A Country-Style Teahouse
The Nobuoka Family Residence Teahouse and Waiting Bench (信岡家住宅茶室及び腰掛, Nobuoka-ke Jūtaku Chashitsu oyobi Koshikake) is an early Showa Chashitsu with a small waiting shelter to its west, standing south of the reception wing of the main house at the Nobuoka Family Residence in Tode, Shin’ichi-cho, Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, and was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 April 2008.
The teahouse is a single-storey timber building with a hipped-and-gabled thatched roof, currently covered in copper sheeting as a temporary measure, and a building area of 18 square metres. The waiting bench is timber with a copper roof and covers 3.5 square metres. The teahouse was built in the early Showa period and moved to this site around 1955.
According to tradition, an onari zashiki, a formal room kept for the visits of high-ranking guests, once stood on this spot. In that sense the Nobuoka teahouse took over the role of the compound’s most formal space for guests.
Why It Was Registered
The teahouse and waiting bench were listed as a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls the teahouse a good example of the modern inakaya style, which borrows the plain construction of a farmhouse, with its thatch and unworked timbers, for the tea room.
Tradition holds that the design was by the head of the Hayami school of tea. A teahouse attributed to the head of a tea school, moved to and preserved in a provincial family compound, gives the building an unusual history.
What to Look At
The thatched roof
The roof is a hipped-and-gabled form in thatch, running north to south. It is now sheathed in copper over the thatch as a stopgap, but the soft, thick outline of a thatched roof survives.
Tea room and preparation room
Inside are a main room the size of six tatami mats and, behind it, a Mizuya the size of three mats, where utensils are prepared. A six-mat room is larger than the tiny rooms of the most austere tea style and can seat several guests in comfort.
Two entrances at one corner
At the southwest corner the teahouse has a nijiriguchi facing south, the low crawl-through entrance that obliges every guest to bow, and a kininguchi facing west, a full-height entrance with paper doors traditionally reserved for guests of rank. Placing both at the same corner seems designed to let the host receive guests of different standing appropriately.
The waiting bench
West of the teahouse stands the Koshikake-machiai, an open-sided shelter with a bench where guests wait to be called in. The path from the bench to the west-facing entrance traces the sequence of a tea gathering on the ground.
Visiting
The Nobuoka teahouse is part of the Nobuoka Flat Museum, which according to its website consists of the nagayamon gate and the teahouse and opens only for events and classes, including tea ceremony in the chair-seated ryurei style.
As of October 2026 we found no notice of regular public access to the teahouse. If you want to see it, check the museum website or its Instagram account (nobuoka_flat) for an event held in the teahouse.
Q&A
- When was the Nobuoka Family Residence Teahouse and Waiting Bench built?
- The teahouse was built in the early Showa period and moved to its present site around 1955.
- Who designed the Nobuoka teahouse?
- Tradition attributes the design to the head of the Hayami school of tea. The Agency for Cultural Affairs regards it as a good example of a modern country-style teahouse.
- What is the Nobuoka Family Residence Teahouse like inside?
- It has a main room the size of six tatami mats and a three-mat preparation room behind it, with a crawl-through entrance and a full-height guest entrance at the southwest corner. The building area is 18 square metres.
- Why is the Nobuoka Family Residence Teahouse and Waiting Bench a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on 18 April 2008 as a model of design.
- Can I visit the Nobuoka Family Residence Teahouse?
- It is used by the Nobuoka Flat Museum on event and class days. There is no regular public access, so check the museum’s event listings before you go.
Basic Information
| Name | Nobuoka Family Residence Teahouse and Waiting Bench (信岡家住宅茶室及び腰掛) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2166 Tode, Shin'ichi-cho, Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2008/4/18 (Heisei 20) |
| Quantity | 1 building (teahouse and waiting bench) |
| Dimensions | Teahouse: timber, single storey, thatched roof (temporarily covered in copper), building area 18 square metres; waiting bench: timber, copper roof, 3.5 square metres |
| Owner | Nobuoka Jisho Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Used for Nobuoka Flat Museum events and classes (irregular) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Nobuoka Family Residence Teahouse and Waiting Bench (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007131
- Cultural Heritage Online: Nobuoka Family Residence Teahouse and Waiting Bench (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/187033
- Fukuyama Tourism and Convention Association: Nobuoka Family Residence (Japanese)
- https://www.fukuyama-kanko.com/travel/tourist/detail.php?id=122
- Nobuoka Flat Museum (Japanese)
- https://nobuoka-museum.jimdofree.com/
Last verified: 2026.10.08
