Chinesischer Turm e.V.The other East Asia in the park
The Japanese Tea House
Two East Asian buildings stand in the English Garden, and they could hardly be less alike. The Chinese Tower is a European fantasy of 1790. The tea house is Japanese craftsmanship of 1972.
English Garden
Occasion and origin
The Japanese Tea House, which bears the name Kanshoan, came to Munich in 1972 for the Olympic Summer Games, a gift from Soshitsu Sen, grand master of the Urasenke school of tea in Kyoto. It stands at the southern end of the English Garden, just behind the Haus der Kunst, on a small island in the Schwabinger Bach, where the stream widens into a pond.
Unlike the tower, it is no European interpretation. The house was made in Japan, taken apart and put up again here by Japanese craftsmen: small in scale, wood, paper, tatami. A front garden stages the passage from the city to the tea room. In the Way of Tea, the path, the washing of hands and the act of entering are themselves part of the architecture.
The tea ceremony
On certain weekends between spring and autumn the Munich Urasenke society holds public tea ceremonies in the tea house. One lasts about an hour, longer than most people expect, and it is not a lecture but a procedure you attend. The dates are published by the society itself, not by the park and not by us.
- Built
- 1972
- Occasion
- Olympic Summer Games in Munich; donated by the Urasenke school of tea in Kyoto
- Location
- island in the Schwabinger Bach, southern part of the English Garden, just behind the Haus der Kunst
- Access
- visible from outside at any time; inside only during the announced ceremonies
- Distance from the Chinese Tower
- about 20 to 25 minutes on foot to the south
Tea house and tower: the difference
Both buildings refer to East Asia, but from opposite directions.
| Chinese Tower | Japanese Tea House | |
|---|---|---|
| Built | 1789 to 1790 | 1972 |
| Origin of the form | European chinoiserie on the model of Kew | Japanese building tradition |
| Intention | foreignness as a mood in the landscape garden | a place for a particular practice |
| Use | music gallery above a beer garden | tea ceremony |
| Scale | 25 metres, five storeys | small, at ground level |
See both in one day and you understand the difference between a building meant to create a picture and one meant to make an act possible. Neither is more genuine than the other. Both belong in this park.
On the way there
From the tower, head south past the Monopteros to just short of the Haus der Kunst. There the tea house sits on its island, and the Eisbach wave is not far off. The full route is in the walk.
What happens at a tea ceremony
The Japanese tea ceremony, chanoyu, is not a drinks service with commentary but a fixed procedure whose meaning lies in its precision. If you are attending for the first time, you should know three things:
The path is part of it. The front garden, the stepping stones and the water basin for the hands are not decoration but the first part of the procedure. They separate everyday life from the room.
Outside stays outside. In the tradition of the Way of Tea you enter the tea room through a low doorway, stooping. Whatever rank someone holds in daily life stays at the door.
It takes time. A ceremony is not over after ten minutes; an hour is more like it. Whoever brings no time with them disturbs.
Dates and admission are handled by the Urasenke society. According to the information available so far, individual visitors need not register, while groups of ten or more should register beforehand. The Chinesischer Turm e.V. is not involved and cannot arrange places.
The garden around the house
The Japanese garden works with means similar to those of the English landscape garden and arrives at a different result. It too avoids the axis, it too leads the eye by detours. But it condenses where the English garden widens: the English garden draws the landscape in, the Japanese garden rebuilds it on a small scale. Here the two conceptions lie twenty minutes' walk apart, and you can compare them in an afternoon without paying a cent. Come between spring and autumn, when the ceremonies take place.
Frequently asked questions
When was the Japanese Tea House in Munich built?
In 1972, for the Olympic Summer Games in Munich. It was donated by Soshitsu Sen, grand master of the Urasenke school of tea in Kyoto.
Where is the Japanese Tea House?
On a small island in the Schwabinger Bach at the southern end of the English Garden, just behind the Haus der Kunst.
Can you visit the Japanese Tea House?
You can see it from outside at any time. You get inside at the public tea ceremonies that the Urasenke society holds on certain weekends between spring and autumn. According to the information available so far, individual visitors need not register, but groups of ten or more do.
What is the difference between the tea house and the Chinese Tower?
The tower of 1790 is European chinoiserie, a European interpretation of East Asian forms. The tea house of 1972 follows Japanese building tradition and serves a particular practice, the tea ceremony.