What Is the Odagaki Family Residence Tea Room?
The Odagaki Family Residence Tea Room (小田垣家住宅茶室, Odagaki-ke Jūtaku Chashitsu) is a single-storey timber Chashitsu from the late Meiji era on the Odagaki Shoten property in Tatemachi, Tamba-Sasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 2, 2007. It adjoins the tatami room on its south side, with its ridge running north to south.
The building measures 5.0 by 4.1 meters and covers 20 square meters under a hipped (Yosemune-zukuri) roof of Sangawara-buki tiles. Inside, a three-mat Mizuya preparation room sits beside a four-and-a-half-mat tea room, and a veranda runs along the west side.
Why the Odagaki Family Residence Tea Room Was Registered
The Odagaki Family Residence Tea Room was registered, like the other nine Odagaki buildings, for its contribution to the historic landscape. The agency describes it as an element that looks onto the garden.
In other words, the tea room is valued less as a building on its own than as part of the garden and the reception buildings around it. The tatami room lies to the north, the toilet and bath building to the east, and a corridor leads on to the detached room. Within that group, assembled between the late Meiji and Taisho eras, the tea room is the one closest to the garden.
What to Look For at the Odagaki Family Residence Tea Room
Guests enter the Odagaki Family Residence Tea Room through a Nijiriguchi on the south side, the small crawl-through doorway that makes everyone bow on the way in.
Along one and a half bays of the east wall are a Tokonoma alcove and a side alcove. The west wall is fitted with paper shoji above solid lower panels, so light comes in from the veranda side while guests sit facing the alcove to the east. The three-mat mizuya next door is where the host prepares.
A four-and-a-half-mat room with its own preparation room is a solid, practical scale for a merchant family's tea room, and the low hipped roof keeps the building quiet within the garden.
The Odagaki Family Residence Tea Room Today
In May 2025, two of the Odagaki residential buildings opened as Mameya, a guesthouse let to one party at a time. According to Mameya, guests who book breakfast eat it in the registered tea room next door, looking out on the stone garden. Mameya does not admit anyone who is not staying there, so for now only its guests can go inside the Odagaki Family Residence Tea Room (checked September 2026).
The tea room stands inside the property and cannot be seen from the street. The roofed wall along the street does have garden gates with copper-roofed eaves placed opposite the tatami room and tea room, which hint at where it lies. Directions are on the Odagaki Shoten page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Hyogo
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Odagaki Family Residence Tea Room
- [ Himeji Castle & Kobe Night View Cruise ]
Q&A
- When was the Odagaki Family Residence Tea Room built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the Odagaki Family Residence Tea Room to the late Meiji era, the same period as the tatami room to its north.
- Can I visit the Odagaki Family Residence Tea Room?
- Not as a general visitor. The Odagaki Family Residence Tea Room is used as the breakfast room for guests of the Mameya guesthouse, and only they can go inside (checked September 2026).
- What is the layout of the Odagaki Family Residence Tea Room?
- A three-mat mizuya and a four-and-a-half-mat tea room side by side, with a veranda on the west and a nijiriguchi entrance on the south.
- Where is the alcove in the Odagaki Family Residence Tea Room?
- The tokonoma and a side alcove fill one and a half bays of the east wall, facing the shoji on the west.
- When was the Odagaki Family Residence Tea Room registered?
- It was registered on October 2, 2007, under registration number 28-0289.
Basic Information
| Name | Odagaki Family Residence Tea Room |
|---|---|
| Location | 19 Tatemachi, Tamba-Sasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture (listed as Sasayama City in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered October 2, 2007 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, hipped roof, sangawara tiles, building area 20 square meters; 5.0 meters by 4.1 meters |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (used for breakfast by Mameya guests) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 小田垣家住宅茶室
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006355
- Cultural Heritage Online: Odagaki Family Residence Tea Room
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/142118
- Mameya: Rooms
- https://mameya.odagaki.co.jp/room
- Mameya: FAQ
- https://mameya.odagaki.co.jp/faq
Last verified: 2026.09.28
