Carrying on the sukiya-master tradition, having built tea rooms for many tea schools.
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Source: sukiya-fujimori.jp
Headquartered in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, this firm carries on the legacy of the Showa-era sukiya master Meihosai Fujimori (1911–1996), with in-house designers and dedicated carpenters handling everything from design to construction.
It works as builder to the iemoto of the Enshu and Sohen schools of tea and has built many tea rooms for other schools as well. For the Enshu school headquarters it built the Seishu-an and other tea rooms, a large room and roji garden (1998–2001); for the Sohen school it carried out two phases of work from 1974 to 1987.
Public and heritage work includes the Kanpu-tei and Seichi-ken sukiya buildings in the Japanese garden of Showa Kinen Park and repairs to Shunso-ro, an Important Cultural Property at Sankeien. Abroad, it built an arbour for the Japanese government garden at IGA 2003 in Germany and assisted a Japanese garden at the 2008 RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Because cost depends heavily on size, design and materials, it discusses budget and wishes with each client. It recommends that clients choose materials themselves alongside the staff, accepts distant and overseas commissions, and returns for an inspection about a year after handover, with ongoing maintenance after that.
A tea room for an Urasenke teacher who wanted to practise several hearth layouts in an apartment. Unexpected concrete beams were handled with playful details while keeping the formal-to-informal hierarchy in mind.
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A tea room with garden path designed around the client's love of Korean Joseon-era objects. Ceramic kiln shelves from a pottery were reused as edging around both house and tea room for a unified look.
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A tea room for one of Tokyo's leading antique tea-utensil dealers, built by a veteran sukiya carpenter together with young craftsmen, with careful eave details and materials.
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A 1962 tea room repaired and extended in two phases from spring 2008: roof repairs and concealed air-conditioning, restoration of the gate, repainting, a new waiting room and a refreshed garden.
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Two mats of a six-mat room were turned into a preparation area; with the sliding doors closed the rooms work as a suite again. The door paper was chosen with the client at Karacho in Kyoto.
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When the Enshu school moved to Wakamiya-cho, the firm built Seishu-an and other tea rooms, a large room and garden, choosing materials and setting dimensions together with the grand master.
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The firm built the sukiya pavilions Kanpu-tei and Seichi-ken and a wooden bridge in the 6-hectare Japanese garden. Kanpu-tei (77.31 tsubo) took over two years, with full-size drawings and visits to where its materials were produced.
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Repair of Shunsō-ro (Kyūsō-tei), a Momoyama-period three-and-three-quarter-mat tea room attributed to Oda Urakusai, alongside other cultural properties in the garden such as Rinshunkaku and Gekkaden.
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A tea room renowned in the Sohen school, moved from the founder's former home. Leaks had reached the straw-core tatami, so the complex roof was fixed first, then the woodwork and fittings were cleaned and every wall replastered.
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Tea rooms inside a company training facility, supervised by Kobori Sojitsu, 13th grand master of the Enshu school. The client personally visited Yoshino and Kitayama to choose timber, and a fitting piece of pine was found for the biwa shelf.
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A training and staff facility for a Tokyo company, built on a narrow, deep sloping site around an existing garden attributed to Tanaka Taiami; the carpenters stayed in Kyoto for eight months. The third-floor lounge looks out on the Gozan bonfires.
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The main exhibit of the event: an Enshu-school small room, large room and garden, set up under the grand master's supervision.
View on official site ↗Photos: Fujimori Komuten official website
Q. What should I watch for when building a tea room? / A. Many things: the setting and circulation, placement of the tea room and preparation room, combinations of timbers, tatami layout—and some conventions are fixed by each school. Guidance from grand masters or teachers is sometimes sought.
Q. Can I see completed work? / A. The firm will show you wherever possible.
Post bases, sills and woodwork near water can rot or be eaten by termites within 2–3 years, so prevention—keeping rain off and air moving—is best.
Cypress-bark and shingle roofs need re-roofing after about 30 years; metal roofs should avoid contact between different metals. Taking down gutters before snow is also advised.
Mainly around Kanto, buildings the firm designed and built—public facilities, rental tea rooms, Japanese restaurants and galleries—can be visited, including the Japanese garden at Showa Kinen Park, Mejiro Garden in Toshima, Kyokeikan in Saitama, Kaiseki Ichimonji and Shogetsu.
Photos: Fujimori Komuten official website
| Company | Fujimori Komuten Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Address | 7F SG Nihonbashi-honcho, 4-5-13 Nihonbashi-honcho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo |
| Founded | June 1946 |
| Representative | Yuji Uemuki, President |
| Business | Design and construction of sukiya and tea rooms; conservation and restoration of historic buildings; general construction and interior/exterior work |
| Licenses | Construction license, Tokyo Governor (Special-30) No. 124323; first-class architect office, Tokyo No. 58643 |
| Phone | +81-3-3272-2733 |
| Fax | +81-3-3272-2734 |
| Specialty | Builder to the Enshu-ryu and Sohen-ryu iemoto; lineage of the Showa-era sukiya master Meihosai Fujimori |
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