Shoraitei

A Sukiya Retreat on Shimokamagari

Shoraitei (松籟亭) is a single-storey timber building in the sukiya style, built in 1936 as a detached guest annex of the Banri-so villa in Hirakata, Osaka, and now standing in Ikenoura Park at Shimokamagari-cho, Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture; it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 5, 1997 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Kure City).

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a single storey of timber with a tiled roof and a building area of 81 square metres, registration number 34-0013, owned by Kure City.

From an Osaka Villa to the Island

According to Kure City, the president of a railway-car company linked to the South Manchuria Railway built the Banri-so villa (completed 1934) for entertaining guests on a hillside in scenic Hirakata, and added Shoraitei as its detached annex.

Shoraitei was moved to its present site on Shimokamagari island in 1992 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Kure City). With the neighbouring Shunranso and sencha tea room, it is run by the Rantou Cultural Promotion Foundation as a place to experience Japanese culture (Rantou Cultural Promotion Foundation).

Value as a Registered Cultural Property

Shoraitei was registered as a building that would not be easy to reproduce. The Agency for Cultural Affairs identifies it as an early work of Hirata Masaya, a master carpenter who built many sukiya buildings, chiefly in the Kansai region.

What to Look For

The Agency for Cultural Affairs and Kure City point to the broad veranda of Shoraitei, finished in chestnut with adze marks left on the surface, and a tea room of three mats plus a daime mat built of carefully chosen materials.

Shoraitei is one of a group of Japanese buildings set within the garden of Ikenoura Park, used with Shunranso and the sencha room for tea gatherings and other events (Rantou Cultural Promotion Foundation).

Visiting

Kure City states that the exterior of Shoraitei can be viewed. According to the foundation, the buildings can be booked for tea and other cultural activities, and there is no charge for viewing the architecture only; contact the foundation office (0823-65-2029).

The address is 3158 Ikenoura, Shimojima, Shimokamagari-cho, Kure City. It is about 30 minutes by car from central Kure, or about 20 minutes on foot from the Sannose bus stop of Setonaikai Sanko Bus (Kure City).