There is a large folding screen known as a Byobu in this room and there’s a deer painted on it.
It’s said that this is a work that was created by a painter named Kien Naito who served at Kōfuku-ji temple.
He was known to be a great painter of deer. There are stories of male deer mistaking the deer in the Byobu as a real one and charging right through it.
It’s a peaceful painting, but it’s not just simply realistically drawn.
There’s a uniqueness to the way the deer walk, the angle they move their heads at, and the way their ears move in the wind. There’s a certain scenery that can’t be captured by painters unless they’ve lived in Nara.
This area is called Salon and it’s a place where you can make and drink MATCHA.
In the latter half of the Showa Era (1926 - 1989),
Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten launched a new business in Japanese tea ceremony utensils.
Also, as a little tidbit, the Japanese tea ceremony from Nara Sarashi was known as having the deepest flavor.
The master of tea ceremony, Sen no Rikyū said that tea cloths should be white and new.
A tea cloth is a ramie cloth used to wipe the teacup and the ones that Nara Sarashi made were white.
Tea, cloth, and business. You are currently right in the middle of this quiet flow of events.