What the Marui Family Residence Tea House Is
The Marui Family Residence Tea House (丸井家住宅茶室, Marui-ke Jūtaku Chashitsu) is a small building for the tea ceremony, built in 1916 on the Marui family estate in Etchumachi, Kurayoshi City, Tottori Prefecture, and it was entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on October 27, 2017.
The Marui Family Residence Tea House stands east of the main house and faces south. It is a single-storey timber building with a tiled roof, 2 ken wide at the front and 2.5 ken deep (a ken is about 1.8 meters). Inside, a Chashitsu of four and a half tatami mats takes the southern half, and a three-mat Mizuya, the preparation room, the northern half. Tradition says it copies a tea room belonging to Hirai Nihei, a tea master in Kyoto. No published record confirms this, so it is best read as family tradition.
Why the Marui Family Residence Tea House Was Registered
The Marui Family Residence Tea House was registered, as no. 31-235, under the criterion of a building that sets a model for its type. The Agency for Cultural Affairs closes its description by calling it a fine example of a sōan tea room, the "grass hut" type built with rustic materials and a deliberately small plan to evoke a hermit's retreat. A four-and-a-half-mat room with a three-mat preparation room is the classic arrangement.
What sets this one apart is the color of its walls. Both the Agency and Kurayoshi City make a point of the red-painted exterior. The street wall on the north side of the estate is painted red above as well, so red turns up again and again across the Marui buildings.
The Agency names the Marui household as one of the centres of Kurayoshi's tea ceremony circles from the Taisho era into the early Showa years. The Marui Family Residence Tea House is where that tea was actually served.
The Roof of the Marui Family Residence Tea House
The roof of the Marui Family Residence Tea House runs north to south under small interlocking tiles, and it changes shape from one end to the other. The back, to the north, is a simple gable, Kirizuma-zukuri; the front, to the south, is hipped and gabled, Irimoya-zukuri. One roof, two profiles.
On the front is a lean-to, a Geya, roofed in copper, and its roof swells upward in a gentle convex curve. Copper against tile, a soft curve against straight lines: this is what a guest would see first when walking up to the tea house.
Southeast of the tea house, on the eastern side of the garden, stand the waiting arbor and sleeve fence, registered separately. In a formal tea gathering guests wait at the arbor before being led to the tea room, so the two structures mark the two ends of that short walk.
Visiting the Marui Family Residence Tea House
The Marui Family Residence Tea House stands inside the walls of the estate and cannot be seen from the street. The Marui Family Residence is a private home, and Kurayoshi City lists it as closed inside. No public tea gatherings or open days have been announced.
The photographs in the Agency's database and on Cultural Heritage Online are, for now, the way to see the Marui Family Residence Tea House.
Q&A
- Can I visit the Marui Family Residence Tea House?
- No. The Marui Family Residence Tea House is inside the walls of a private home, and Kurayoshi City lists the property as closed inside. It cannot be seen from the street.
- Whose tea room is the Marui Family Residence Tea House said to copy?
- It is said to copy a tea room of Hirai Nihei, a tea master in Kyoto. Both the Agency for Cultural Affairs and Kurayoshi City present this as tradition, not as a documented fact.
- How large is the Marui Family Residence Tea House?
- It is a single-storey timber building 2 ken wide and 2.5 ken deep, with a four-and-a-half-mat tea room to the south and a three-mat preparation room to the north. A copper-roofed lean-to with a convex curve is attached at the front.
- Why are the walls of the Marui Family Residence Tea House red?
- No source gives a reason. The Agency and Kurayoshi City both single out the red-painted exterior and call the building a fine example of a grass-hut tea room. The street wall of the estate is also painted red above.
- When was the Marui Family Residence Tea House built and registered?
- It was built in 1916 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 27, 2017, under number 31-235.
Basic Information
| Name | Marui Family Residence Tea House (丸井家住宅茶室) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2149 Etchumachi, Kurayoshi City, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 31-235 |
| Year Designated | Registered October 27, 2017 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single storey, tiled roof, 2 ken by 2.5 ken (the Agency database's structure field reads "23 m in length") |
| Owner | Unknown (not listed in the Agency database) |
| Public Access | Closed |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Maruike Jutaku Chashitsu
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012016
- Cultural Heritage Online: Maruike Jutaku Chashitsu
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/223047
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Maruike Jutaku Machiai oyobi Hei, Sodegaki
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012017
- Kurayoshi City: Cultural Properties of the Uwanada, Seitoku and Meirin Districts
- https://www.city.kurayoshi.lg.jp/gyousei/div/kyouiku/bunkazai/1/1/5/
Last verified: 2026.10.04
