The Japanese Teahouse

Japanese culture and architecture have always fascinated the Western world. One particular, architecturally complex building type at the intersection of multiple currents of Japanese philosophy, art and esthetics is the Japanese teahouse. It is a very private place of meditation, a place where only those may enter who have been invited, in which the host communicates with his or her guests through the medium of tea in the context of the strictly regimented ceremony. This volume expands the reader's knowledge of the built space that makes this tea ceremony possible. The author explores the philosophical background as well as the stylistic and spatial principles.