What Is the Inoue Yoshinao Family Residence Tea Room?
The Inoue Yoshinao Family Residence Tea Room (井上良尚家住宅茶室, Inoue Yoshinao-ke Jūtaku Chashitsu) is a late Edo-period Chashitsu on the Inoue family estate in Ayazono, Takaishi City, Osaka Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 26 September 2000. It is a single-storey timber building with a floor area of 41 square meters.
Rather than standing apart at the end of a garden path, as many tea houses do, it runs straight on from the east side of the main house, with the entrance wing between the two. The tea room was built as part of the house itself, a reception suite for guests at the edge of the family's living quarters.
Two Rooms, Each With an Alcove
The Inoue Yoshinao Family Residence Tea Room has two rooms, one of four and a half tatami mats and one of six. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, both are fitted with a Tokonoma display alcove and shelves. Pairing an intimate four-and-a-half-mat room, the classic size for a small tea gathering, with a larger six-mat room lets the suite handle both small and somewhat larger parties.
A veranda and an anteroom wrap around the two rooms, and the agency singles out their arrangement as skillful. The plan seems designed to keep guests, who enter along the veranda, apart from the host, who prepares in the anteroom.
Bark-Edged Posts and a Light Tile Roof
The alcove post is a Menkawa-bashira, a log squared off on four faces but left with bark or its natural curve along the corners. Letting the raw character of the wood show in this way is a hallmark of the sukiya style, and the agency describes the building as a tea room carried through with sukiya design.
The roof is a simple gable, Kirizuma-zukuri, covered in Sangawara-buki, the lighter interlocking pantiles. The other four buildings on the estate use thatch or heavy Hongawarabuki tiling, so the tea room is the only one with this lighter roof, in keeping with its more relaxed purpose.
It was registered under number 27-0104 as a model of design. Of the five buildings at the Inoue Yoshinao Family Residence, the tea room is the only one registered on that basis.
Visiting the Inoue Yoshinao Family Residence Tea Room
The Inoue Yoshinao Family Residence Tea Room is part of a private home and is not open to the public, so the tatami rooms and bark-edged alcove post cannot be seen.
Because it sits east of the main house, inside the estate, expect to see little or nothing of it from the road. Please stay on the public street.
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Q&A
- What is the Inoue Yoshinao Family Residence Tea Room?
- A single-storey timber tea room of 41 square meters that continues from the east side of the main house. It has a four-and-a-half-mat room and a six-mat room, each with an alcove and shelves.
- When was the Inoue Yoshinao Family Residence Tea Room built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs places it in the late Edo period, between 1751 and 1829.
- What makes the design of the Inoue Yoshinao Family Residence Tea Room notable?
- Its consistent sukiya style, seen in the bark-edged alcove post, and the careful placing of the veranda and anteroom. The gabled roof uses light pantiles.
- When did the Inoue Yoshinao Family Residence Tea Room become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On 26 September 2000, as registration number 27-0104, as a model of design.
- Can I visit the Inoue Yoshinao Family Residence Tea Room?
- No. It is part of a private home and sits inside the estate, so it is barely visible from the road.
Basic Information
| Name | Inoue Yoshinao Family Residence Tea Room (井上良尚家住宅茶室) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2-5-31 Ayazono, Takaishi City, Osaka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), No. 27-0104 |
| Year Designated | Registered 26 September 2000 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, single-storey, tiled roof, building area 41 square meters |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Closed to the public |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Inoue Yoshinao Family Residence Tea Room (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00001839
- Takaishi wo Aruku: Historic Sites Guide Map (PDF, Takaishi City Board of Education, Japanese)
- https://www.city.takaishi.lg.jp/material/files/group/22/takaishiwoaruku2.pdf
- Inoue Family Residence (Osaka Cultural Properties Navi, Japanese)
- https://osaka-bunkazainavi.org/bunkazai/%E4%BA%95%E4%B8%8A%E5%AE%B6%E4%BD%8F%E5%AE%85
Last verified: 2026.09.28
