The Okoshi-ezu (起絵図) of the Tea House: The Duplicity of Representation

TheJapaneseteahouse,calledchashitsu,isattributedtotheteamaster Sen-no Rikyu ̄. It is the place dedicated to the traditional tea ceremony, beloved to the Japanese people. Japanese tea houses are relatively small pieces of architec- ture, 8.2 m2, equivalent to about 4.5 tatami. They base the construction process on parameters defined in line with Zen Buddhist philosophy. Each element that makes up the architectural structure has a precise meaning and function and only when everything is arranged in a very particular manner, the traditional tea cer- emony can begin. The position of the room for making tea (mizuya) and that for serving it, the layout of the garden, the entrances, the furnace and the alcove as well as the position of the windows and the choice of materials are never ran- dom. The internal architectural space therefore assumes a fundamental role, which must be immediately clear and legible already in the design phase. The internal architectural space is usually documented through representation methods such as orthogonal projections, using plans, elevations and sections or with axonometric or perspective models. These techniques, however, represent the interior space in an abstract way, whereas the three-dimensional representation instead allows to bypass the difficult reading of the drawings in orthogonal projection. In Japan, therefore, okoshi-ezu were born to represent the interior of the architectural space especially of the tea houses. They are folded drawings capable of becoming three- dimensional. These drawings offer a different way of representation: double, clear, synthetic and dense which allows for a better understanding of the space.