The tearoom is the architectural expression of the aims of the tea
ceremony. Everything about the design is steeped in the philosophy behind
the tea ceremony and Zen Buddhism as it “permeated and spiritualized the
physique of the tearoom.” Conceived during a time of warriors and wars,
the ritual’s goal of reflection and humility is reflected in the architecture of
the room. The simplicity and spareness of the tearoom show that “ in order
to uncover the very basis of man’s life, representation and performance of
dwelling has to be reduced to the barest essentials: the hut and the drink,
the tearoom and the tea.” The design strived for “the atmosphere of a
faraway farmhouse with its remoteness, poverty, humbleness, simplicity
and semidarkness” although it rather achieved “an aesthetism of poverty’s
forms.”