Tea House

Posted by Alfredo J. Martiz J. (Panama City, Panama) on 12 January 2008 in Architecture and Portfolio.

This is a photo of the tea house located over the pond of Hamarikyu Gardens.

A tea house or tearoom is a venue centered on drinking tea. Their function varies widely depending on the culture, and some cultures have a variety of distinct tea-centered houses or parlors that all qualify under the English language term "tea house" or "tea room.
In Japanese tradition a tea house (茶室) can refer to a structure designed for holding Japanese tea ceremonies. Tea rooms for tea ceremonies are also called chashitsu, but they are located within a dwelling. The tea house was created for aesthetic and intellectual fulfillment.
In Japan a tea house (お茶屋) can also refer to a place of entertainment with geisha. These kind of tea houses are typically very exclusive establishments.
There are two types of chashitsu: free-standing structures often containing several rooms (known as tea houses in English), and rooms located within dwellings or other buildings and set aside for tea ceremony (known in English as tea rooms).
Tea houses are usually small, simple wooden buildings. They are traditionally located in remote, quiet areas, but today are more likely to be found in the gardens or grounds of larger houses, or in public or private parks.
Tea rooms are also usually small, and are found inside tea houses as well as in private homes, temples or shrines, schools, and other institutions. In Japanese homes, any room with a tatami floor may be used as a tea room; the same room may be used for other purposes as well.

Reference: Wikipedia (Tea house, Chashitsu)

Hamarikyu Gardens. May 5th, 2007

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