This tearoom expresses both a spatial and a temporal extension/duration. A tree grows into maturity, and its roots and trunk (symbolizing a length of time and space) fall, flatten, and create a table. The roots’ shape allows a tea ceremony to be conducted on top of it. In the standard ryûrei-style tea, it is difficult to achieve a feeling of oneness between the host and the guest, but in creating this tearoom, I decided that rather than aiming for a sophisticated representation of wabi (an aesthetic notion valuing austerity and simplicity), I would return to the primitive and primeval, emphasizing simple materials, and design a “tea hut” consisting of a single table.
- Ikko Tanaka
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