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Yasuimoku Komuten

Est. 1688（元禄元年と伝わる）

A Kyoto builder whose published record includes moving Joan and conserving Taian, both National Treasure tea rooms.

Tap 'Visit official site' to go to this company's own website. Please send inquiries and quote requests directly through their channels.

Source: yasuimoku.co.jp

Yasuimoku Koumuten is a builder of about 70 staff in Mukō, Kyoto, the site of the ancient Nagaoka capital. It dates its founding to 1688, when it is said to have built the worship hall of its tutelary Mukō Shrine; as shrine carpenters known among Kyoto builders as the "Nishi-no-oka-shū," the family served the imperial court and western Kyoto temples and shrines such as Mukō Shrine, Matsuo Taisha and Yoshimine-dera. The "moku" in the name comes from names used by generations of master carpenters.

Its project list is full of famous tea rooms: moving the National Treasure Joan and the former Shōden-in shoin to Inuyama (1971), conservation of the National Treasure Taian (1977) and the Important Cultural Property Yodomi-no-seki (1976), renovation of Kankyū-an (1975), conservation of Shūsui-tei in Kyoto Gyoen (1984), and conservation of the Yabunouchi family's En-an (2023–2024), along with long-running work at the Katsura and Shugakuin imperial villas for the Imperial Household Agency.

Abroad it has built a Kyoto townhouse for the Boston Children's Museum, a tea room for the Japanese American cultural center in San Francisco, and the Japanese gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Because houses are planned to each client's budget, it gives no per-area price; for a 50–60 tsubo house, design typically takes three to six months and construction about ten months. A firm for anyone who wants a serious tea room or sukiya built with skills honed on cultural properties.

SukiyaTea roomHeritage conservationOverseas work

ProjectsCase studies

1970年　·　Yawata, Kyoto

Shōkadō Museum and tea rooms

New construction of a two-storey RC museum and single-storey timber tea rooms, designed by Isshiki Architects and Nakamura Masao.

View on official site ↗
1972年　·　Inuyama, Aichi

Gen-an tea room, Uraku-en

A new single-storey sukiya tea room inside Uraku-en, Inuyama, designed by the Jo-an preservation committee.

View on official site ↗
1981年　·　Atami, Shizuoka

Golden Tea Room, MOA Museum of Art

Reconstruction of the golden tea room (a further replica in 1982), designed by Hayakawa Masao Architects.

View on official site ↗
1986〜1991年　·　Kyoto

Katsura Imperial Villa tea pavilions

Conservation of Onrin-dō, the waiting benches, Miyuki-mon gate, Gepparō, Shōkintei, Shōkatei and Shōiken in twelve phases, designed by the Imperial Household Agency Kyoto office.

View on official site ↗
1990年　·　Izumo, Shimane

Dokuraku-an, Izumo Cultural Heritage Museum

Reconstruction of a single-storey sukiya building, designed by the Kyoto Traditional Architecture Technology Association.

View on official site ↗
1990年　·　Yōkaichi, Shiga

Han-an tea room, Shōfukurō

A new single-storey tea room for the restaurant Shōfukurō, designed by Nakamura Masao.

View on official site ↗
1993年　·　Uji, Kyoto

Taihō-an, Uji City tea house

A new single-storey public tea house for Uji City, designed by the Kyoto Traditional Architecture Technology Association.

View on official site ↗
1998年　·　Numazu, Shizuoka

Tea house, Numazu Imperial Villa Memorial Park

A new single-storey tea house, designed by the Kyoto Traditional Architecture Technology Association.

View on official site ↗
2015年　·　Stockholm, Sweden

Zui-ki-tei, Stockholm

Conservation of the timber sukiya building in Stockholm, designed by the Kyoto Traditional Architecture Technology Association.

View on official site ↗
2023年　·　Hiroshima Prefecture

Tea house in Fukuyama

A new single-storey sukiya tea house designed by the company.

View on official site ↗
Masuda Tokubee brewery: main house and sake storehouse
2009年・2019年　·　Fushimi, Kyoto

Masuda Tokubee brewery: main house and sake storehouse

Buildings over 150 years old, designated by Kyoto City. In the main house the exterior was kept while beams were exposed, joists reinforced, stairs reoriented, and floor heating and wooden sashes added. In the storehouse, damaged joists and beams were replaced, roof clay removed to lighten it, plaster walls redone and buttress walls added.

View on official site ↗
Honpō-ji: conservation of prefectural cultural properties
2006〜2015年　·　Kamigyō, Kyoto

Honpō-ji: conservation of prefectural cultural properties

At the Nichiren head temple Honpō-ji, the company restored the Tahōtō pagoda, bell tower and sutra hall (2006–07), Niōmon gate (2011), shoin (2013–14) and Karamon gate (2015) under Kyoto Prefecture supervision.

View on official site ↗

Photos: Yasuimoku Komuten official website

Traditional techniquesTraditional techniques

Carpenters number the members and draw a kanban-ita layout board, and transfer measurements from a kenzao storey pole; one master marks all timbers for a building. In the past houses were built from these two alone, and people could recognize a Yasuimoku house by its look.

Hikaritsuke, scribing timber to fit the curves of logs, bamboo or stone, is another key skill. The company keeps its skills alive by continually working on conservation of cultural properties.

The breathing houseThe breathing house

Houses of wood, earth and paper regulate humidity, and deep eaves and verandas soften summer sun. They are less airtight than Western houses but let you feel the seasons, and their timber frames are easy to repair later.

Fittings are adjusted over one to two years as the wood settles, so the house mellows with age.

Why it costs moreWhy it costs more

The company cites hand-selected natural timber from suppliers around Japan, directly employed carpenters who need 10–15 years of training, and an emphasis on careful work.

Building ritesBuilding rites

The company holds a chōna-hajime adze ceremony every 5 January for safety, and performs ground-breaking and ridge-raising ceremonies in Shinto or Buddhist style to suit the client.

GalleryGallery

Carpenter's tools (chōna adze)
Carpenter's tools (chōna adze)
Carpenter's tools (ink line and square)
Carpenter's tools (ink line and square)

Photos: Yasuimoku Komuten official website

ServicesWhat they do

  • New tea rooms and sukiya
  • Conservation, relocation and restoration of cultural properties (temples, sukiya, palaces)
  • Temple and shrine building
  • Japanese-style houses
  • RC and steel-frame buildings
  • Japanese architecture overseas

Selected worksWorks

  • Relocation of the National Treasure Joan and the former Shōden-in shoin, Inuyama (1971)
  • Renovation of Kankyū-an, Kyoto (1975)
  • Conservation of Yodomi-no-seki, Saiō-in, Kyoto (1976)
  • Conservation of the National Treasure Taian, Myōki-an, Ōyamazaki (1977)
  • Conservation of Nanmei-an, Gyokurin-in, Kyoto (1979)
  • Conservation of Shūsui-tei, Kyoto Gyoen (1984)
  • Tea room, Japanese American cultural center, San Francisco (1984)
  • Conservation of En-an, Yabunouchi, Kyoto (2023–2024)

How it worksProcess

  1. Inquiry
  2. Preliminary survey
  3. Design agreement and design (about 3–6 months)
  4. Construction contract and permit application
  5. Construction (about 10 months, excluding garden and exterior)

Company profileProfile

CompanyYasuimoku Koumuten Co., Ltd.
Address2-4 Umatate, Kamiueno-chō, Mukō, Kyoto 617-0006 (Tokyo office: Yushima, Bunkyō)
Founded1688
Representative安井洋 (Yasui), President
BusinessDesign and construction of buildings, civil and services works, from temples and sukiya to RC and steel structures
LicensesKyoto Governor construction license No. 38261; first-class architect office (06A) No. 00137; ISO 9001
Phone+81-75-933-0012 (Tokyo +81-3-3815-5185)
Sources (checked 2026年10月)

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