-width: 300px; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0;\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAkemi Ishimoto\u003c\/b\u003e has been making kancha (\u003ci\u003eJapanese: \u003c\/i\u003e寒茶), a unique winter bancha in Kuo village, Shishikuicho, Tokushima Prefecture for more than 35 years. 87 years young in 2024, Akemi Ishimoto has been a leader in preserving the centuries-old folk tea tradition of Shishikui Kancha. She is affectionately called \"Kancha Ba-chan” (roughly, kancha granny) by the people in this region. Akemi-san says she has never met anyone who has loved kancha more than herself, and one can clearly see her passion when witnessing her make this beautiful tea.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAkemi-san founded the Kancha Production Association in 1988. This was the year the movement to make kancha into a specialty product in the Shishikui area became full-fledged. The association started with about 20 farmers, most of them grandmas. Kancha was commercialized through Kaifu Japan Agricultural Cooperative and other outlets. Currently, due to depopulation, it is mainly Akemi-san who keeps the Shishikui kancha tradition alive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOver the years, Akemi-san has provided hands-on learning experiences of kancha making, mainly for children in the region. Unfortunately, there is no successor for her kancha. Consequently, there is a high possibility that her wild and wonderful mountain tea fields will become abandoned in the near future.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDespite the inevitable decline of Kuo Village, Akemi-san has helped to shine light on this small mountain village. In Tokushima Prefecture, villages where elderly people actively participate in a variety of local activities and contribute to regional revitalization are recognized as model cases. Called “Active Senior Certified Villages'', Kuo village received this recognition in 2021, thanks to the efforts of Akemi-san and the Kancha Production Association.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color: #000;\" class=\"btn\" href=\"https:\/\/yumenet.live\/blogs\/ocha\/shishikui-kancha-a-treasured-tea-made-by-the-kancha-bachan\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eShishikui Kancha Crafting Process\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"akemis-hand-picked-shishikui-kancha","title":"#0834.T2 Shishikui Kancha from Tokushima Prefecture - Handpicked by Farmer Akemi Ishimoto","description":"\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eKancha from the mountain village of Kuo, Shishikui in Tokushima Prefecture, is a long-loved bancha, a folk tea that is made specifically in the South of Tokushima Prefecture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFor decades, tea farmer Akemi Ishimoto has been trying to preserve this regional bancha. She founded the Shishikui Kancha Production Association roughly 35 years ago to bring together farmers in the region to help with kancha harvesting and production.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIn this region, they have always harvested mature and coarse tea leaves in the winter time as opposed to a spring harvest because the people believe it makes for more delicious and mellow tea.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eDue to depopulation and aging; today, Kuo village only has a population of about 10. Now, at 87 years old (in 2024), Akemi-san is the only one who is keeping the kancha tradition alive. Due to the hard labor of tea harvesting and processing, she is the only one that is making the tea from start to finish (e.g., her friends, elementary school children, and tea lovers may help her with harvesting here and there).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\" style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAkemi-san says that she has never met a person who loves kancha more than herself and she also says every year that this will be her last year making kancha.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cb\u003eKancha Processing\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAs with many banchas, kancha is made from mature, large leaves. What makes kancha unique is that the leaves are harvested in the cold winter months. The way Akemi-san’s kancha is made follows this process:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eShe handpicks mature winter tea leaves (about 10 cm in length) starting on January 1st (and makes multiple batches until March 10).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eShe then boils the leaves for 25 minutes to soften them and \u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003estop oxidization.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe leaves are then massaged first by machine then hand-rolled by Akemi-san for the finishing touch (note: previously, it was all hand-rolled). \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThen, the leaves are left in a barrel overnight. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThey are then brought to Akemi-san’s greenhouse (across the river), removed from the barrel, and spread out to dry for 2-5 days depending on the weather. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eLastly, the leaves are taken outside to sundry on sunny days. Akemi-san says the last sun drying step is a very important in her kancha making process. There is something special about receiving energy from the sun.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cb\u003eProduct Info\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eIngredient\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e: Green tea\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eHarvest\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e: Cold winter months (January 1st ~ March 10th).\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eRegion\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e: Kuo Village, Shishikuicho, Tokushima Prefecture\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCultivated:\u003c\/strong\u003e without use of pesticides \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRegion\u003c\/strong\u003e: Kuo Village, Shishikui, Tokushima Prefecture\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e","brand":"Akemi Ishimoto","offers":[{"title":"10g \/ 0.35 oz \/ Winter Harvest (Due to bulkiness extra shipping fee may be required even if order qualifies for a shipping promo rate. Please inquire if this is a concern.)","offer_id":41087384584297,"sku":"shishikui-010","price":500.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":true},{"title":"50g \/ 1.76 oz \/ Winter Harvest (Due to bulkiness extra shipping fee may be required even if order qualifies for a shipping promo rate. Please inquire if this is a concern.)","offer_id":41114852130921,"sku":"shishikui-050","price":1200.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":true},{"title":"500g \/ 1.1 lbs \/ Winter Harvest (Due to bulkiness extra shipping fee may be required even if order qualifies for a shipping promo rate. Please inquire if this is a concern.)","offer_id":41087384617065,"sku":"shishikui-500","price":10000.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0926\/4578\/files\/DSC_0612.jpg?v=1719397836"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0926\/4578\/collections\/Loose_tea_banner_1.png?v=1757484465","url":"https:\/\/yumenet.live\/en-fr\/collections\/akemi-ishimoto.oembed","provider":"yumenet.live","version":"1.0","type":"link"}