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Our Architectural Works #2

CHASHITSU in Gallery

In the basement of Ippodo Gallery Ginza, a tea room named Gu-an — where fittings revived from a century ago, and contemporary art, share one quiet, transforming space.

Wide view of a raised tatami chashitsu alongside a gallery of bamboo and ceramic art in Ginza, Tokyo.

Beneath an art gallery in Ginza, Tokyo, a tea room called Gu-an offers a place to set the city aside.
Built by Tsubaki & Associates, it is an essential, unadorned tea room composed around precious fittings revived after a hundred years.
By sliding the fittings open and closed, the same room changes character — an intimate tea space, a gallery for contemporary bamboo and ceramic art, a small stage.
A raised tatami floor, a slatted canopy ceiling and hanging scrolls frame the room, while a quiet waiting area receives each guest before the encounter begins.

Raised tatami tea room (chashitsu) under a slatted canopy ceiling with hanging scrolls, beneath a Ginza gallery — refined Japanese architecture.

A tea room beneath a gallery

A slatted canopy ceiling drops low over a raised tatami floor, creating a stillness that belies the basement.
Hanging scrolls on either side draw a single thread of tension through the spare room.

A chashitsu opening onto a gallery of contemporary bamboo and ceramic art in Ginza, Tokyo.

Tea room and contemporary art

With the fittings open, the tea room flows into the gallery.
Bamboo sculpture and ceramics stand in the same air, tradition and the contemporary resonating quietly.

Raised tatami platform with removable cedar floorboards revealing hidden storage, a detail of convertible Japanese architecture.

The mechanism beneath the floor

Beneath the raised tatami floor, removable boards and tools are stored out of sight.
As the fittings and floor reconfigure, the tea room becomes a gallery, or a stage.

Waiting area with armchairs, reed blinds and tea utensils on an antique chest beside a tea room, a calm Japanese interior in a Ginza gallery.

The waiting area before tea

A waiting area framed by reed blinds and aged furniture.
A kettle and tea bowls rest quietly, settling the mind before entering — a pause that lets you forget you are below ground.

  • Raised tatami tea room (chashitsu) under a slatted canopy ceiling with hanging scrolls, beneath a Ginza gallery — refined Japanese architecture.
  • Gallery corner with woven bamboo artworks on pedestals beside a shoji wall, a Japanese interior in Ginza.
  • View from the gallery into a raised tatami tea room (chashitsu), with artworks on the surrounding walls.
  • Raised tatami platform with removable cedar floorboards revealing hidden storage, a detail of convertible Japanese architecture.
  • Tatami tea room with hanging scrolls and a bamboo artwork between cedar posts, a warm Japanese interior.
  • Wide view of a tatami tea room with a hanging scroll and a slatted ceiling beneath a Ginza gallery, refined Japanese interior.
  • Tatami tea room with hanging scrolls and a bamboo sculpture, lit for evening in a Ginza gallery.
  • Wide tatami chashitsu with a shoji wall and a small lounge beyond, hanging scrolls and cedar posts.
  • Tatami room with a framed ink work on an antique chest and hanging scrolls, a quiet Japanese interior.
  • Tatami tea room with two hanging scrolls and a standing bamboo artwork, softly lit in a Ginza gallery.
  • Wide view of a raised tatami chashitsu alongside a gallery of bamboo and ceramic art in Ginza, Tokyo.
  • Raised tatami tea room beside a gallery wall holding a crescent-shaped bamboo sculpture, contemporary Japanese architecture.
  • Symmetrical frontal view into a chashitsu through its shoji opening, a black-and-white scroll centred at the rear.
  • A chashitsu opening onto a gallery of contemporary bamboo and ceramic art in Ginza, Tokyo.
  • Angled view of a tea room and gallery with bamboo and ceramic art on pedestals and wooden display cabinets.
  • Tea room corner with a black-and-white photographic scroll and a bamboo crescent artwork seen through glass shoji.
  • Tea room with shoji partly open beside a gallery wall holding a bamboo crescent sculpture.
  • Waiting area framed by reed blinds with armchairs and a round table beside a shoji-lit tea room.
  • Waiting area with armchairs, reed blinds and tea utensils on an antique chest beside a tea room, a calm Japanese interior in a Ginza gallery.
  • Waiting area with a round table and armchairs looking into a tatami tea room with a hanging scroll.

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