What is Chikushi Jogakuen Kofutei?
Chikushi Jogakuen Kofutei (筑紫女学園香風亭, Kōfūtei) is a tea pavilion built in 1955 (Showa 30) around a pair of shoin-style reception rooms on the campus of Chikushi Jogakuen Junior and Senior High School in Kego, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka City, and was entered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 28 October 2011.
A single-storey timber building of 123 square metres, it stands south of the Senshinan tea room and is the largest of the three registered buildings at the school. The roof is tiled, with copper sheet (Dōban-buki) in places, and the building was renovated in 2003.
The school's chronology lists the completion of the tea room Kofutei under 1955, fifteen years after Senshinan and four years after Chikushi Jogakuen was reorganised as an educational corporation.
Why Chikushi Jogakuen Kofutei was registered
Chikushi Jogakuen Kofutei was registered, under number 40-0071, as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the nation.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as an open shoin-style suite stripped of ornament, with a dignified atmosphere. Its standing comes not from elaborate alcoves or shelving but from the generous rooms themselves and the veranda that wraps around them.
Ten-mat and fifteen-mat rooms with a small tea room
At the heart of Chikushi Jogakuen Kofutei are a ten-mat principal room and a fifteen-mat second room. Opened together they make a space of twenty-five tatami, enough to receive many guests at once. A veranda runs around both rooms, sheltered by a lower lean-to roof (Geya).
Attached to the suite is a small tea room of three mats and a daime: three full tatami plus one shorter daime mat, the kind of intimate room used for tea with only a few guests. A storeroom (Nando) and an entrance hall complete the plan.
Where Senshinan holds only a four-and-a-half-mat tea room and its preparation room, Kofutei combines large reception rooms and a small tea room under one roof.
A broad gable roof and a north wing
The main roof of Chikushi Jogakuen Kofutei is a Kirizuma-zukuri gable running north to south, laid with Sangawara-buki pantiles, and only the eave edges are finished in copper. Trimming the heavy tiled roof with thin copper keeps the line of the eaves light.
On the north side a Tsunoya projects from the main block, a wing roofed at right angles to the main ridge. Around the reception rooms the lower roof over the veranda wraps the foot of the main roof, so that even a single-storey building reads as a layered composition of roofs.
Visiting Chikushi Jogakuen Kofutei
Chikushi Jogakuen Kofutei stands inside the school grounds and, together with Senshinan, is used by the tea ceremony club for practice. The school's website includes Kofutei among its facilities but, as of 27 October 2026, gives no public opening or interior visits.
We have not confirmed how much of the building can be seen from outside the campus. Anyone wishing to visit or photograph it should contact the school in advance. Directions and the club's founding-day tea gathering are covered on the Chikushi Jogakuen page.
Q&A
- Can I visit Chikushi Jogakuen Kofutei?
- Chikushi Jogakuen Kofutei is on the grounds of a junior and senior high school, and no public opening has been announced. Please contact the school in advance if you hope to see it.
- When was Chikushi Jogakuen Kofutei built?
- It was completed in 1955 and renovated in 2003, fifteen years after the neighbouring Senshinan tea room.
- What rooms does Chikushi Jogakuen Kofutei have?
- A ten-mat principal room and a fifteen-mat second room surrounded by a veranda, plus a tea room of three mats and a daime, a storeroom and an entrance. The building area is 123 square metres.
- What does the outside of Chikushi Jogakuen Kofutei look like?
- A tiled gable roof runs north to south with copper-clad eave edges, a wing projects on the north side, and a lower roof over the veranda wraps around the reception rooms.
- When did Chikushi Jogakuen Kofutei become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on 28 October 2011 as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the nation.
Basic Information
| Name | Chikushi Jogakuen Kofutei |
|---|---|
| Location | 2-24-3 Kego, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | 28 October 2011 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber building, tiled roof partly copper-clad, building area 123 m² |
| Owner | Chikushi Jogakuen Educational Corporation |
| Public Access | No public opening announced (school grounds) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Chikushi Jogakuen Kofutei
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009080
- Cultural Heritage Online: Chikushi Jogakuen Kofutei
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/246180
- Chikushi Jogakuen: History of the school (Japanese)
- https://www.chikushi.ac.jp/history/
- Chikushi Jogakuen Junior and Senior High School: Facilities (Japanese)
- https://chikujo.ed.jp/schoolinfo/newbuilding/
Last verified: 2026.10.27
