2014 Japanese Teahouse Tour (Japanese Garden's Ceremonial Teahouse & Learn the Traditions Behind its use)NEW

Take a peek inside the Japanese Garden's ceremonial teahouse and learn the traditions behind its use. Informal tours are offered at hourly intervals on the second Monday of every month during public hours. No reservations required. General admission.

Date
Monday, 12:30 – 4:00 p.m.

Background
The ceremonial teahouse, calledSeifu-an (the Arbor of Pure Breeze), was built in Kyoto in the 1960s and donated to The Huntington by the Pasadena Buddhist Temple. In 2010, the teahouse made a return trip to Japan for restoration, overseen by Kyoto-based architect Yoshiaki Nakamura (whose father built the original structure). It was then shipped back to San Marino and painstakingly reassembled.

The teahouse location within a traditionally landscaped tea garden atop a picturesque ridge provides a stunning setting for demonstrations of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. (Unlike the tea shop in the Chinese Garden or the Rose Garden Tea Room, it does not serve refreshments.)