Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms): A Postwar Annex with a Tea Room
Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms) (恋しき離れ（竹・萩の間）, Koishiki hanare, Take-Hagi-no-ma) is a garden annex of the former ryotei inn Koishiki in Fuchu-cho, Fuchu City, Hiroshima Prefecture, built around 1948 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2004. Take means bamboo and hagi is bush clover.
It is a single-storey timber building of 62 square meters with exposed-post Shinkabe walls and a gabled roof of pan tiles, its ridge bent into an L. It stands at the back of the property, facing west onto the inner garden.
This is the only Showa-era building among Koishiki's five registered structures. After the Meiji main house and three Taisho annexes, the inn added one more annex to its garden within about three years of the end of the Second World War. Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms) is evidence that the business was still operating as a ryotei inn after the war.
Why the Take and Hagi Rooms Were Registered
Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms) was registered on November 8, 2004, under register number 34-0071, as a building that sets a standard for design.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs summary praises two things. The first is the plan, which fits a four-and-a-half-mat tea room, an eight-mat reception room, a three-mat anteroom and other spaces together with real skill. The second is the design: slender log posts, low-pitched roofs and eaves, bamboo and ajiro woven work, and delicate windows, which together give the annex a light and graceful sukiya character.
The L-shaped ridge is where you can read that plan from outside. Rather than lining rooms of different character up in a row, the builders folded them round a corner, and the roof shows it.
How the Take and Hagi Rooms Achieve Their Lightness
The key word for Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms) is lightness, and the posts are the place to start. They are round logs rather than squared timber, and very thin. Because such slender posts carry the roof, the whole building seems to hover a little above the ground.
Then look at the roofs. Both the gables and the eaves below them are pitched shallowly, so the eaves run low and level. Where the three-storey main house climbs upward, this annex spreads sideways and stays close to the height of the garden.
In the details, bamboo and ajiro do much of the work. Ajiro is a weave of thin strips of wood or bamboo, and wherever it is used it gives a surface a fine basketwork texture. The windows are delicately made too, their openings left without heavy framing, which suits the thinness of the log posts.
The room name Take, bamboo, matches one of the materials used in the woodwork. As befits an annex built around a tea room, it is put together from simple natural materials, from the posts to the fittings.
Visiting Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms)
The interior of Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms) is not open to the public and is not available for rent, so the tea room cannot be seen on a normal visit.
The exterior can be viewed from the garden. Since the annex faces west onto the inner garden, the garden side gives you its front. From near the corner where the L-shaped ridge turns, you can see the shallow roofs running off in two directions and the row of log posts at the same time.
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
- When was Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms) built?
- Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms) was built around 1948. It is the only Showa-era building among the five registered structures at Koishiki.
- Can I see the tea room in Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms)?
- No. The interior of Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms) is closed, so the tea room is not visible, but the exterior can be seen from the garden.
- What rooms does Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms) contain?
- Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms) contains a four-and-a-half-mat tea room, an eight-mat reception room and a three-mat anteroom, among other spaces. The building area is 62 square meters.
- What should I look for at Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms)?
- At Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms), look for the slender log posts, the shallow roofs and eaves, and the bamboo and ajiro work. The L-shaped gabled roof is clearly visible from the garden.
- Why is Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms) a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms) was registered as a building that sets a standard for design, for its skilful plan combining a tea room and reception rooms and its light, graceful sukiya-style design.
Basic Information
| Name | Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms) |
|---|---|
| Location | 179-5 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 62 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 (Take and Hagi Rooms)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004420
- Cultural Heritage Online: Koishiki Annex (Take and Hagi Rooms)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/189150
- 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
