#6 Tea Ceremony Room 2

 On the before blog, I wrote about history and concept of tea ceremony room. So today, I'll tell you about famous tea ceremony rooms, Jo-an,  Mittan, and Golden Tea Ceremony Room. 
  
  Jo-an is one of Japanese national treasures. It is said that the origin of this name is the landlord, Oda Yurakusai - he is a Christian, and his Christian name is "Joan". Its area is approximately 2 mat and a half. It is about same area as Rikyu's Tai-an, but the interior decoration is very different.The lower photograph is reproduction of Jo-an.  

Jo-an

Comparing Jo-an with Tai-an, This room is free for pressure. Jo-an have a screen called Mukougiri, and it makes this room humorous. As you can see, there is a big hole in the lower part of this screen. Just because, a guest can see the process of making tea through this hole. And this is not in the photograph, the line of flow for a waitperson is thought about well. This tea ceremony room is very rational, and it may be said that it is right a tea ceremony room of the samurai family. 

  Mittan. This is a Japanse national treasure too.  In addition, the tea ceremony rooms of the national treasure are only three in the whole country. Tai-an, Jo-an, and Mittan. Mittan is in the temple called Ryukou-in, and it is the whole temple to be appointed a national treasure. Because a general release is forbidden, its inside photograph is only a CG photograph. 

Mittan inside

the Mittan floor

The layout of Mittan is a tea ceremony room of the size calld the four-and-a half mat daime room basically. It may be comprehensive, but is the size of the tatami mat of the size like 1-mat 3/4 when this "daime" easily says. You may hear the word four-and- a half mat room tea-ceremoy room, but attention is well necessary because it is different from "daime".  Speaking of the characteristic of Mittan, it is the "Mittan floor" that the name was derived from. It is the floor for displaying handwriting of Mittan Kanketu - Zen priest of Chinese south Soong Era. However, it is really interesting, the handwriting was displayed in the main floor - the opposite side, and the Mittan floor seemed to be used as a desk. It will be worth learning this.

  
  Last, about Golden tea ceremony room. It is said that Rikyu and Hideyoshi Toyoyomi made it, but the truth is not known. This room is very different from ever tea ceremony rooms. Gold is put all over the room, and It is may be said that is tasteless. But it follows the basic rule of wabi-cha. It's size is three mat, and decoration is very simple - excepting its color. So there is a opinion that it is the extremity of the bad taste of Hideyoshi, but there is a opinion too that Rikyu absolutely participated to making this room. This may be said that this is most famous tea ceremony room.

Replica of Golden tea ceremony room

Beauty of the tea ceremony rooms is the presence of mind. Learn this.