Ryotei Nicho Teahouse

The Tea Room of Ryotei Nicho

The Ryotei Nicho Teahouse (料亭二蝶茶室) is the tea room building of a traditional ryotei restaurant of 1950 in Hyakken-machi, Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on March 2, 2006 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a single-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 64 square metres; registration number 37-0289.

Eight Mats, an Anteroom and a Veranda

The Ryotei Nicho Teahouse lies southwest of the entrance and northwest of the large tatami hall (Agency for Cultural Affairs), a small building tucked between the main house and the banquet wing.

At its heart is an 8-mat tea room with a Tokonoma on the west wall (Agency for Cultural Affairs). An anteroom on the east side opens onto the covered corridor, and an Engawa runs along the south side.

Like the banquet hall, it was designed by Tanigawa Masutaro, an architect from Kagawa Prefecture (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Why It Was Registered

The Ryotei Nicho Teahouse was registered as a model of design (Agency for Cultural Affairs), which points to the inventive choice of materials.

The same architect who designed the large banquet hall also shaped this compact, 8-mat room for tea, and the contrast between the two is part of what makes the Ryotei Nicho Teahouse worth a close look.

What to Look For

In the Ryotei Nicho Teahouse, the materials repay attention. The alcove post is a gnarled, irregular log, and the horizontal tie beam is made of split bamboo (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The ceiling is woven from cattail stems. Follow the change of material from the alcove post up to the ceiling.

Visiting

The Ryotei Nicho Teahouse belongs to a working restaurant and is open only to guests with a reservation. No official information was found on how the tea room is used or on photography. Opening days, reservations and directions are covered on the Ryotei Nicho group page.