On the shore of Kujo Pond stands the tea house of the Kujo family, Shusui-tei

Kyoto Gyoen is a park that stretches around the Kyoto Imperial Palace. It is said that until the capital was transferred to Tokyo in the Meiji era, the area was lined with the residences of many noble families, who were moved here by Toyotomi Hideyoshi as part of his efforts to remodel Kyoto. After the Meiji era, however, this area became completely empty as the noble families were required to move to Tokyo. Of the approximately 140 residences of the imperial and noble families, only the Kan'in-no-miya family residence still remains, and the Katsura-no-miya family residence, although still standing, has been moved to the Honmaru of Nijo-jo Castle.

The residence of the Kujo family, one of the five regent families, was also built in the southwest of the present Kyoto Gyoen. While the main building, including the main house, was moved when the family moved to Tokyo, only the tea house, called Shusui-tei, built about 200 years ago, still stands by Kujo Pond. This is the structure in the photo.

Even though it is a tea house, the two-story building is large and has many rooms. It must have more floor space than the apartment building I live in. If this is the tea room, the main building where people lived every day must have been much more magnificent. It is indeed one of the five regent families that can be Sessho, Kanpaku, and Daijō-daijin.

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