1.
tea room, tea ceremony room
A specially designed room or small building where the Japanese tea ceremony (chado/sado) is conducted. Characterized by minimalist design, natural materials, a small entrance (nijiriguchi), and a tokonoma alcove. The architecture embodies the aesthetic principles of wabi-sabi.
茶室でお茶をいただいた。
I had tea in the tea room.
庭園の奥にひっそりと茶室が建っている。
A tea room stands quietly in the back of the garden.
千利休が設計したとされる茶室は、わずか二畳の狭い空間に侘びの美が凝縮されている。
The tea room said to have been designed by Sen no Rikyu condenses the beauty of wabi into a tiny two-tatami-mat space.
USAGE:
Refers specifically to rooms designed for the tea ceremony, not ordinary rooms where tea is drunk. A 茶室 follows specific architectural principles: a small entrance called 躙り口 (crawl-through entrance) that requires guests to bow, a 床の間 (alcove) for displaying a scroll and flowers, and simple materials that evoke rustic simplicity.
NOTE:
The most famous 茶室 is 待庵, attributed to 千利休, which is a National Treasure.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 茶室を建てる: to build a tea room
- 茶室で茶を点てる: to prepare tea in a tea room
- 茶室の設計: tea room design