The Japanese tea house is a building specially made to host the traditional tea ceremony. The ritual, called 'chanoyu', 'ochu' or 'sado', which dates back to the 9th century, is for the Japanese much more than a gathering to enjoy a cup of tea. It is an existential experience, a way to preserve the excitement and sanctity of the moment, a place for relaxation and friendship.
The house is generally small and the materials used are simple and natural. Around it is a garden - reddish, sometimes with benches - machiai, very important because it has the role of preparing the guests for the ritual.
The doors and windows are made of traditional balsa wood panels and very thin, almost transparent paper called shoji.
On the floor are mats - tatami - made of tightly woven rice straw, over which a layer of straw is laid, making them very soft. Every season the mats are laid differently, and the Japanese never walk on tatami in their shoes.
The entrance to the house is very low, forcing guests to bend down to enter, thus making a symbolic gesture of humility. Inside there are 2 rooms, one for preparing tea and snacks and washing the dishes used and one for the actual tea ceremony. There are no decorations other than a print carefully chosen by the host to announce the theme of the tea. Sometimes the house also has a name, carefully chosen by the owners to reflect the simplicity of the tea ceremony and the Zen teachings of Buddhism.
The Japanese are said to be the creators of minimalist design. Unlike Westerners, whose buildings are heavy, with lots of unnecessary decoration, often developed vertically, the Japanese shroud their constructions in mystery, going for the essence of things. It is said that in traditional Japanese architecture you start with one room and it takes a lot of effort to get it right and move on to the next. This is also the case with tea houses: simplicity, mystery, tradition and natural materials.
The Japanese teahouse was the inspiration for the architect of a firm in Oregon, USA, that builds log cabins. A client, who had lived in Japan as a child, wanted a 45-square-metre house. The result was a beautiful teahouse with two discreetly defined areas, a kitchen and a living room.
The living room is austere, typically Japanese, with a tatami-covered floor and shoji panel windows.
In keeping with the Japanese tradition of the low entrance, such an entrance was also made for guests.
The bedroom area is, let's say, in the loft, a prici-like area reached by climbing a simple staircase and sleeping on mattresses.
Here, too, the decorations are missing, the only one being the tea-themed print.
The surprise of the house is the tea kit hidden in the floor of the house.
The house was a success and soon the author was asked to make a 4-wheel version. And this time it worked out really well.
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