TEAHOUSE

In Kyoto’s oldest Kagai, our client's project is redefining heritage preservation.

Kagai, quite literally “flower district,” refers to the historic entertainment districts in Kyoto where geiko and maiko have lived, trained, and practiced their professions for generations. Flourishing through the Edo period (1603–1868), these districts formed around networks of ochaya teahouses, where guests were entertained through traditional performing arts including Japanese dance and shamisen stringed instrument performances. Kagai remain closely connected to machiya townhouse architecture and the broader ecosystem of the neighborhood.

Today, we are transforming a former ochaya into a private family home. The origins of this particular Kagai date to the 15th century, when seven teahouses were built using leftover timber from the reconstruction of the neighboring shrine.

For this architectural reorientation project, we do not use the western concept of "Architect". Instead, the entire space is being realized exclusively through the intuitive, hands-on collaboration of two classical master craftspeople. Daiku create the skeletal framework of the building, and the Sakan who create the meat of the body, the walls and floors.