Nanaha OKINAWA RYUBO
Okinawa, Japan / 2017

“Iterated Tea Room”

  Nanaha Co., Ltd. is a company that sends the “new form of Japan” to the world through “mattcha”. They provide high quality mattcha in menus that are arranged modernly, such as mattacha latte. The space inside the shop is desired to be a “modern tearoom”, not a “Japanese style tea room”. According to the owner, it is a way of expressing their feeling to make a shop that allows the customers to enjoy the traditional Japanese culture with a modern interpretation.

The iterated tea room is to “make all furnishings like lanterns and hand bowls the same as the original”, with the original version called “Honka” (original poem where the copy is from). However, this is not only repeating the architecture with the same form, but to inherit the spirit of tea from the tea masters with materials suitable for the nature and the culture of the location, which is an application of the designer’s originality and ingenuity.

  For this reason, the design of the NANAHA OKINAWA RYUBO introduced the idea of creating an iteration of the “Honka”, NANAHA ODAKYU SHINJUKU.

  In details, the design also consists of “the room of stones” and “the room of Tatami”, with the Okinawa traditional materials: Ryukyu Limestone for the spandrel walls instead of Oya Stone; Ryukyu Tatami for flooring; Okinawa Mincer Fabric for the partition curtains; and so on. These materials unwind the nature and cultural traditions of Okinawa, while articulating the spirit of Nanaha as tea master with the iterated tea room.

Designed by Masahiro Yoshida, Yoshie Ishii and Daiki Sakai
Photos by Keisuke Miyamoto

< PRESS >
Shoten Kenchiku Nov. 2018 Issue

< AWARDS >
2018 – SDA Design Award 2018 OKINAWA REGIONAL PRIZE
2018 – DSA Design Award 2018 WINNER
2018 – JCD Design Award 2018 Best 100