Long before Japanese tea became famous around the world, one woman from Nagasaki helped introduce it to the global market
Kei Oura (大浦 慶, 1828–1884) was a pioneering female merchant active from the late Edo period to the Meiji era. Born in Aburaya-machi in Nagasaki, she was the daughter of an oil merchant.
In 1843, the Great Fire of Nagasaki caused devastating damage to her family’s business. Determined to restore the fortunes of the Oura family, Kei devoted herself to rebuilding the household and expanding its commercial activities.
The following year, in 1844, she adopted Kojiro (幸次郎), the son of a village headman from Amakusa.
At a time when Japan remained under its national isolation policy and exported very little tea overseas, Kei recognized the potential of tea as an international trade product. In 1856, with the support of interpreter Tojuro Shinagawa (品川藤十郎), she asked Carl Julius Textor, a German merchant living in Dejima, to help develop overseas markets for tea produced in Ureshino. Through this effort, tea samples were sent to Britain, the United States, and Arabia.
At the time, present-day Saga and Nagasaki Prefectures were part of the former Hizen Province, whose central tea-producing region was Ureshino. Today, Ureshino is located in Saga Prefecture.
Kei’s efforts soon led to success. In 1859, only three years after the tea samples had been sent abroad, British merchant William John Alt arrived in Nagasaki to place a large tea order. In response, Kei arranged the export of approximately six tons of tea to the United States.
The shipment is said to have included high-quality teas from across Kyushu, especially Ureshino tea and Sonogi tea. Although these exports were mainly destined for the American market, they later helped introduce Japanese tea to the wider world, including Britain and Arabia.
In 1871, Kei acted as guarantor for a tobacco transaction involving Kazuya Toyama (遠山一也), a samurai from the Kumamoto domain. However, after the so-called Toyama Incident, she was forced to pay a large amount of compensation, which severely damaged both her finances and reputation.
Despite these setbacks, Kei’s achievements were eventually recognized. In 1884, the Meiji government honoured her pioneering contributions to Japan’s tea export industry by awarding her 20 yen in gold — an amount estimated to be worth several million yen today.
Today, Kei Oura is remembered as a pioneer of Japanese tea exports and is often regarded as Japan’s first female trading entrepreneur.
The year 2028 will mark the 200th anniversary of her birth.
Reference:
https://notevenpast.org/the-merchant-the-marriage-and-the-treaty-port-reassessing-oura-kei/