Jo-an


Jo-an is a seventeenth-century teahouse. Said to be one of the three finest teahouses in the country, it was designated a National Treasure in 1951.

History

It was originally built around 1618 in Kennin-ji, Kyoto, for Oda Urakusai, younger brother of daimyō Oda Nobunaga and a disciple of Sen no Rikyū. Relocated a number of times, it has formed part of the Urakuen gardens in Inuyama since 1972. Inuyama is part of the historic Owari Province, which the Oda clan ruled starting in the 15th century.

Architecture

Jo-an is approached through the roji garden. It consists of a chashitsu, a three tatami mat mizuya, and a one-and-a-half tatami mat rōka no ma. The chashitsu is composed of two and a half tatami mats, a daime, and a toko. The building has a shake roof and a nijiriguchi.