What is Chikushi Jogakuen Senshinan?
Chikushi Jogakuen Senshinan (筑紫女学園洗心庵, Senshin-an) is a tea room built in 1940 (Showa 15) 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.
It is a single-storey timber building of 38 square metres in the northeast corner of the campus, with a four-and-a-half-mat Chashitsu to the north and a six-mat Mizuya preparation room to the south. The roof is tiled, with some sections in copper sheet (Dōban-buki), and the building was renovated in 2003.
Senshinan is the oldest of the three registered tea buildings at the school. Kofutei, the larger pavilion to its south, followed fifteen years later in 1955; the small waiting arbor to the southeast dates from the same year as Senshinan.
Why Chikushi Jogakuen Senshinan was registered
Chikushi Jogakuen Senshinan was registered, under number 40-0069, as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the nation.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs points to its liberal use of unhewn log posts and its walls finished in white Shikkui plaster, and describes the exterior as light and full of variety. The plan is tiny, two rooms of four and a half and six mats, yet the way the roofs meet and the eaves project gives the outside a good deal of movement.
A four-and-a-half-mat tea room and its preparation room
The northern half of Chikushi Jogakuen Senshinan is the tea room proper, four and a half tatami mats, the classic size for a small tea room. Its alcove is a daime toko: a Tokonoma sized to a daime mat, which is shorter than a full tatami, so the alcove sits compactly in the room.
The six-mat room to the south is the mizuya, where the host lays out utensils and washes bowls before and after serving. The Agency notes that a round sunken hearth (maru-ro) is cut into the floor here as well. Having a second hearth for heating water outside the tea room itself makes this a generously equipped preparation room.
A T-shaped roof and deep earthen-floored eaves
Seen from above, the roofs of Chikushi Jogakuen Senshinan form a T: one ridge runs east to west, and a second ridge runs north to south out of it. It is reasonable to read the two roofs as covering the two rooms, tea room and preparation room, each under its own ridge.
At the gable ends and elsewhere the building has Tsuchibisashi, deep eaves carried on posts with bare earth beneath them, which throw shade along the base of the walls. Together with the log posts, white walls and copper-clad sections, they make a small building look different from every side.
Visiting Chikushi Jogakuen Senshinan
Chikushi Jogakuen Senshinan stands inside the school grounds and is used for the tea ceremony club's regular practice. The school's website includes it among its facilities but, as of 27 October 2026, gives no public opening or interior visits.
Because Senshinan is in the northeast corner of the campus, we have not confirmed whether it can be seen from outside. Anyone wishing to visit or photograph it should contact the school in advance. Directions are on the Chikushi Jogakuen page.
Q&A
- Can I visit Chikushi Jogakuen Senshinan?
- Chikushi Jogakuen Senshinan 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 Senshinan built?
- It was completed in 1940 and renovated in 2003. It is the earliest of the three registered tea buildings at the school.
- What is inside Chikushi Jogakuen Senshinan?
- A four-and-a-half-mat tea room with a daime-sized alcove to the north, and a six-mat preparation room with its own round sunken hearth to the south. The building area is 38 square metres.
- What does the outside of Chikushi Jogakuen Senshinan look like?
- Two roofs meet in a T, one ridge running east to west and one north to south, with deep earthen-floored eaves at the gables. Log posts and white plaster walls give it a light appearance.
- When did Chikushi Jogakuen Senshinan 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 Senshinan |
|---|---|
| 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 38 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 Senshinan
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009078
- Cultural Heritage Online: Chikushi Jogakuen Senshinan
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/197218
- 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
