Chinesischer Turm e.V.The other East Asia in the park
The Japanese teahouse
Two East Asian buildings stand in the English Garden, and they could hardly be more different. The Chinese Tower is European fantasy of 1790. The teahouse is Japanese building practice of 1972.
English Garden
Occasion and origin
The Japanese teahouse was built in 1972 on the occasion of the Olympic Summer Games in Munich. It stands at the southern edge of the English Garden on an island in the Schwabinger Bach, within sight of the Haus der Kunst.
Unlike the tower it is not a European interpretation but built to Japanese rules: small format, wood, paper, tatami, a front garden that stages the transition from the city to the tea room. The path there, the cleansing of hands, the stooping at the entrance are part of the architecture.
The tea ceremony
In the warmer season public tea ceremonies take place in the teahouse. They last considerably longer than visitors expect, and they are not a lecture but a procedure one attends. Dates and registration run through the society that conducts them, not through the park and not through the Chinesischer Turm e.V.
- Built
- 1972
- Occasion
- Olympic Summer Games in Munich
- Location
- island in the Schwabinger Bach, southern part of the English Garden, near the Haus der Kunst
- Access
- grounds freely accessible; ceremonies only on announced dates
- Distance from the Chinese Tower
- about 20 to 25 minutes on foot to the south
Teahouse and tower: the difference
Both buildings refer to East Asia, but from opposite directions.
| Chinese Tower | Japanese teahouse | |
|---|---|---|
| Built | 1789 to 1790 | 1972 |
| Origin of the form | European chinoiserie after the model of Kew | Japanese building tradition |
| Intention | foreignness as a mood in the landscape garden | a place for a concrete practice |
| Use | music gallery above a beer garden | tea ceremony |
| Scale | 25 metres, five storeys | small, at ground level |
Seeing both in one day teaches the difference between a building meant to create a picture and one meant to enable an act. Both are legitimate, and both belong in this park.
On the way there
From the tower head south past the Monopteros to the Eisbach wave and on to the Haus der Kunst. The teahouse lies at the eastern end of this stretch. The full route is in the walk.
What happens at a tea ceremony
The Japanese tea ceremony, chanoyu, is not drinks service with commentary but a fixed procedure whose meaning lies in its precision. Attending for the first time, know three things:
The path belongs to it. The front garden, the stepping-stone path and the basin for cleansing the hands are not decoration but the first part of the procedure. They separate everyday life from the room.
The entrance is low. You enter the tea room stooping. Whatever rank someone holds outside stays outside.
It takes time. A ceremony is not over in ten minutes. Those who bring no time disturb.
Dates and registration run through the conducting society. The Chinesischer Turm e.V. is not involved and cannot arrange places.
The garden around the house
The Japanese garden works with the same means as the English landscape garden and arrives at a different result: it too avoids the axis, it too leads the eye by detours. But it miniaturises instead of widening. Where the English garden brings the landscape in, the Japanese garden rebuilds it to scale. Seeing both conceptions twenty minutes' walk apart is the real reward of this park.
Frequently asked questions
When was the Japanese teahouse in Munich built?
In 1972, on the occasion of the Olympic Summer Games in Munich.
Where does the Japanese teahouse stand?
On an island in the Schwabinger Bach in the southern part of the English Garden, near the Haus der Kunst.
Can you visit the Japanese teahouse?
The grounds are freely accessible. The interior is used during announced tea ceremonies, for which registration is required.
What is the difference between the teahouse and the Chinese Tower?
The tower of 1790 is European chinoiserie, a European interpretation of East Asian forms. The teahouse of 1972 follows Japanese building tradition and serves a concrete practice.