The nijiriguchi through which guests enter is approximately 28 inches high and 24 inches wide, and guests must enter on their knees. This tiny entrance was and still is the symbol of equality and peace. In the past, even lords had to prostrate themselves, a symbol of respect, to enter the tea room, and samurai had to leave their swords, a symbol of power, outside. Today, even distinguished guests must literally crawl through the entrance, and, instead of the sword, pretension and status are discarded upon entering the tea room.
Once one has entered the tea ceremony room, however, the small entrance no longer seems to be particularly small for, since the dimensions of the materials used—such as the size of the shoji and the squares of paper within them—are on a slightly reduced scale, the room appears bigger than it really is. Nevertheless, the standard size is only 41/2 tatami mats, about 9 feet by 9 feet. Even smaller ones of two mats, approximately 6 feet by 6 feet, can be found. There is also an alcove, the size of one tatami mat, 3 feet by 6 feet, or less. The ceiling has an average height of 61/4 feet and slopes upward to about 71/4 feet at its highest point.
Plan of eight-tatami mat tea room of the Urasenke Foundation
Plan of Tai-an, a two-tatami mat tea room.
Cross section of Tai-an. Guests enter by crawling through a narrow, low entrance.
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