GIAHS CHAGUSABA

Win-win relationship between people and the environment

Shizuoka Prefecture is known widely as epitomizing the traditional landscape of Japan. The prefecture’s Traditional Tea-Grass Integrated System is a long-practiced agricultural production technique that preserves biodiversity. Recognized worldwide, it was designated as a GIAHS site in 2013. Japanese tea is deeply ingrained in the lives and culture of Japanese people. There are countless words in Japanese with the word tea (cha) in it, such as cha-no-ma (literally, “space for tea”), which refers to the living room—the main room of the house where the entire family gathers, and cha-nomi-tomodachi (literally, “friend that you drink tea with”), which means a close friend. * Shizuoka Prefecture is one of the most well-known tea producing regions in Japan.