A tea room at the end of the line
The Wakabayashi Family Residence Tea Room Building (若林家住宅茶室棟, Wakabayashi-ke Jūtaku Chashitsutō) is a single-storey wooden Chashitsu built in 1924 in Inukata-cho, Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, moved to its present site in 1928, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 29 November 2016. It steps off diagonally from the southwest corner of the reception wing, and at 27 square metres it is the smallest of the eight registered structures on the estate.
Shiga Tobunkai, the association of registered-property owners in Shiga, records a tradition that the tea room was brought, together with the reception wing, from an earlier family plot to the northwest.
The roof is laid with Sangawara-buki pantiles, hip-and-gable (Irimoya-zukuri) on the south face and a plain gable (Kirizuma-zukuri) on the north, with copper sheeting along the eaves.
Why it was registered
The Wakabayashi Family Residence Tea Room Building was registered as a model of architectural design.
It holds a four-and-a-half-mat tea room and a three-mat room, with a veranda along the south and east sides. On the west wall of the tea room is an alcove one and a half ken wide, framed in the manner of a Gensō-doko: the lintel over the alcove is a length of bamboo, and a short wing wall closes one side. The Gensō-doko is one of the alcove types handed down in the tea tradition, and the builders here borrowed its spirit.
The other highlight is the veranda eave. Thin logs supporting it are laid out like the ribs of an open fan, so that a deep overhang looks almost weightless. Deep eaves tend to look heavy; spreading slender poles beneath them takes that weight away.
In a very small building, the carpenters concentrated their effort on two things, the alcove and the eave, and finished both with care. That focus is the heart of its value.
What to look for
According to the family's website, the view from the tea room takes in a bamboo grove in the distance, with a Roji tea garden in front enclosed by a hedge of podocarpus and furnished with a low stone basin. A tea room is only complete with its garden, and the Wakabayashi Family Residence Tea Room Building opens toward the garden at the far end of the diagonal line that begins at the main house.
The family describes the sequence of reception wing and tea room in terms of teioku ichinyo, the idea that garden and house form a single whole. Hikone was also the domain of Ii Naosuke, a daimyo deeply devoted to the tea ceremony.
The fan-shaped eave is best appreciated standing on the veranda and looking up, which is not possible from outside.
Visiting
The Wakabayashi Family Residence Tea Room Building is part of a private home and its interior is not open to the public. It lies toward the southwest of the plot and cannot be seen from the road on the north side.
The owner holds occasional tea ceremony and flower arrangement events, and if the tea room is used at all it will be on such occasions. Enquire through the owner's website about participation. Directions are on the Wakabayashi Family Residence page.
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Q&A
- Can you visit the Wakabayashi Family Residence Tea Room Building?
- The interior is not open to the public, and the building cannot be seen from the road. It may be used during the owner's occasional tea events; ask in advance if you can take part.
- What is the tea room in the Wakabayashi Family Residence Tea Room Building like?
- It consists of a four-and-a-half-mat tea room and a three-mat room with a veranda along the south and east sides. The tea room has an alcove one and a half ken wide in the Gensō-doko manner, with a bamboo lintel and a short wing wall.
- What is unusual about the eaves of the Wakabayashi Family Residence Tea Room Building?
- The thin logs that support the veranda eave are laid out in a fan pattern, making the deep overhang look light.
- When was the Wakabayashi Family Residence Tea Room Building built?
- It was built in 1924 and moved to its present site in 1928, together with the reception wing.
- What kind of roof does the Wakabayashi Family Residence Tea Room Building have?
- A pantiled roof that is hip-and-gable on the south face and a plain gable on the north, with copper sheeting along the eaves.
Basic Information
| Name | Wakabayashi Family Residence Tea Room Building (若林家住宅茶室棟) |
|---|---|
| Location | 758 Inukata-cho, Hikone, Shiga Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration No. 25-0388, criterion: a model of architectural design |
| Year Designated | Registered 2016/11/29 (Heisei 28) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, single storey, pantiled roof with copper-sheeted eaves, building area 27 square metres |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (not visible from the road) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Wakabayashi Family Residence Tea Room Building
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00011339
- Wakabayashi Family Residence (Shiga Association of Registered Tangible Cultural Property Owners)
- https://shiga-tobunkai.org/catalogue/koto/431
- Wakabayashi Family Residence (owner-run website, Japanese)
- https://shiga-bunka.com/
- List of Designated and Registered Cultural Properties in Hikone (Hikone City)
- https://www.city.hikone.lg.jp/kakuka/kanko_bunka/8/2_2/4655.html
Last verified: 2026.09.26
