Waking up from a hangover, I glance out the westward window, and notice the sun has almost set. I’m finally getting my hands on the newly harvested Sencha from Rabbit Road. After fetching fresh spring water, I’ll try the souki tea.

The tea room is the core of the garden.

Before this garden was called Nakazu Bansyouen it was actually known as Nakatsu’s Tea Farm.

First, a tea room was built on the sands facing the ocean. After this, the feudal lords went on to build the pond and surrounding landscape you see today.

Continue down the path lined with black pine trees, beyond the stepping stones, to the thatched roof tea room that will appear before you.

The main room is in front, while the building in the back with the raised floor is Japan’s oldest tea house, Kanchōrō.

When most people think of a tea room, they will imagine tea houses serving matcha. You enter into an enclosed space and boil water in a “kama” or iron kettle. Samurai would make matcha and hold secret gatherings amidst the sound of boiling water.

Another type of tea room existed for people who felt that the stiff and formal tea rooms of the samurai wasn’t their style. They were liberating spaces where artists and writers could come to enjoy the beauty of nature and compose poetry.

The creators of Nakazu Bansyouen, the Marugame Kyogoku clan, were a literary family, descending from the Emperor himself. As artists, they used the tea room as a place to relax and enjoy the arts.

Opening the sliding doors of the tea room, they were surrounded by the natural scents, sounds, and light of the garden.

Take a moment to sit on the veranda and take in the stillness of the space.

Incidentally, this tea room is also said to have been open to the public at times.

It is said that the following notification was sent out to the commoners: “Nakatsu teahouse is a place for feudal lords to stroll. It is permissible to quietly view the space as you come and go. However, we ask that you refrain from bringing your bento, playing shamisen, or otherwise making a fuss.”

At the time, it was unheard of for commoners to enter a Daimyo garden. The Nakatsu family must have been a very gracious and kind family.