Teahouses | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

Conceived as a place for aesthetic and intellectual fulfillment, the Japanese teahouse (chashitsu) is known for the simplicity of its design. Tea was a part of Zen monastic practice as early as the twelfth century, but it was not until the fifteenth century that the Zen priest Murata Shuko (c. 1422–1502) founded the formal tea ceremony. Shuko created the first tearoom, within the Togu-do, for the shogunYoshimasa (1435–1490). The teahouse as a separate structure came into being in the late sixteenth century when the tea master Sen no Rikyu (1520–1591) designed a building specifically for preparing and drinking tea. The teahouse provides space not only for guests to enjoy tea but also for cleaning and storing tea utensils, along with a small anteroom for the waiting guests. While the teahouse is characterized by its restraint, this was not always the case: the shogun Hideyoshi (1536–1598) took this to the opposite extreme and used his gold-covered teahouse as a gaudy display of his power.

The teahouse itself was designed to embody a style of contrived poverty, with little interior or exterior ornamentation. Raw wood, thatched roofs, and straw tatami mats are typical of the natural materials used. This minimalism, however, is the result of careful consideration in which every detail contributes to the impression of refined simplicity. Care is reflected in both the design and construction of the teahouse: the precision and expert workmanship required here far exceed that of much more elaborate buildings, and those involved in its construction are considered to be artisans of the highest order. As important as the building itself is its garden setting. One type, the dry landscape garden, is a microcosm of the natural world in which raked sand suggests water, rocks are islands, and moss and shrubs are forests. Such gardens were designed for contemplation; strolling would disrupt the patterns in the carefully raked sand.

The teahouse is reached by a path (roji) of stones placed in a seemingly random pattern. This path symbolizes the initiation into the tea ceremony where the guest breaks ties with the outside world and achieves tranquility with each step along the approach. The teahouse thus serves as a haven from worldly cares; once inside, the guest is encouraged to cultivate a mood of meditative calm. The interior is small and the decor is simple: a painting and a flower arrangement set within an alcove (tokonoma) are typical adornments. Each item is selected so that no color or design is repeated, and asymmetry prevails. The beauty of the teahouse is appreciated only by those who are able visually to complete that which is incomplete. In the sixteenth century, the teahouse offered a refuge from politics and warfare. The tranquility and refinement of the teahouse continue to offer a refuge from the outside world.

Tea Ceremony

Hayashiya Tatsusaburo, et al. (1980) Japanese Arts and the Tea Ceremony. New York: Weatherhill.

Okakura Kakuzo. ([1906)] 1964) The Book of Tea. Reprint ed. New York: Dover Publications.

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