The Golden Tea House (tea-ceremony room)

The Japanese tea ceremony is a traditional ritual of serving and drinking powdered green tea called matcha. The ceremony usually takes place in a special room called a ‘tearoom’, which is simple yet elegant. The room often has a calligraphy scroll and seasonal flowers as decoration.

The Golden Tea House (tea-ceremony room) was a gold-leaf-covered tea house built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (the most prominent samurai of ancient Japan) in 1585 during the Azuchi-Momoyama period. This luxury tearoom adorned in Gold was displayed to the emperor, court nobles, feudal lords, missionaries, and foreign envoys on important political and diplomatic occasions. 

This Golden Tea House was easily transportable and assembled, measuring three tatami mats (approximately 180 centimeters by 270 centimeters), but regrettably it is said to have been lost by fire when Osaka Castle fell in 1615.

Recently, several art museums and history museums in Japan have rebuilt golden tea houses and are exhibiting them permanently.

By the way, the 2026 NHK historical Taiga drama is titled "The Toyotomi Brothers," and it dynamically depicts the Sengoku period (ca.1467～1600）from the perspective of Toyotomi Hidenaga, the younger brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the warlord who built Nagahama Castle (in Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture) when he was young. 

In fact, several tourism events related to this drama are being held throughout Nagahama City. One example is the display of a rebuilt golden tearoom shown in above photos. It is now open (from February 1 to September 23, 2026) at the Daitsuji-Temple in Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. 

↓The main gate of the Daitsuji-Temple. The signboard indicates the exhibition room for the NHK Taiga drama ‘Toyotomi brothers’ and the direction of its entrance.

↓The Golden Tea House is displayed inside the small temple building right side of the main hall of Daitsuji-Temple.

↓Colorful folding fan-shaped displays featuring the Toyotomi family's crest and the logo mark of this Exposition lined in the grounds of Daitsuji-Temple.  We can see these displays during the exhibition period. 

Photos were taken on May 19th and 20th, 2026.