Chashitsu - An Ideal Tea House

An Ideal Tea House

An ideal free-standing tea house is surrounded by a small garden having a path leading to the tea room. This garden is called roji (露地), or "dewy ground." Along the path is a waiting bench for guests and a privy. There is a stone water-basin near the tea house, where the guests rinse their hands and mouths before entering the tea room through a small, square door called nijiriguchi, or "crawling-in entrance," which requires bending low to pass through and symbolically separates the small, simple, quiet inside from the crowded, overwhelming outside world. The nijiriguchi leads directly into the tea room.

The tea room has a low ceiling and no furniture: the guests and host sit seiza-style on the floor. All materials used are intentionally simple and rustic. Besides the guests' entrance, there may be several more entrances; at minimum there is an entrance for the host known as the sadōguchi, which allows access to the mizuya. Windows are generally small and covered with shōji, which allows natural light to filter in. The windows are not intended to provide a view to the outside, which would detract from the participants' concentration. There is a sunken hearth (炉, ro) located in the tatami adjacent to the host's tatami, for use in the cold months; this hearth is covered with a plain tatami and is not visible in the warm months, when a portable brazier (風炉, furo) is used instead.

There will be a tokonoma (scroll alcove) holding a scroll of calligraphy or brush painting, and perhaps a small, simple, flower arrangement called a chabana (茶花), but no other decoration.