Tamesaburo Memorial Museum

The Tamesaburo Memorial Museum, a branch of the Furukawa Art Museum, is the former residence of Furukawa Tamesaburo, a prominent Nagoya businessman. The museum features sukiya-style architecture, traditional Japanese spatial design, and a stunning garden that beautifully displays the changing seasons. Visitors can explore four distinct tea rooms within the main house, Ishun-tei, and a detached tea room, Chisoku-an, each offering a unique experience of tea room styles. The entire property, including the main gate and east gate, is a registered tangible cultural property. The museum actively promotes the preservation and introduction of Japanese culture by organizing tea ceremonies, incense ceremonies, and other cultural activities.

Planning your visit

The Tamesaburo Memorial Museum is the former residence of a Nagoya businessman, built in sukiya-zukuri — the refined domestic architecture derived from tea-house design, characterised by understatement, natural materials left unpainted, and rooms proportioned to the tatami mat.

The house holds four tea rooms in the main building, Ishun-tei, and a detached tea room, Chisoku-an, each in a different style, which makes it an unusually complete demonstration of how tea architecture varies. The whole property including the gates is a registered tangible cultural property.

The garden is designed for seasonal change, and the building is oriented to frame it — the rooms are essentially arranged around views out.

The museum runs tea ceremonies and incense ceremonies rather than only displaying the equipment, and participating is how the architecture makes sense: these rooms exist for a specific choreography.

It is a branch of the Furukawa Art Museum. Allow ninety minutes with a ceremony. Bookable options include tea ceremony experiences. Current availability is shown below.