A Staggered Sukiya Annex Facing the Sea
The Tozanso Annex (東山荘別館) is a sukiya-style annex with staggered rooms of 1940 in Kasugacho, Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on August 1, 2016 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a single-storey timber building roofed in tiles and partly copper, with a building area of 152 square metres; registration number 22-0226.
Staggered Rooms and a Zangetsu-Style Alcove
The annex of Tozanso, a single-storey timber building of 1940 at the south-west corner of the site, has its matted rooms staggered along the east, seaward side, with a corridor around the west (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
In the thirteen-mat main room, a two-mat alcove of polished boards and tatami is laid out in the manner of the Zangetsu room, with an earth-floored veranda paved in diagonal tiles to the north. Sukiya touches combine with rustic beams hewn on two faces to give it a character of its own (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered it as a model of design.
What to Look For
Look for the rooms staggered toward the sea and the Zangetsu-style alcove of the main room (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
It is owned by the Church of World Messianity (Agency for Cultural Affairs). According to Toho no Hikari, an organisation affiliated with the church, a local preservation society holds open days and plans regular openings; check their announcements for dates. The seven buildings are introduced together on the Tozanso page.
Q&A
- When was it built?
- In 1940 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- How are the rooms laid out?
- Staggered toward the sea.
- What is special about the main room?
- Its Zangetsu-style alcove.
- Where is it?
- At the south-west corner of the site.
- When was the Tozanso Annex registered?
- On August 1, 2016 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Tozanso Annex (東山荘別館) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1712-1 Kasugacho, Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2016/08/01 (Heisei 28) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, tiles and partly copper, 152 m² |
| Owner | Church of World Messianity |
| Public Access | Opened on preservation society open days (Toho no Hikari) |
References
- Tozanso Annex (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00011141
- Moon-viewing at Tozanso, Atami, marking its first public opening (Toho no Hikari, in Japanese)
- https://tohonohikari.or.jp/topics/%E7%86%B1%E6%B5%B7-%E6%9D%B1%E5%B1%B1%E8%8D%98%E3%81%A7%E3%80%8C%E8%A6%B3%E6%9C%88%E4%BC%9A%E3%80%8D.php
Last verified: 2026.10.26
