Architect Masao Nakamura designed this tea pavilion, a recreation of the tearoom designed by Sen no Rikyu in his final days in his Juraku Residence in Kyoto at the end of 16th century. While no documents showing the original tearoom remain today, it is inferred that the Sen family’s third tea master, Sotan, created a one-and-a-half tatami mat teahouse that resembles Rikyu’s original tearoom. Although Sotan’s tearoom was destroyed during the days of the family’s fourth master, Koshin, who became the founder of the Omotesenke school, Nakamura created Ichiraitei by referring to the specifications of Sotan’s tearoom as recorded by Koshin.

The Shuroken is a tea ceremony room that replicates the Omotesenke school teahouses Zangetsutei, Fushinan and their garden, which were destroyed in the Great Fire of Tenmei in 1788. Famous teahouse specialist Masao Nakamura designed it based on ancient design plans. After the Great Fire the style of Omotesenke buildings and gardens changed, but Fushikisai Horinouchi had recorded the details of Zangetsutei, Fushinan and the garden before the fire. Other documentation about their overall layouts and tea ceremony rooms remain with us today. Nakamura used this surviving information to create Shuroken. Renowned tea gardener Kinsaku Nakane offered his guidance to faithfully recreate the roji, or tea garden, around the building. Visitors can enjoy tea with sweets in the tearoom.

Hours open: 10:00-16:00

Restaurants & Cafés

Above Somon, or the main gate, a ship-shaped building beautifully clad in traditional kokerabuki wooden shingles appears to float over the stony landscape. Upon entering the building, the visitor sees a vast ocean with gentle waves. In the pitch-black darkness, one can experience the undulating water through the slight light of all five senses. Artist Kohei Nawa created this interpretation of the path that approaches the core of the spirit of Zen through contemporary artistic expression. The building was designed by Kohei Nawa and the architecture team SANDWICH. This is a space in which visitors can deeply feel and understand the spirit of Zen throughout their bodies and minds.

Café

Visitors can order beverages and original baked sweets by famed French patisserie Pierre Hermé at the café counter in front of the entryway to Kohtei art pavilion, and enjoy them on benches amidst the pavilion landscape.

The Kuri, or communal hall and kitchen in the priests’ living quarters, is one of the shichido garan, or the seven essential halls composing the ideal Buddhist temple compound for monks to practice Buddhism. In Zen, all daily-life activities, including having meals and cleaning the space, must be regarded as an opportunity to practice Buddhism. At Gokando, visitors can experience it by eating meals in the same way as monks do in Rinzai-sect Zen monasteries. Udon noodles in hot water, a treat for monks, are served in jihatsu, a set of five bowls, with the long, thick unsui chopsticks used by monks.

Hours open: 11:00-14:30

Restaurants & Cafés

The bathhouse is one of the seven regular buildings (temple gate, lecture hall, Buddha hall, meditation hall, living quarters, lavatory, bath) of a traditional Zen Buddhist temple, and the place where Battabara Bosatsu (Bhadrapala Bodhisattva) is worshipped. In Zen, the study and practice of Buddhism underlies every daily routine. Washing off the dirt both physically and spiritually plays an important role in the daily practice.

• Hours open: 10:00-16:00
• Fee: Adults 800 yen
• High school and university students 600 yen
• Elementary and junior high school students 400 yen

• ※The fee includes a towel.
• ※Free for children 6 years old and younger.

This building was moved to its present location from Eigenji temple, the headquarters of the Rinzai sect's Eigenji school in Shiga Prefecture. In 1377, when Ikkeijun was the temple’s head, Gankuin, or Hall of Emptiness, was originally built as Koshinan, a memorial for the first head priest Shoto Kokushi (Zen master Jakushitsu Genko). In 1563, the original building was burned down by soldiers and in 1647 the 81st abbot and Zen master Nyosetsu Mongan reconstructed it as the living quarters for the abbot and a study place for the monks. After its relocation to Shinshoji’s campus, it has been used as a café, where visitors can enjoy tea, sweets and yudofu (hot tofu).

Restaurants & Cafés

The Shodo, which literally means “Pine Hall,” stands behind the main gate and is the temple’s office building, as well as the visitor information center. The building was designed by renowned architect and architectural historian Terunobu Fujimori, who often uses natural materials and plants in his designs to create buildings that seem to grow from the earth. Pine is a symbolic tree in the Sanyodo and Setouchi regions, and the most closely associated with Zen. With the tree as the theme of his design, Fujimori created a building that is integrated with the natural surroundings. He planted a pine tree on top of the slanted roof, which is thatched with hand-bent copper plates and resembles a rocky mountain, and installed pine-tree logs with shaved surfaces as corridor pillars.