Asahi Beer Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art Tochinoki Teahouse

A Log Teahouse on the Hillside

The Asahi Beer Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art Tochinoki Teahouse (アサヒビール大山崎山荘美術館橡の木茶屋) is a teahouse projecting from the hillside, blending Japanese and Western elements of the early Showa period in Oyamazaki, Oyamazaki Town, Otokuni District, Kyoto Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on July 23, 2004 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a timber building with a basement and a tiled roof and a building area of 16 square metres; registration number 26-0178.

A Log-Built Teahouse

Oyamazaki Villa, on the slopes of Mount Tenno in Oyamazaki, Kyoto Prefecture, was the country house of the Kansai businessman Kaga Shotaro (1888-1954); 6 structures built from the Taisho to the early Showa period, among them the main house, a tea room, a teahouse, a garage, a lookout tower and a tunnel, are registered (Agency for Cultural Affairs; museum).

The Tochinoki teahouse, of the early Showa period, projects over a stone-faced concrete basement built into the hillside (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It has benches on the south and west, and its outer walls are of stacked logs.

Inside, the floor is of parquet laid at ground level, the posts and beams are logs, and an alcove and lattice windows give a sukiya touch. The Agency calls it a skilful blend of Japanese and Western elements.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency registered it as a model of design.

What to Look For

At the Tochinoki teahouse, look for the log walls and the way it projects over the stone basement (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

The main building, the Saigetsuan tea room and the Tochinoki teahouse are owned by Asahi Group Japan, Ltd., and the former garage, the Seikaro tower and the Rokando tunnel by Kyoto Prefecture (Agency for Cultural Affairs). According to the Asahi Group Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art, it opens from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (last entry 4:30 p.m.) and is closed on Mondays (Tuesday if Monday is a holiday), on occasional days and over the New Year; it is about 10 minutes on foot from JR Yamazaki and Hankyu Oyamazaki stations. The 6 structures are introduced together on the Oyamazaki Villa page.