Sakai Tea Room Obaian

A teahouse from the middle of the 17th century, originally located in Imaicho, Kashihara, and moved to its current location during the Showa period. It is a nationally registered tangible cultural property. The external appearance is richly varied, with overlapping copper roofing, while the interior includes an eight tatami mat living room, a small room, and a washing place.

Inside Daisen Park, and next to the Sakai City Museum, there are two Sakai Tea Rooms, one called Obaian and one called Shinan, which are national registered tangible cultural properties and which are connected by a tea garden. This garden can be viewed for free, and contains the Kyujyodoji nine layered stone pillar which is a national important cultural asset.
This tea room from the middle of the Edo period was originally located in a house belonging to the Toyoda family, in Imaicho, Kashihara, Nara. It eventually came into the possession of the now deceased Yasuzaemon Matsugana (also known as Jian), one who worked so hard to bring electricity to Japan and was known across the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa periods as one of the “four kings” of Tea Ceremony. He gifted the teahouse to Sakai in 1980, which resulted in it being moved to the city. Jian chose the name, meaning “yellow plum” in Japanese, due it is being completed around the time the plums were ripening.
The external appearance is richly varied, with overlapping copper roofing, while the interior includes an eight tatami mat living room, a small room, and a washing place. It is an example of the light sukiya-zukuri style of teahouse construction, with a floor space in front of the living room and an open-beamed ceiling. The small room is three tatami mats in size, with an entry floor and altered hearth position.
When it was part of the Toyoda house, it is said that it was the tea room of Sokyu Imai, but architecturally speaking it is difficult to trace the building back that far, and the actual age in which it was first built remains unclear. However, being a tea room said to have connections to the Sakai tea masters Sokyu & Sokun Imai, and having been a favorite spot of Jian who also had it transferred to the city, greatly increases the historical value of this building.