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VOL.4
"Zen", Business and "Chashitsu"

2024 / 1 / 7

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We were asked to design a tea room inside a bonsai café, resulting in the ultimate one-tatami mat Japanese tea room.
The tea room is a Zen-like space with only a sitting area and a one-tatami mat tea table, blocking out light and sound, where one can meditate on the bonsai and enjoy a cup of matcha. The walls of the Japanese tea room are made of traditional earthen walls and mirrored walls overlaid with latticework to create an expansive space. A large pine tree is planted at the entrance of the café, providing a contrast to the bonsai as you enter. Inside the restaurant, a traditional blind serves as a boundary, separating the large space from the rest of the restaurant. The tea ceremony room is located behind the curtain, and the entrance is a low doorway style, reminiscent of an overflowing doorway. Although the tea room is small, it is a Zen meditation space with incense burning while viewing the bonsai, hanging scrolls, and artwork.

Harmony between Office and Chashitsu

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We have designed three meeting Japanese tea rooms for meetings and table tea ceremonies in addition to the traditional tearooms of an eight-mat hall, a three-mat daisy booth, and a mizuya in an office building of a company.

 

The client commented that having a tea ceremony room in the office expanded the scope of their business, including the use of the tea ceremony room for Japanese cultural training for employees and for entertaining guests.

 

Usually, companies have a reception room or meeting room, and a secretary makes tea from the back of the room. If there is a tea room, you can make matcha (powdered green tea) on the spot and talk about artwork such as hanging scrolls and tea bowls. Instead of suddenly starting with business, it would be good to start with culture and art.

In the past, during the reigns of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, Rikyu appeared and the tea room was a place for secret talks between warlords, and in a sense, it was also a battlefield.

Business and Chinese Tea

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We are often invited to China for tea events. In China, enjoying Chinese tea in the business world is very popular.

 

When we visit a company, a tea set is placed on a large table and the president of the company himself makes the tea. When we visit other companies or homes, we are treated with Chinese tea as well, and then we have a meeting or a meal.

 

The branding of Chinese tea is already well established, and the price of a cup of tea leaves is unbelievable in Japan. Each guest brings his or her own tea leaves and everyone enjoys drinking and comparing them with each other.

 

Enjoying a cup of tea before business discussions makes the rest of the meeting go more smoothly.

A new culture of "one company, one Chashitsu"

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In the future, if each company in Japan were to have a tea ceremony room or tea table, it would not only be a place to entertain guests, but also a place for employees to interact with each other and expand their business.

 

In addition, meditation and relaxation in a tea room will lead to the world of Zen, and will be used as a cultural salon.

 

If "one company, one hermitage" is realized, Japanese companies will be able to improve their performance and compete on the world stage.

 

This year's historical drama is Murasaki Shikibu's "Hikaru Kimi e" ("To the Luminous Kimi"). This is the era in which Japan has created its unique hiragana culture and the world-famous Tale of Genji was born. The spread of Japan's unique culture to the rest of the world is necessary for the future. For this reason, it is meaningful to have a tea ceremony room in your company. By all means, "One company, one Chashitsu! 

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