Kada Family Residence Tea Room

What Is the Kada Family Residence Tea Room?

The Kada Family Residence Tea Room (加田家住宅茶室, Kada-ke Jūtaku Chashitsu) is a single-storey wooden Chashitsu building in Yabu-no-cho, Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture, built in 1931 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 2007.

It stands behind the main house, across the garden, and holds two tea rooms. To the south is Furōan (不老庵), a small room of three mats plus a daime mat; to the north is Gyōgetsutei (暁月亭), an eight-mat hall. A corridor joins them, with a Mizuya preparation room on its east side. The building area is 46 m². Wakayama City writes the second name with an older character form, 曉月亭.

Why the Kada Family Residence Tea Room Was Registered

Of the nine registered structures at the Kada Family Residence, only the Kada Family Residence Tea Room was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property under the criterion of being difficult to reproduce. Its registration number is 30-0105.

The reason is its maker. The Agency for Cultural Affairs values it as a work by Hirai Gisaburō, a Sukiya-zukuri carpenter connected with the Omotesenke school of tea. Wakayama Prefecture's heritage portal notes that his authorship is recorded on the building's ridge tag, and Wakayama City names a second Kyoto craftsman, Fuefuki Kaichirō, alongside him, saying the two completed Furōan and Gyōgetsutei two years after the main house.

What to Look for at the Kada Family Residence Tea Room

The Kada Family Residence Tea Room puts two very different spaces for tea under one roof. Furōan, with three guest mats and a shortened daime mat for the host, is an intimate room for a full tea gathering with a handful of guests. Gyōgetsutei, at eight mats, is a hall that can receive more guests than the small room. The corridor links the two, and the host prepares utensils in the mizuya beside it.

The roofs combine Irimoya-zukuri and Kirizuma-zukuri forms in Sangawara-buki tile. The deep Hisashi eaves are sheathed in copper rather than tile, which keeps their edges thin below the tiled roofs.

The Roji Gate stands in front of Gyōgetsutei, and the Koshikake Machiai sits on the garden path from the main house, so the tea house was planned together with its garden approach.

Visiting the Kada Family Residence Tea Room

The Kada Family Residence Tea Room lies deep in the garden of a private home and is not open to the public. It cannot be seen from the street, and none of the Agency, prefectural or city sources mention public tea gatherings there. Photographs of the exterior appear on the Agency's database and on Cultural Heritage Online. Directions to the residence are on the page for the Kada Family Residence.