Naramachi Nigiwai-no-Ie Waiting Arbor

The Waiting Arbor of Naramachi Nigiwai-no-Ie

The Naramachi Nigiwai-no-Ie Waiting Arbor (奈良町にぎわいの家待合) is a small tea-garden shelter built around 1917 in Nakanoshinyacho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on May 2, 2017 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a single-storey timber structure with a tiled roof and a building area of 2.8 square metres, repaired in 2015; it is one of four Registered Tangible Cultural Properties at the site, registration number 29-0251.

A Tiny Shelter behind the High Wall

In the tea ceremony, guests wait in a small shelter until they are called into the tea room. The Naramachi Nigiwai-no-Ie Waiting Arbor stands behind the high wall that runs north from the front of the main house, and faces south (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Under its pan-tile roof, only the western half of the front is open; the rest is earthen wall pierced by a round window and a diamond-shaped window.

It is built of unbarked logs, bamboo and cedar bark, with natural stones at its base (Agency for Cultural Affairs; guide leaflet). The leaflet says it was planned together with the tea room of the main house.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency registered it as a structure contributing to the historic landscape: with the high wall and its wicket gate and the tea room of the main house, it makes up a complete tea garden that reflects the tea culture of Nara.

From the Street into the Tea Garden

In Nara townhouses, a wicket gate in the high wall along the street often serves as the entrance to the Roji, the garden path leading to the tea room, and the leaflet cites Naramachi Nigiwai-no-Ie as one example. Guests at a tea gathering come in through the gate and sit in the Naramachi Nigiwai-no-Ie Waiting Arbor until they are called.

What to Look For

At the Naramachi Nigiwai-no-Ie Waiting Arbor, look up at the ridge-end tile, whose geometric design of squares and circles the leaflet lists among the details worth noticing. Compare the open western half of the front with the round and diamond windows cut into the earthen wall.

Visiting

The Naramachi Nigiwai-no-Ie Waiting Arbor covers only 2.8 square metres and stands in a corner of the garden. The garden is included in the visit, but we found no official guidance on whether visitors may step into the arbor, or on photography. Opening hours and directions are on the Naramachi Nigiwai-no-Ie page.