Look Through the Heart Teahouse”

ShinKanAn Teahouse – The “Look Through the Heart Teahouse” 1. Introduction: History and Name • Our Teahouse in unique on the Central Coast. It is a traditional structure, using mostly Japanese joinery instead of nails, traditional tatami mats and hand-made paper sliding doors. Additionally, it is perhaps the only traditional Japanese Teahouse between the Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco peninsula, and the only one in California using California natives in an intentional Japanese style. • It was originally built in Kyoto during the postwar period: a wooden plaque on the wall near the entry doors commemorates the architect and the date: 1949. The Teahouse was a gift from the President of the Nippon Oil Company to a local resident, Mr. H. Royce Greatwood, as an expression of appreciation for his assistance after the war. It was shipped in wooden boxes, each piece numbered, and reassembled in Mr. Greatwood’s Hope Ranch lemon orchard in the early 1950’s. This teahouse is evidence of the tremendous efforts that were made to renew the ties of friendship between former wartime adversaries. • The rich cultural tradition of Cha-do, The Way of Tea, graces this teahouse. In 2000, it was given the name ShinKanAn , meaning “Look Through the Heart” by the 15th Grandmaster of the Urasenke Tea school, an unusual event. • The name was generously given in honor of Heartie Anne Look, a teacher of flower arrangement and Japanese culture for many years in the Santa Barbara community. This teahouse is being used and maintained in a manner authentic to the tradition of Cha-do. 2. The Teahouse at SBBG: Description of the Building • The teahouse was donated to the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden in 1998 by the J.H. Esbenshade family. It was disassembled at the lemon orchard, moved here, and carefully reconstructed (with supervision from the local planning department) in this location by an experienced Japanese architect. • In layout and style, the SBBG teahouse combines the rustic style of the humble hut, So-an, with the more spacious and elegant Sho-in style (larger rooms with a more polished look), both dating back to the 16tth century. • The tearoom itself is a simple 4 1/2 mat room with a tokonoma (alcove for displaying a scroll, flowers and precious items). The interior ceilings show the rank of the floor areas they cover: the highest being woven cedar over the guests' area, simple bamboo strips over the outer walkway, and the lowest, a very simple whole-bamboo ceiling over the host's area. Next to the tearoom is a 3-mat waiting room. • There is a small cold-water kitchen with adjoining passageway and a waiting arbor, which still needs to be renovated and restored near the back door. The tearoom seats the usual 5 guests on the tatami inside, but adding benches outside makes it possible for larger groups to view demonstrations. 2 • The original roof was a wood shingle, low-angle roof, which also still remains to be renovated. 3. Teahouse Garden Uniquely Landscaped in Native Plants • Gardens attached to teahouses are designed to fully integrate with the surrounding natural environment, becoming the visitors’ gate to a world of beauty and serenity. In keeping with the mission of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, this tea garden is created using only California natives. To quote Japanese garden expert Koichi Kawana, "No garden should be constructed in a foreign environment without being closely related to its surroundings.” So, the use of California natives for the tea garden provides the appropriate and harmonizing atmosphere for this Santa Barbara teahouse, giving us the opportunity to appreciate California natives through an Asian cultural lens. As far as we are aware, this teahouse garden is unique in using California native plants in a Japanese-style tea garden. • A traditional Japanese tea house garden is called a roji, quite different from other types of Japanese gardens in that "natural effects are employed in the garden, and the appearance of artificiality is avoided as much as possible so that the visitor feels the closeness to nature." 1 There is little evidence of pruning and shaping. The natural beauty of each plant is important. • Upon arrival at the upper gate of the tea garden, the teahouse is glimpsed through the draping branches of the Port Orford Cedar. Notice the Manzanita and how it embodies the Japanese aesthetic with its graceful branches. Evergreens like Coffeeberry, Madrone and ferns such as wood fern and giant chain fern grace the garden year-round and provide edges to the space along with the calming green of nature. Creeping manzanitas with large leaves, and low strawberry create patterns over the soil. Flashy blooms are avoided in this landscape in preference for white blooming plants, such as bush anemone, ‘Inverness White’ currant, strawberry, and ninebark. Of course, Iris, a treasured flower in Japanese tradition is featured in several places within the garden, especially Iris ‘Canyon Snow’, a white selection made by the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. • Stones are very important elements of Japanese teahouse landscapes and form the skeleton of the garden. Many of the stones in the tea garden have specific names and functions: Notice the crouching water basin; each stone surrounding it has a specific function in the tea ceremony. Notice the stones leading up to the teahouse, both in 1 Kasuhiko Fukada, Japanese Tea 3 front and in back: these were carefully selected and placed by a Japanese tea garden specialist. • The stone bridge was placed so that guests arriving for the tea ceremony, through the lower gate, would feel as if troubles could be left behind upon crossing the bridge and entering the world of the tea garden. 4. Life at the Teahouse • This teahouse is being used and maintained in a manner authentic to the tradition of Cha-do. As the teahouse was being restored, a Santa Barbara branch of the Chado Urasenke school of Tea was developed by Ms. Kyoko "Sokyo" Kasai, a certified professional instructor of the Way of Tea. Under her supervision, the tea students clean and care for the structure. There are weekly lessons over the lunch hour, lessons at the teacher's home, and frequent demonstrations here at the teahouse. • If you would like to see a demonstration of the tea ceremony, the Garden encourages visitors to sit and enjoy the teahouse when the students are practicing their lessons, most Tuesdays from 11:30 – 1:30 and then generally on the third Saturday of each month. The teahouse is always open for visitors from 11 AM to 2 PM on the third Saturday of each month. • The tea group welcomes new students and can accommodate those who have difficulty sitting on tatami mats. You can find out how to sign up by searching for "ShinkanAn", or "Tea in Santa Barbara", on the internet. The Garden’s entrance kiosk also has information for your use. • The tea garden is currently being developed in the authentic style by the Director of Horticulture. If you are interested in volunteering at the tea garden, please inquire about volunteer opportunities at the kiosk. 5. Opportunities to assist in maintaining the Tea House • As we have significant maintenance challenges in this natural environment, we offer special opportunities for you to contribute to preserving and improving this architectural and cultural treasure. Recently, all the tatami mats in the tea house have been restored to the traditional rice straw mats, the "Tatami Project". Donations may simply be left up at the kiosk marked: "for Shinkanan", or "for the Teahouse", or keep in touch for notifications of our demonstrations and other events where one contributes by paying for attendance at the event. If you’d like to be included in the annual appeal for the teahouse, please leave your name and address at the kiosk. • By becoming a member of the Garden, you will have the opportunity to learn about events at the teahouse in advance. .

Load more