Special Experience
Kyoto
Ikebana and Tea Ceremony for the Four Seasons - At a Traditional Machiya Residence in Kyoto
Overview
Lovingly preserved by a kimono wholesaler for over 130 years, Gensoan is a historic kyo-machiya residence in Kyoto’s Shijo Karasuma area. In this Wabunka exclusive plan, learn all about the festival- and event-centered seasonal ceremonies and ikebana flower arrangement passed down through the generations within the walls of this architectural treasure. Experience arranging a work of ikebana for yourself before enjoying usucha light tea and traditional wagashi sweets in an authentic tearoom. Experience Japan’s profound cultural aesthetics, the delicate shifts of its four seasons, and the subtle seasonality of its tea preparation and utensils.
Key Features
・At Gensoan, a traditional kyo-machiya operated by a kimono wholesaler, learn all about the structure of these merchant residences and their traditional customs, culture, and way of life.
・Learn the fundamentals of ikebana flower arrangement using Aspidistra first, then move on to seasonal options. Your arrangement materials can be taken home with you.
・Delight in light tea and sweets in an authentic Japanese tearoom.
Kyoto
from
¥26,000 /person
1 - 6 participants
120 min
Available in English
Cancel free up to 11 days before
* If fewer than 2 participants, the minimum fee will be JPY 52,000
Details
Kyo-machiya Gensoan: A Kyoto Merchant Family’s Life in Architecture
Gensoan, sitting just outside Kyoto’s central core, is a kyo-machiya over 130 years old. Machiya is the term for a traditional Japanese urban merchant townhouse, whereas this “kyo” (“capital”) means “Kyoto-style”. In Gensoan’s typical layout, a street-facing genkanma entrance hall flows into a okuzashiki back parlor and courtyard. As merchant residences where families lived but also conducted business, a kura storehouse and chashitsu tearoom were also incorporated into the structure. This layout, along with social and economic trends toward compact street faces for business produced oblong structures where an unassuming flat frontage conceals an unexpectedly deep interior. Perhaps unsurprising for the machiya of a kimono wholesaler, Gensoan’s interior is filled with yuki-tsumugi silk decorations.
Today, Gensoan operates as a gallery exhibiting woodwork, pottery, and other traditional crafts. “We hope to make the experience of spending time in a real historic kyo-machiya, holding the heritage of ancestral wisdom and ingenuity, accessible to as many as possible,” was the idea behind this choice, and you can feel this hope flowing from the walls of this building.
On this Kyo-Machiya Tour, Discover the Ingenuity Past Generations Put Into Their Residential Designs
The experience begins with a guided tour of Gensoan, taking you inward from the shopfront through a space that gradually transitions from public to private, from business to hospitality and finally to living. Delight in the physical presence and authentic atmosphere of this historic structure, wherein traditional Kyoto life lives on.
The machiya residences of Kyoto first began to spring up during the Heian period (894-1185), but the style most recognized today dates to the mid-Edo period (1603-1867). Each of these homes, designed for Kyoto’s unique climate, showcase original and ingenious features designed for the daily lives of their inhabitants. The simple-at-a-glance frontage of each, standing in neat rows along Kyoto’s streets, masks an interior intricacy and luxurious elegance which can only be appreciated by exploring within – a heritage further accentuated by the passage of the ages.
Learn the Fundamentals of Ikebana through Shoka Arrangement
As is customary, the tokonoma alcove of Gensoan has always been decorated seasonally with wall scrolls and seasonal flowers to enliven the space. This tradition highlights the importance to daily life of the delicate passage of Japan’s four seasons, as well as the great value placed on hospitality toward guests.
First learn the fundamentals of yakueda, the branches that give shape to an arrangement, using aspidistra leaves. In the interplay of these branches and leaves rising from the water’s surface, witness the very beauty of life itself.
Naomi Nakamura is the principal instructor for this experience. Involved in kyudo archery and sado tea ceremony since her student days, her deep knowledge of various aspects of Japanese traditional culture comes through in her ability to shed light on the cultural significance and historical context of various events and ceremonies. She is accompanied by the wife of the machiya’s owner, well-versed in the shoka style of ikebana and tokokazari alcove decoration, for an even more well-rounded discussion. The latter also oversees the ikebana theme for each experience.
An Ikebana Experience that Triggers Tender Thoughts of the Transient Seasons
After learning the basics, take up a selection of seasonal flowers and foliage to create an arrangement of your own. Enjoy the Japanese tradition of making themed arrangements to accompany seasonal festivals and events, with material motifs to match.
New Year festivities are celebrated with arrangements of pine or nanten – known in English under the names “nandina” or “sacred bamboo” – and small “flower petals” of cut mochi fixed to willow branches to create mochi flowers. During Tango no Sekku in May – today referred to as Children’s Day – samurai helmets are decorated with irises. Bamboo grass is the motif of the Tanabata Festival of the Stars in July. For the Tsukimi Moon Festival in September, dango dumplings and Chinese silver grass take center stage. Choose your vase from a variety of options, and when your arrangement is finished, place it in the alcove and take photos of it as a tokokazari centerpiece. At the end, you can take your arrangement materials home with you.
Gentle Refreshments of Matcha and Wagashi Sweets in the Tearoom
Head next to the authentic tearoom through the traditional roji passage. Though it is not expansive, the courtyard with its seasonal plant life is comforting to gaze upon.
The tea room, courtyard, and yard were used in ages past to entertain guests while reflecting personal taste and style, and these details remain in their intricately embellished fittings and mountings, ranma door transoms decorated with yuki-tsumugi silk, garden stones, and the huge oblong jujube-shaped chozubachi basin. In these design features and choices, the spirits of past owners live on.
Enjoy tea ceremony hospitality incorporating seasonal themes and utensils with matcha and wagashi sweets. Ponder Kyoto’s long history and the richness of the culture it has accumulated since ancient times while you enjoy a relaxed chat in a quiet, secluded traditional space enjoying natural sounds from the courtyard and the rhythmic noises of tea ceremony. Even those brand new to tea ceremony can relax and enjoy it thanks to detailed guidance on what to do.
A Wide Range of Authentic Japanese Experiences, Customizable for You
In addition to ikebana and tea ceremony, this plan includes three additional options (additional fees apply) – shodo calligraphy, furoshiki cloth wrapping, and hashi-bukuro chopstick bag crafting. No matter what you choose, you’re sure to leave with enchanting memories unique to your time in Japan.
The calligraphy experience begins with learning the fundamentals of the art from an instructor before applying them by writing on an uchiwa hand fan that you can take home with you.
In the cloth wrapping experience, learn several types of wrapping methods using furoshiki cloth, from basics to advanced techniques used to snugly wrap bottles. When you’re finished, keep your furoshiki as a souvenir of the experience.
If you choose to craft a hashi-bukuro chopstick bag, using washi ornamental paper, you'll choose your favorite design from a variety of hashi-bukuro to craft your own along with the guidance of the instructor. You can also learn proper chopstick form and technique. In the end, take your hashi-bukuro home together with a pair of formal rikyu-bashi chopsticks, named for the famed historical tea master Sen no Rikyu.
New Understanding of Kyoto’s Seasonal Events and the Depth of its Traditional Life
Beyond those which celebrate the seasons directly, Japan has numerous festivals and customs each with their own seasonal connotations. By learning the significance, context, and history of each, visitors can gain a new appreciation for the charm of Japanese traditional culture.
Says Gensoan’s owner: “From a modern perspective, with the luxury of so much available to us, the lifestyle of the past might seem to have been quite troublesome. But embracing this inconvenience and inefficiency by firsthand experiencing its traditions and customs can reconnect us with the deep beauty of an almost-forgotten past from which came the culture of Japan we take for granted.” And indeed, in a world where efficiency and convenience are increasingly expected rather than appreciated, wouldn’t it be a luxury to spend a while free of their spell amidst the traditional customs and lifestyle of old Kyoto?
Gensoan
Gensoan
A Traditional Kyoto-style machiya townhouse that has been lovingly preserved by kimono wholesalers for over 130 years. Here, the traditions of these merchant homes where life and work occupied the same space – including the increasingly rare practice of changing the building’s fittings in summer – remain strong, making Gensoan a valuable opportunity to experience traditional Kyoto machiya life even in the present day. In 2022, a new gallery space was opened, where craft exhibitions and art gallery events are held several times a year.
Location
Gensoan
Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto
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October 2024
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If your first choice is not available, we will confirm your booking based on your other preferred dates and times.
Additional Options
Shodo Calligraphy Experience (+40min) / person
JPY 14,300
0
Furoshiki Cloth Wrapping Experience (+30min) / person
JPY 14,300
0
Hashi-bukuro Chopstick Bag Crafting (+30min) / person
JPY 14,300
0
Experience fee
Minimum fee JPY 26000 × 2 participants
JPY 52,000
*Minimum: 2 participants; JPY 26,000 × 2 will be charged for bookings below the minimum.
Price may change after date is selected.
Additional options fee
Interpretation in English
JPY 0
Other
Service fee (5%)
JPY 2,600
Total Price
JPY 54,600
tax & service fee incl.
Extra charges may apply for the following
- ・Interpretation / Dependant on experience schedule and language
- ・Optional add-ons / Souvenirs, delivery, etc.
Kyoto
from
¥26,000 /person
1 - 6 participants
120 min
Available in English
Cancel free up to 11 days before
* If fewer than 2 participants, the minimum fee will be JPY 52,000
Things to know
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