Jo-an, Tea ceremony house in Inuyama, Japan
Jo-an is a tea house from the early 17th century located in the Urakuen garden in Inuyama. The building shows classic elements of tea architecture with a wooden shingle roof, paper sliding doors, and a two-and-a-half tatami mat interior.
Oda Nagamasu constructed the tea house in 1618 at Kenninji Temple in Kyoto. Later, the building moved several times until it found its current location in the Urakuen garden in 1972.
The two-and-a-half tatami mat interior includes a specialized bamboo window called Uraku-mado, representing Japanese tea ceremony architectural principles.
Visitors enter the tea house through a small crawl entrance typical of Japanese tea ceremony spaces. The building sits in the Urakuen garden where the simple architecture blends well with the surrounding trees and paths.
In 1908, the tea house traveled along the Tokaido Road without being taken apart. This unusual method made it possible to preserve the original structure completely.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
