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SHOSEIAN TEAHOUSE- History
'Arbor of the Murmuring Pines'
Bonnie M. Mitchell
Shoseian teahouse is a six tatami-mat tearoom (one mat is 3'x6') with a
recessed alcove, a four-mat entrance, a two-mat elevated entrance, and
a small adjoining preparation area. The floors are covered with tatami
mats and the walls are plastered with clay to reveal the underlying
structure of cedar posts and beams. Opaque sliding fusuma doors
separate the interior spaces and sliding shoji screens of translucent paper
filter light into the tearoom from the garden.
The teahouse roof extends to cover the large patio creating a transitional
space between the tearoom and garden that is unique to Shoseian. The
underside of the roof is exposed revealing the skillful joinery of posts and
timbers that is a hallmark of Japanese architecture.
Shoseian teahouse had its beginnings in the spring of 1981 with the
reconstruction of the original teahouse that was destroyed by fire in
1973. The first teahouse was built by the Shimizu Construction
Company of Tokyo and donated to Seattle by the citizens of Tokyo.
Tantansai, the 14th generation head of the Urasenke Konnichian Chado
tradition of Kyoto, Japan, named the original teahouse Wakeian, "Arbor
of Peace and Tranquility," in a special ceremony in 1959.
Following the fire, the teahouse site remained vacant for eight years
while Arboretum volunteers Mr. Kenneth Sorrells and Mr. James Fukuda
sought contributions for its reconstruction. Their efforts were rewarded
with an initial donation of $30,000 and a subsequent pledge of $100,000
of matching funds from Mr. Prentice Bloedel, a major contributor to the
Garden. A fortuitous meeting with Naya Sotan, younger brother of
Tantansai's successor, Soshitsu Sen XV, led to the Urasenke donation of
the balance of funds necessary for the project.
Grand Master Soshitsu Sen envisioned Shoseian as a dojo where all are
welcomed to practice the Way of Tea. To that end, he initiated a
university Chado course and dispatched Bonnie Soshin Mitchell from
Urasenke Headquarters to manage the teahouse and serve as the Chado
instructor and program coordinator.
Urasenke provided funding from 1981-2011 for the Chado course at the
University of Washington initially taught by art historian Glenn T. Webb
and Urasenke Foundation representative Bonnie Soshin Mitchell.
Japanese-born, self-taught carpenter Mr. Fred Sugita reconstructed the
teahouse and provided it with plumbing, electricity and storage to
function as a classroom for Chado studies. The teahouse was completed
in 1981 and named Shoseian, "Arbor of Murmuring Pines," in a special
ceremony officiated by Soshitsu Sen XV.
In 1982 Japanese garden specialist Mr. Richard Yamazaki reestablished
the surrounding roji garden by creating an outer and inner roji with a
covered shelter for guests waiting to enter the teahouse, stepping
stones, and a purification basin. Arboretum volunteers gathered moss
from the Cascade mountains to carpet the ground beneath the canopy
of mature Japanese maples that surrounds the mountain-like hermitage.
In 2005 Ms. Mitchell further refined the roji garden by restoring the moss,
removing unwanted ornamental plants, adding stepping stones and
a Kobe lantern to enhance the western side of the teahouse.
The daily care of the tearoom and garden are essential to reveal the
innate beauty of the natural materials of the architecture and
environment. It is by means of constant polishing that the teahouse and
surrounding garden acquire the valued patina that gives it warmth and
transcendent beauty.
In 2011 the Seattle Parks Department assumed responsibility for the
teahouse maintenance and management, ending the 30-year
public-private partnership with Urasenke Foundation.
History of the JAPANESE GARDEN
'Arbor of the Murmuring Pines'
Bonnie M. Mitchell
Shoseian teahouse is a six tatami-mat tearoom (one mat is 3'x6') with a
recessed alcove, a four-mat entrance, a two-mat elevated entrance, and
a small adjoining preparation area. The floors are covered with tatami
mats and the walls are plastered with clay to reveal the underlying
structure of cedar posts and beams. Opaque sliding fusuma doors
separate the interior spaces and sliding shoji screens of translucent paper
filter light into the tearoom from the garden.
The teahouse roof extends to cover the large patio creating a transitional
space between the tearoom and garden that is unique to Shoseian. The
underside of the roof is exposed revealing the skillful joinery of posts and
timbers that is a hallmark of Japanese architecture.
Shoseian teahouse had its beginnings in the spring of 1981 with the
reconstruction of the original teahouse that was destroyed by fire in
1973. The first teahouse was built by the Shimizu Construction
Company of Tokyo and donated to Seattle by the citizens of Tokyo.
Tantansai, the 14th generation head of the Urasenke Konnichian Chado
tradition of Kyoto, Japan, named the original teahouse Wakeian, "Arbor
of Peace and Tranquility," in a special ceremony in 1959.
Following the fire, the teahouse site remained vacant for eight years
while Arboretum volunteers Mr. Kenneth Sorrells and Mr. James Fukuda
sought contributions for its reconstruction. Their efforts were rewarded
with an initial donation of $30,000 and a subsequent pledge of $100,000
of matching funds from Mr. Prentice Bloedel, a major contributor to the
Garden. A fortuitous meeting with Naya Sotan, younger brother of
Tantansai's successor, Soshitsu Sen XV, led to the Urasenke donation of
the balance of funds necessary for the project.
Grand Master Soshitsu Sen envisioned Shoseian as a dojo where all are
welcomed to practice the Way of Tea. To that end, he initiated a
university Chado course and dispatched Bonnie Soshin Mitchell from
Urasenke Headquarters to manage the teahouse and serve as the Chado
instructor and program coordinator.
Urasenke provided funding from 1981-2011 for the Chado course at the
University of Washington initially taught by art historian Glenn T. Webb
and Urasenke Foundation representative Bonnie Soshin Mitchell.
Japanese-born, self-taught carpenter Mr. Fred Sugita reconstructed the
teahouse and provided it with plumbing, electricity and storage to
function as a classroom for Chado studies. The teahouse was completed
in 1981 and named Shoseian, "Arbor of Murmuring Pines," in a special
ceremony officiated by Soshitsu Sen XV.
In 1982 Japanese garden specialist Mr. Richard Yamazaki reestablished
the surrounding roji garden by creating an outer and inner roji with a
covered shelter for guests waiting to enter the teahouse, stepping
stones, and a purification basin. Arboretum volunteers gathered moss
from the Cascade mountains to carpet the ground beneath the canopy
of mature Japanese maples that surrounds the mountain-like hermitage.
In 2005 Ms. Mitchell further refined the roji garden by restoring the moss,
removing unwanted ornamental plants, adding stepping stones and
a Kobe lantern to enhance the western side of the teahouse.
The daily care of the tearoom and garden are essential to reveal the
innate beauty of the natural materials of the architecture and
environment. It is by means of constant polishing that the teahouse and
surrounding garden acquire the valued patina that gives it warmth and
transcendent beauty.
In 2011 the Seattle Parks Department assumed responsibility for the
teahouse maintenance and management, ending the 30-year
public-private partnership with Urasenke Foundation.
History of the JAPANESE GARDEN
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