Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room): The Smallest Building at Koishiki
Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room) (恋しき離れ（桔梗の間）, Koishiki hanare, Kikyō-no-ma) is an early Taisho-period garden annex of the former ryotei inn Koishiki in Fuchu-cho, Fuchu City, Hiroshima Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2004. Kikyo is the Chinese bellflower, and each annex at Koishiki takes its name from a plant.
With a building area of 26 square meters, it is the smallest of the five registered buildings at Koishiki. Inside there are only two rooms: a six-mat reception room and a three-mat anteroom. (Japanese room sizes are counted in tatami mats, each about the size of a single futon.) It stands at the back of the property, facing north across the inner garden toward the main house.
Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room) is a single-storey timber building with a hipped roof of pan tiles, its ridge running east to west. A narrow copper-sheet pent roof wraps around below the tiles, so even on a building this small the eaves show two layered lines.
Why the Kikyo Room Was Registered
Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room) was registered on November 8, 2004, under register number 34-0068, as a building that sets a standard for design, one of the three criteria for Registered Tangible Cultural Properties. The idea is that its design or craft could serve as a model.
What earned it that status is how much design has been packed into so little space. The Agency for Cultural Affairs summary points to the variety of window openings and to the rustic touch of lattices made from timber with the bark still on, and calls the whole an elegant building in the sukiya manner.
Sukiya design grew out of the tea room. Where formal Japanese reception rooms favour squared timber and strict proportions, sukiya prefers slender members, natural materials and a deliberate informality. The Kikyo Room shows that approach at the scale of a single small annex.
Round and Crescent Windows at the Kikyo Room
The windows are the reason to seek out Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room). Instead of a row of rectangular paper screens, the walls carry a round window, a crescent-shaped window and other openings of different shapes. A few curves in a wall of straight lines are enough to change the whole character of the building.
The walls are built in the Shinkabe manner, with the posts left exposed and the panels between them finished in black lime plaster. Against that dark ground the grain of the posts and the outlines of the windows stand out sharply, far more than they would against the usual white wall.
The lattices use thin lengths of timber with the bark left on rather than planed square stock. The pairing of crisp black plaster with rough, natural wood is the signature of this annex. When you reach it from the garden path, look closely at the texture of the bark on each lattice bar.
Visiting Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room)
The interior of Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room) is not open to the public and is not one of the rooms available for rent, so a visit means looking at it from the garden.
Because the annex faces north onto the garden, the path gives you its front elevation. The round and crescent windows are clearly visible from outside, as are the black plaster and the bark-covered lattices. Stand back a few steps and, the building being so small, you can take in the hipped tile roof and the copper eave beneath it in a single view.
Walking in the garden is free. Opening days and directions to the site are covered on the Koishiki page.
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Q&A
- Can I go inside Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room)?
- No. The interior of Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room) is closed to the public, but you can see the exterior from the garden.
- When was Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room) built?
- Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room) dates from the early Taisho period and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2004.
- Where can I see the round and crescent windows of Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room)?
- Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room) faces north onto the inner garden, so from the garden you look straight at its front and can see the windows from outside.
- How big is Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room)?
- Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room) covers 26 square meters, with a six-mat room and a three-mat anteroom. It is the smallest of the five registered buildings at Koishiki.
- Why is Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room) a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room) was registered as a building that sets a standard for design, for its sukiya-style combination of varied windows, black plaster walls with exposed posts, and bark-covered lattices.
Basic Information
| Name | Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room) |
|---|---|
| Location | 177 Nagai, Fuchu-cho, Fuchu City, Hiroshima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered November 8, 2004 (Heisei 16) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, single-storey, tiled roof, building area 26 square meters |
| Owner | Koishiki Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Interior closed. Exterior visible from the garden (free, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., January 4 to December 28) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004417
- Cultural Heritage Online: Koishiki Annex (Kikyo Room)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/117497
- Public opening of the Koishiki main house (Fuchu City, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.fuchu.hiroshima.jp/soshiki/keizaikanko/syokokanko/kankosinko/koisiki/9340.html
- Hourly room rental at Koishiki (Fuchu City, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.fuchu.hiroshima.jp/soshiki/keizaikanko/syokokanko/kankosinko/koisiki/9343.html
Last verified: 2026.09.24
