Suisui, a 100 Year Old Garden Inn (formerly Tagawa Annex)

Hyakunen Teien no Yado Suisui (Former Ryokan Tagawa Detached Wing) – Sugao: A Modern Sukiya Masterpiece in the Heart of Kokura

Tucked away in the center of modern Kitakyushu, just a short walk from JR Kokura Station, stands a quiet wooden building that embodies more than a century of refined Japanese hospitality. The Sugao (菅生) building of Hyakunen Teien no Yado Suisui — formerly the eastern detached wing of the famed Ryokan Tagawa — was officially registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on February 17, 2022. Completed in 1962, this single-story sukiya-style structure overlooks a 700-tsubo (approximately 2,300-square-meter) Meiji-era pond garden and represents a remarkable attempt to fuse centuries-old Japanese architectural traditions with modern design sensibilities.

For travelers seeking an authentic yet rarely encountered side of Japan, the Sugao building offers a living example of "modern sukiya" (kindai sukiya) architecture — a style that emerged in postwar Japan as master carpenters pushed the boundaries of traditional teahouse-derived design. Staying here, or simply strolling the gardens as a day visitor, means stepping into a space where heritage is not displayed behind glass but gently inhabited.

Historical Background: From a Coal Magnate's Villa to a Century-Old Garden Retreat

The story of this site begins in 1889 (Meiji 22), when Yamamoto Kisaburo — owner of the Hokoku Coal Mine and later a member of the House of Peers — established a private residence and Japanese garden on this land. At its peak, the estate covered roughly 2,000 tsubo (about 6,600 square meters), featuring a large pond, carefully placed stones, pine plantings, and winding stroll paths.

After Yamamoto's death, the estate was transferred in 1915 to the businessman Kobayashi Tokuichiro, who named the property "Hozankaku" (豊山閣) by combining the first characters of "Hokoku Coal Mine" (Ho, 豊) and "Yamamoto" (Zan, 山). The garden and mansion later served as the centerpiece of a prestigious hotel that opened on the grounds.

Around the middle of the 20th century, the site became known as Ryokan Tagawa, a high-class Japanese-style inn representing Kitakyushu. In 1962 (Showa 37), three new sukiya-style detached buildings — Sugao, Kiku, and Genkai — along with a connecting corridor, were constructed facing the historic pond garden. These buildings hosted countless distinguished guests and functioned as one of the city's foremost reception facilities.

The hotel joined the MyStays Hotel Management group in 2018 and was rebranded as Art Hotel Kokura New Tagawa. In April 2021, the three detached rooms were reborn as "Hyakunen Teien no Yado Suisui" — the "Century-Garden Inn Suisui" — a boutique ryokan with only three guest rooms, each in one of the registered buildings. In 2025 (Reiwa 7), the garden itself was separately registered as a National Registered Monument under the name "Former Hozankaku Garden (Former Ryokan Tagawa)."

Why It Was Designated: The Value of a Pioneering Modern Sukiya

The national cultural property designation recognized the Sugao building as a pioneering example of "modern sukiya" — an architectural approach that combines traditional high-level carpentry techniques with modern facilities and innovative design ideas. Several distinctive features earned this recognition.

First, the architect used two different dimensional systems within a single structure. The tatami-floored guest rooms follow the traditional "uchinori-sei" (clear-dimension) method, in which measurements are taken along the inside faces of pillars, while the surrounding corridors and service areas follow the modern "shinshin-sei" (center-to-center) method used in Western-influenced architecture. This deliberate coexistence of systems is considered a thoughtful strategy for preserving the proportions of an authentic Japanese room while adopting a rational modern framework for the rest of the building.

Second, the connection between interior and garden is masterfully handled. A broad veranda (hiro-en), projecting eaves, and a narrow earthen-floor corridor (doma-en) layer the transition between the tatami room and the pond garden outside, so that guests experience the landscape through multiple frames of timber and paper.

Third, the building incorporates inventive lighting solutions. Between the traditional shoji paper screens and the outer glass doors, a small gap holds soft curtains that can be drawn to modulate natural light — a detail that keeps the quiet aesthetic of sukiya while offering modern comfort. Together with the shoin-style formal touches layered over the sukiya framework, these features made the Sugao building a compelling expression of postwar Japanese design confidence.

Highlights: What Makes the Sugao Building Special

At 126 square meters of floor area, the Sugao building is a single-story wooden structure with a predominantly irimoya (hip-and-gable) copper-plate roof that shifts to kirizuma (gable) form in places. The copper has softened to a dignified green patina that complements the pines in the garden.

Inside, the guest suite pairs a 15-tatami main room with a 7.5-tatami secondary space, together measuring approximately 110 square meters. Deep eaves, earthen walls, finely worked long-rail nageshi, and intricately detailed ceilings reveal the hand of master sukiya carpenters. Each room frames a different view of the pond, islands, and pines — a principle Japanese garden design calls "teiya ichinyo," meaning the garden and the building are one integrated whole.

The garden itself is a pond-stroll (chisen-kaiyu) composition centered on a large pond fed by a tributary of the Murasaki River. Stepping stones arranged in the "iso-watari" (rocky-shore crossing) style let visitors trace the water's edge, while a small cape thrusting into the pond is designed to evoke the "ariso" — a wild, wave-beaten shoreline. Pines, azaleas, and seasonal foliage change the scene throughout the year, and at night the moon's reflection on the pond is a long-cherished pleasure.

Visitor Information: How to Experience Suisui

The property is remarkably accessible for a heritage site of this caliber. It sits roughly eight minutes on foot from JR Kokura Station and only about two minutes from Tanga Station on the Kitakyushu Monorail. Kokura Castle, the city's iconic landmark, is within easy walking distance.

Guests who book one of the three rooms — Sugao, Kiku, or Genkai — enjoy the full experience: arrival tea, a multi-course dinner and breakfast, and uninterrupted views of the garden from private verandas. Because there are only three rooms, service is attentive and the atmosphere is serene even at peak travel times.

For visitors who are not staying overnight, the inn has historically allowed garden viewing by prior telephone arrangement, and the adjacent Art Hotel Kokura New Tagawa offers restaurant dining with garden views. Private gatherings, tea ceremonies, and small banquets can also be arranged inside the registered buildings, making the site suitable for both quiet personal visits and special celebrations.

Surrounding Attractions: Exploring Historic Kokura

The neighborhood around Suisui is dense with cultural attractions, making it an ideal base for exploring central Kitakyushu.

Kokura Castle, originally built in 1602 by the warlord Hosokawa Tadaoki and reconstructed in 1959, is famed for its unusual "karazukuri" top floor that is wider than the one below. The adjacent Kokura Castle Garden recreates a daimyo residence in the style of the Ogasawara clan and offers tea and seasonal sweets in a shoin-style setting. Tanga Market, just steps away, is known as "Kitakyushu's kitchen" — a 180-meter-long covered arcade of fishmongers, greengrocers, and local-food stalls with roots in the early 1900s. Art and literature lovers will appreciate the nearby Matsumoto Seicho Memorial Hall, dedicated to the influential mystery novelist born in Kokura, and the Kitakyushu Municipal Art Museum Annex. The historic Yasaka Shrine, which hosts the lively Gion Taiko festival each summer, is also within comfortable walking distance.