Registered Tangible Cultural Properties · Wakayama

Kongobuji Temple Shinshoan

Kongobuji Temple Shinshoan: 1964 Tea House Donated by Matsushita

The Kongobuji Temple Shinshoan is a 1964 guest tea house on Mount Koya given by Matsushita Konosuke, with a checkerboard-grain coffered ceiling and bark-edged posts.

Designation Registered Tangible Cultural Properties

Location Wakayama

What Is the Kongobuji Temple Shinshoan?

The Kongobuji Temple Shinshoan (金剛峯寺真松庵, Kongōbu-ji Shinshōan) is a 1964 tea house for honored guests on the west side of Kongobuji on Mount Koya in Koya Town, Wakayama Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 13, 2025.

According to Kongobuji, the tea house was donated by Matsushita Konosuke, founder of the company now called Panasonic, at the 1965 ceremonies marking 1,150 years since Koyasan was founded, and it was named Shinshoan by the then prime minister, Sato Eisaku. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates its construction to 1964, the year before.

It stands west of the New Shoin and is joined to it, in a corner of the Banryutei garden at the northwest edge of the reception complex.

Why the Kongobuji Shinshoan Was Registered

It was registered as a model of architectural form. The single-storey timber building has copper roofs and a building area of 117 m². An eight-mat hiroma (large tea room) sits at the center, with a six-mat waiting wing to the southeast, a four-and-a-half-mat tea room to the southwest, and a preparation room: a complete Chashitsu suite.

The Agency singles out the ceiling of the eight-mat room, a Gō-tenjō coffered ceiling with its ribs spaced widely and its boards laid so that the grain alternates direction in a checkerboard.

All the roofs keep their eaves low, and the posts are menkawa timber, squared but with bark-edged corners left rounded. Kongobuji itself describes the Kongobuji Temple Shinshoan as refined Sukiya-zukuri.

Highlights of the Kongobuji Temple Shinshoan

In the right light, the checkerboard on the ceiling appears purely from grain direction. Nothing is painted; the same boards are simply turned.

Look closely at the posts. The rounded, bark-marked corners keep the character of the log, a deliberate informality typical of sukiya taste.

Outside, all three wings keep their eaves low. Among the wide spaces of the rock garden, the Kongobuji Shinshoan is designed to stay quiet.

Visiting the Kongobuji Temple Shinshoan

Kongobuji lists the Kongobuji Temple Shinshoan among its sights but does not state that the tea rooms are open. It is a guest tea house, so do not expect to enter on a regular visit.

Photography is not allowed inside the buildings, but Banryutei may be photographed.

📍 Plan Your Visit to Wakayama: Find tours, activities & transport passes near Kongobuji Temple Shinshoan; [ Koyasan & Kumano Kodo World Heritage Trails ]

Q&A

QWho donated the Kongobuji Temple Shinshoan?: AAccording to Kongobuji, Matsushita Konosuke donated it for the 1965 ceremonies marking 1,150 years since Koyasan was founded.

QHow did the Kongobuji Shinshoan get its name?: AKongobuji says the name was given by Sato Eisaku, then prime minister of Japan.

QCan visitors have tea at the Kongobuji Temple Shinshoan?: ANo public tea service or interior access is announced. It is a tea house for honored guests.

QWhen was the Kongobuji Shinshoan registered?: AIt was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 13, 2025. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to 1964.

QWhat makes the Kongobuji Temple Shinshoan architecturally notable?: AIts checkerboard coffered ceiling made by alternating grain direction, its menkawa posts with bark-edged corners, and its low eaves.

Basic Information

Name	Kongobuji Temple Shinshoan
Location	136 Honchuindani, Koyasan, Koya Town, Ito District, Wakayama Prefecture
Designation	Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building)
Year Designated	Registered March 13, 2025 (Reiwa 7)
Quantity	1 building
Dimensions	Building area 117 m² (single-storey timber, copper roof)
Owner	Kongobuji Temple (religious corporation)
Public Access	Interior access not stated (guest tea house)