Nishio Family Tea House: An 1820 Chashitsu Behind a Sasayama Sake Brewery
West of the formal reception room in the Nishio family compound stands a small tea house, its roof a mix of copper sheet and clay tile. It was built in 1820, during the Bunsei era, on the family's residential grounds at Oyamagami in what is now Tamba-Sasayama, Hyogo Prefecture. A short covered walkway, a watari-en, carries a visitor from the veranda behind the reception room (zashiki) across to the tea house entrance, so the move from everyday rooms to the space kept for tea is deliberate and unhurried.
The Nishio were sake brewers. Their firm, the Homei brewery, traces its founding to 1797, and for generations the family also served as village headmen and as purveyors to the Sasayama domain. A tea house on such a property was never a public showpiece. It belonged to the private life of a prosperous household, a room to receive guests over a bowl of matcha.
A working brewery, now open to visitors
Sake production moved off these grounds in 1975, and in 2001 the site reopened as Horoyoi Jokagura, a brewery museum where the old rice-washing floor, kettle room and koji room can be seen. The tea house is one building in a registered group that also takes in the storehouses, the annex and the main hall.
Why the Tea House Was Registered
Japan records its cultural properties in more than one way. The higher ranks, Important Cultural Property (juyo bunkazai) and National Treasure (kokuho), carry legal designation and close controls. Beneath them sits the Registered Tangible Cultural Property system, set up in 1996 for buildings worth keeping under a lighter regulatory hand. The tea house joined this register in July 2004, listed under the criterion that recognises a structure as a model of its form.
Inside: two rooms and a movable wall
The plan holds a three-mat mizuya, the preparation area where utensils are rinsed and set out, together with a six-mat tea room. A toko alcove takes the north end of the west wall; near the south end a low furosaki window is cut, placed to light the spot where the kettle and brazier stand. A single lintel rail, a kamoi, crosses the room so the six-mat space can be closed down to four and a half mats, long held as the classical measure for a tea gathering. Between the tea house and the reception room the family fitted a privy and a bath, the practical additions a host needs when an afternoon of tea runs long.
What to Look For on a Visit
Read the roof first. Copper sheet and clay tile meet on one small building, the copper laid where a cleaner line was wanted and tile carrying the broader surfaces. Then step back to the walkway and see how the tea house is tied to the main hall rather than left free-standing. The tea room here reaches out of the household itself, not from a distant garden pavilion.
The convertible six-to-four-and-a-half-mat layout rewards a second look. Set it to the smaller form and the proportions draw tight around the hearth; open it out and the same room seats a larger party. One space, two moods, decided by a rail and a few panels.
Because the tea house stands within the Homei brewery grounds, a visit pairs naturally with the sake tour next door. The buildings share an address and a family, and seeing them together shows how a merchant house held the daily business of brewing and the rooms kept for quiet side by side.
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Q&A
- When was the Nishio Family Tea House built?
- In 1820, during the Bunsei era. It was added to the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties in July 2004.
- Can I visit the tea house?
- It stands on the grounds of the Homei brewery, which reopened in 2001 as Horoyoi Jokagura, a brewery museum. Check the operator's current hours before you go, since the tea house interior is not always open.
- Why can the tea room change size?
- A lintel rail lets the six-mat room be partitioned down to four and a half mats, the classical size for a formal tea gathering, so one room can serve both a small and a larger group.
- What is a furosaki window?
- A low window set beside the place where the kettle and brazier stand, cut to bring soft light onto the host's working area during the ceremony.
- How does "registered" differ from "designated"?
- Registered Tangible Cultural Property is a lighter-touch category created in 1996. Important Cultural Property and National Treasure are the higher, legally designated ranks. The tea house is registered, not designated.
Basic Information
| Name | Nishio Family Tea House (Nishio-ke Jutaku Chashitsu) |
|---|---|
| Location | 699 Oyamagami, Tamba-Sasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Category | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Registration date | 23 July 2004 (gazetted 17 August 2004) |
| Registration number | 28-0177 |
| Period | Edo period, Bunsei 3 (1820) |
| Structure | Timber, single storey; copper-sheet and tile roof; floor area 31 sq m |
| Count | 1 building |
| Registration criterion | A model of design and form |
| Ownership | Private (Nishio family / Homei brewery) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database — Nishio Family Tea House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004275
- Cultural Heritage Online — Nishio Family Residence Sake Storehouse
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/189010
- Tamba-Sasayama City Tourism — Horoyoi Jokagura brewery tour
- https://tourism.sasayama.jp/course/course-145/
Last verified: 2026.07.09