8: The Wishing Stone

The path to the Tea Garden is flanked by lovely white birch trees. The Tea House is used to commemorate special occasions. The traditional tea ceremony is a spiritual occasion shared by host and guests. Sliding shoji doors cover the front of the teahouse, however, tea ceremony guests enter on the left side through the low nijiriguchi, or kneeling door, humbling themselves in the process.

The main room has a little alcove in the back. The scroll hanging in the alcove is changed with each of the four seasons. In the aclove is the flower vase called hana-ire, meaning "Container in which flowers are simply placed". The appropriate type of floral arrangement for tea ceremonies is called Ikebana.

In front of the tea house is the stone water basin or tsukubai which is used for traditional symbolic purification before the ceremony.