Tonight, We Put Summer Away: Koromogae, Japan's October 1st Changing of the Wardrobe, and a Mindful Autumn Evening Bowl of Kyoto's Uji Matcha

On the last night of September, a slightly heavier jacket comes out from the back of the closet, and the thin linen of summer is folded and returned to its box. In Japan, this changeover has been honored for more than a thousand years as a seasonal threshold called koromogae, the changing of the wardrobe, observed on the first of October. The ADAMAS Matcha BOX column tonight is about what koromogae teaches on the eve of a new season: how the simple act of putting things away and bringing others out can become a quiet exchange of the heart, and how a mindful evening bowl of Kyoto's Uji matcha marks that moment beautifully.

Koromogae as Traditional Culture: From the Heian Court to Kyoto's Townhouses

Koromogae traces its origins to the Heian court's ceremony of kōi, the "changing of robes," held on the first day of the fourth and tenth months of the old lunar calendar. Aristocrats changed not only their layered garments but their furnishings and curtained screens to match the season. By the Edo period the custom had grown into four changeovers a year, from padded winter kimono to unlined summer silk and back again, and in the Meiji era the dates of June 1 and October 1 were fixed for official uniforms, then adopted by schools and households across the country. For a millennium, the sequence has been the same: people did not change their clothes because the season had changed; they changed their clothes in order to welcome the season. In Kyoto's old townhouses, autumn still arrives on the day the bamboo blinds come down and the paper doors go back up, a ritual known as tategu-gae, the changing of the fittings.

Japanese Tea Utensils Change Too: Putting Away the Summer Bowl for Uji Matcha

The world of tea keeps its own koromogae. The wide, shallow hira-chawan used all summer was chosen because it let the tea cool quickly and looked refreshing in the hand. As autumn deepens, the tea person quietly puts it away and brings a deeper bowl, one that holds warmth, to the front of the shelf. The glass water jar gives way to ceramic; the poetic name given to the bamboo scoop shifts to autumn words such as "first wild geese" or "autumn wind." October in the tea calendar is known as the month of nagori, the lingering farewell, when one thanks the utensils that served through summer and prepares the cast of the coming season. Objects born of artisanal craftsmanship wait their turn this way, take the stage, and are put away again with care, year after year.

The Mindfulness of a "Koromogae of the Heart": To Put Away Is to Choose Again

The essence of koromogae, as Matcha Hunter understands it, is not storage but choice: a practice of mindfulness in the form of folding. You pause with a summer shirt in your hands and ask whether you will wear it again next year. You thank the linen that worked hard through the heat before you lay it in the box. When each movement is given attention, the half hour in front of the wardrobe becomes a quiet inventory of what this summer held, what you are ready to release, and what you wish to welcome in autumn. The same is true of commitments and habits. The hurry you carried through summer, the routine that no longer serves you, can be gently folded away at the turn of the season. Mindful living is measured not by how much one owns but by how carefully one performs these small acts of exchange.

A Bowl of Kyoto's Uji Matcha on the Eve of the Changeover

A bowl of Kyoto's Uji matcha belongs naturally to the night the changeover is done. The lid of the box is closed, the room holds a slightly tidier silence than usual, and you whisk. In the thirty seconds it takes for the jade-green foam to rise, the summer self steps back and the autumn self steps forward. Whisking tea adds nothing to the evening; it simply lets you confirm that you are standing at the boundary between two seasons, and that you have chosen to cross it.

How to Whisk Matcha in Autumn: Slightly Warmer Water and a Deeper Bowl for Uji Matcha

How to whisk matcha in autumn begins with two small adjustments: water just a little warmer than in summer, and a deeper bowl. Measure a scoop and a half, about two grams, of Uji matcha into the bowl and pour in roughly seventy milliliters of water at around seventy-five degrees Celsius. Move the chasen whisk lightly from the wrist, back and forth, until a fine foam covers the surface, then draw the character "no" in a gentle spiral and lift the whisk away. A deeper bowl passes its warmth slowly into both palms, and on the first cool nights of autumn that warmth alone is a small personal reward. If you spent the summer enjoying chilled matcha, the sense of coming home to a warm bowl will make the season's changeover feel all the more real.

Matcha Sweets and Wagashi: A Personal Reward for Finishing the Changeover

Matcha sweets and seasonal wagashi are the gentlest personal reward for the night you complete this small seasonal task. October confectionery in Kyoto turns to the motifs of harvest, chestnut, sweet potato, and persimmon, and the shopfronts of the city's confectioners change their faces together. A single bite of sweetness beside the noble bitterness of Uji matcha lengthens the finish, and you taste, on the tongue, that the season has moved one step forward.

The Matcha Hunter Matcha BOX: A Subscription Box That Gives Your Tea Shelf Its Own Koromogae

The ADAMAS Matcha BOX from Matcha Hunter is a curated subscription box that lets you travel to Kyoto and its venerable tea houses without leaving home, delivering Uji matcha and Japan's traditional culture on a simple monthly plan. Each surprise box brings together the finest Uji matcha, seasonal wagashi, and Japanese tea utensils shaped by artisanal craftsmanship, composed so that every delivery gives your tea shelf a small koromogae of its own. What we truly deliver is not matcha as an object but an experience: the unhurried time of whisking tea, the restorative wellness of Japanese tradition, and a mindful lifestyle that fits naturally into the modern day.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q. Why does koromogae fall on October 1?

Koromogae is observed on October 1 because the Meiji government set June 1 and October 1 as the changeover dates for official uniforms, and the practice spread to schools and everyday households. Its roots lie in the Heian court's kōi ceremony, and Kyoto has kept the custom as a seasonal threshold for more than a thousand years.

Q. Should I change how I whisk matcha when autumn arrives?

Matcha Hunter recommends two gentle autumn adjustments: water slightly warmer than in summer, around seventy-five degrees Celsius, and a deeper bowl that keeps the tea warm and lets the aroma open. Returning from chilled matcha to a warm bowl is, in itself, a koromogae of the season.

Q. Do the contents of the Matcha BOX change with the seasons?

The Matcha Hunter Matcha BOX is a surprise subscription box built around Uji matcha, accompanied by wagashi and tea utensils chosen in harmony with the season. What arrives is a discovery to be made on opening, and each box is composed so that the moment you lift its lid becomes the changeover of your own tea shelf.

At a Glance: The Matcha Hunter Matcha BOX

Shop	Matcha Hunter (operated by ADAMAS)
Product	Matcha BOX: a surprise subscription box delivered from Japan to the world at a flat monthly rate
Concept	A subscription box that lets you experience Kyoto and its venerable tea houses as if you were traveling there, wherever you live
Main contents	The finest Uji matcha / wagashi to enjoy with tea / Japanese tea utensils shaped by artisanal craftsmanship
Experience delivered	The unhurried time of whisking tea, the wellness of Japanese tradition, and Japan's living traditional culture
This article's theme	Koromogae, the October 1st changing of the wardrobe, as a mindful exchange of season and heart, with an autumn evening bowl of Uji matcha
Official blog	https://adamas-gold.jp/blogs/matcha-hunter