VOL.4
Zen, Business and the Tea House

2024 / 1 / 7

We were asked to design a tea room within the Bonsai Cafe, and the ultimate one-tatami tea room was created.

The tea room is equipped with only a bench and a one-tatami mat tea ceremony seat, blocking out light and sound from the outside and inviting you to a world of Zen where you can gaze at bonsai, meditate, and enjoy a cup of matcha tea. The walls of the tea room are made of traditional earthen walls and mirror walls with lattices to create a sense of spaciousness.

A large pine tree has been planted at the cafe entrance, creating a contrast with the bonsai as you enter.

Inside the restaurant, traditional bamboo blinds act as barriers dividing the spacious space. Behind the blinds is the tea room, and the entrance is a low, storehouse-style door reminiscent of a nijiriguchi (traditional Japanese-style entrance).

Although it is a small tea room, it is also a Zen world where you can meditate by burning incense while admiring bonsai, hanging scrolls, and artworks.

Harmony between the office and the tea room

We previously designed three meeting tea rooms within the office of a corporate building, which included a traditional tea room consisting of an eight-tatami mat hall, a three-tatami mat tatami room, and a mizuya (small room with a main entrance), and which could be used for meetings and table tea ceremonies.

We have received positive feedback that having a tea room in the office has expanded the scope of business, such as by using the tea room for employee Japanese cultural training and to entertain guests.

In a typical company, there is a reception room or a conference room, and a secretary pours tea from the back. If there is a tea room, matcha will be made on the spot and the conversation will turn to art pieces such as hanging scrolls and tea bowls. Instead of starting with a business conversation, why not start with a conversation about culture and art?

In the past, during the time of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, Rikyu appeared and the tea room became a place for secret discussions between Sengoku warlords and, in a sense, a battlefield.

Business and Chinese Tea

I am often invited to tea events in China, where enjoying Chinese tea is becoming popular in the business world.

When I visited a certain company, a tea set was placed on a large table and the president himself poured Chinese tea. When I visited other companies or homes, I was similarly greeted with Chinese tea before starting meetings and meals.

Chinese tea has already been branded, and the price of a teapot full of tea leaves is unbelievable in Japan. Each guest brings their own tea leaves and we all enjoy comparing them.

Enjoying tea like this before discussing business will ensure that subsequent meetings go smoothly.

A new culture of "Ichisha Ichian"

In the future, if each company in Japan has a tea room or a tatereida (tea table), it will not only be able to entertain guests but will also serve as a place for employees to interact, which will surely lead to business expansion.

Furthermore, by meditating and relaxing in the tea room, you can connect to the world of Zen, and the tea room can also be used as a cultural salon.

If "One Company, One An" becomes a reality, I believe that Japanese companies will see their performance improve and become companies that can compete on the global stage.

This year's taiga drama is Murasaki Shikibu's "To You, the Shining One." It was the era when Japan created its unique hiragana culture, and the world-renowned Tale of Genji was born. It is necessary for Japan's unique culture to spread to the world in the coming age. For that reason, it is meaningful to have a tea room within the company. Please make it "Ichisha Ichian"! Haha

Cape Copanello on the toes of the Italian peninsula.

Here, the Gatti family runs a farm that grows olives in their natural state without using any pesticides or fertilizers. Introducing the rare olive oil that is made by squeezing the early picked olives of this rare Gatti family at low temperature.

ガッティ家のオリーブオイル

Tthe "Hokuso" area has been blessed with the abundant water of Kasumigaura and the Tone River since ancient times.

Rice has been cultivated since the Edo period, and in the olden days, rice was supplied to Edo via the Tone River.

We are reclaiming fallow fields in this area and working to regenerate delicious rice and paddy fields.

北総のお米「美人米」

The delicious rice grown in the Hokuso region has brought a lot of wealth to the region. The homes of rice farmers in the area are also very valuable from an architectural point of view.

Unfortunately, the Hokuso area is also experiencing population outflow and aging, and as a result, these high-value buildings are also being devastated.

We regenerate these old folk houses with our knowledge and know-how as an architect and provide them as accommodation facilities.

北総の古民家ステイ