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Sunkaraku-an: The Art Museum Teahouse |
Americans first came into direct contact with the Japanese art of tea here in Philadelphia at the 1876 Centennial Exposition, but it wasn't until 1928 that the first authentic Japanese teahouse was obtained for exhibition in any American museum. The growing American interest in Japanese tea ceremonies and architecture in the early 20th century led Fiske Kimball, director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, to plan a permanent Japanese teahouse exhibit in the museum.
Horace Jayne, Curator of Oriental Art, was sent to Japan and China in the summer of 1928 to search for the teahouse. He found it in Tokyo: Sunkaraku -- which means "Evanescent Joys" -- designed by architect and tea master Ogi Rodo. The teahouse was built in 1917 using elements from an older teahouse. The inscription of "Sunkaraku" on the signboard under the eaves is said to have been created by Matsudaira Fumai (1750 - 1818), daimyo of Izumo province and renowned tea connoisseur.
Sunkaraku-an's final tea ceremony was conducted by Rodo on September 13, 1928, after which it was disassembled and shipped to Philadelphia. However, because of the Great Depression and the hostilities during World War II, the plan for the teahouse was not completed until 1957.
To learn more about Sunkaraku-an at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, visit http://www.philamuseum.org/.
Interested in learning more about Sunkaraku-an and Philadelphia's unique relationship with Japan? Phila-Nipponica: An Historic Guide to Philadelphia & Japan, a bi-lingual collection of articles on the Japan-Philly connection published by the JASGP, is available for purchase in our online store!
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