Kaimonzan Mangetsuji Temple Tea House (Gyokukotei)

A tea house built from the old lake hall

Kaimonzan Mangetsuji Temple Tea House (Gyokukotei) (海門山満月寺茶室（玉鈎亭）) is a tea house in the grounds of Mangetsu-ji at Honkatata in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, built in 1937 and entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on April 28, 2000. Its name, Gyokukotei (Gyokukō-tei), can be read as "Jade Crescent Pavilion." It is a small single-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 24 square metres.

Gyokukotei cannot be separated from the story of the Ukimido. After the Muroto typhoon of 1934 brought down the hall on the lake, some of its old timber was used for the ceilings and other parts of this tea house. Since the new Ukimido was also finished in 1937, the temple gained two buildings in one year: a new hall on the water, and a tea house carrying pieces of the old one.

Gyokukotei first stood south of the Guest Hall and was moved to its present site in 1988.

Why the tea house was registered

The Kaimonzan Mangetsuji Temple Tea House (Gyokukotei) was registered as a model of its building type. The Agency for Cultural Affairs' description centres on the two-room layout and the move, which suggests that combining two contrasting tea rooms in one small building is what earned the listing.

The original layout worked like this. One room of 7 tatami mats had its alcove on the host's side of the room, a layout called gezadoko. The other, of 4 mats, had a hearth cut in the mukogiri position and a masudoko, a small square alcove set flush with the floor. Between them was a Mizuya, the preparation room where utensils are readied, linking the two.

When the building was moved, the mizuya was removed. Today the two rooms meet directly, side by side from east to west, and the roof ridges join in an L. The plan has changed, but the core idea of two contrasting rooms under one roof survives.

What to look at

The most meaningful part of Gyokukotei is the part you are least likely to notice. Timber from the lost Ukimido went into the ceilings. Knowing that a hall destroyed by the typhoon lives on inside this little building changes how you see it.

From outside, follow the ridge of the roof as it turns through a right angle. Each room keeps its own roof, yet the two join as one building, and the bend in the ridge shows where. The shape is also a trace of the missing mizuya.

A masudoko is a plain, square alcove at tatami level. Instead of a raised Tokonoma, it fits an alcove into a small room without taking up extra space.

Visiting the tea house

Neither the temple nor the tourism bodies publish any information on viewing the interior of the Kaimonzan Mangetsuji Temple Tea House (Gyokukotei). Since a tea house is mostly about its interior, contact the temple in advance if you hope to see inside.

The exterior can be viewed from the grounds, as far as access allows, during opening hours. Directions, opening hours and fees are on the Kaimonzan Mangetsuji Temple page.