Spring Cleaning: Replacing the Paper Shoji Screen at the Shoseian Tea House

By Yukari Yamano

The Shoseian Cleaning on March 31(Sunday) 2024 — A group of volunteers from the Urasenke Tankokai Seattle Association

On April 6, we opened the Shoseian Tea House at the Garden for our first Japanese Tea Ceremony Demonstration of the 2024 season. A week prior to opening, the tea house underwent its annual spring cleaning. (Two major cleanings take place at the tea house each year: one in spring, just before the tea demonstration season starts, and the other in fall, just after the season ends.)  

Helping out at the spring cleaning was a group of volunteers from the Chado Urasenke Tankokai Seattle Association, one of the tea groups that comes to the tea house each year to perform demonstrations. This year, along with the usual cleaning tasks, the volunteers helped us replace the paper on the shoji screen panels at the tea house. Since I had experience changing shoji paper at home in Japan when I was younger, I joined the cleaning and replacement effort.  

At total of 10 people showed up to help. In addition to the tea practitioners, we had help from the husband of one of the tea group volunteers. He was tall and able to help remove spider webs from the wide eaves of the tea house. In fact, he helped out a lot more! The volunteers were divided into two groups: Team A for the tea house and the waiting space in the roji garden, and Team B for shoji paper changing. 

Team A cleaned every corner of the tea house by vacuuming, dusting shelves and the ceiling, wiping surfaces, and lifting all the tatami mats to thoroughly dust them off. The team also swept and wiped the waiting area in the roji garden. Team B removed all the shoji screens from the tea house and placed them in the patio area. The volunteers peeled off the old paper from the frames, cleaned the frames, and then attached new paper to them.  

If you have attended a tea demonstration at the Shoseian, you may not recall the shoji screens that I am referring to. During each tea ceremony demonstration, our tea groups typically remove the shoji screens from their tracks and keep them stored outside the house, along the west side wall. As a result, two sides of the tea house, facing east and south, are usually wide open, so that the guests can see inside and have a good view of presentation. (Before entering the tea house, guests first sit in the patio area while the tea practitioners demonstrate the ceremony from inside.) 

What is a shoji screen? 

Shoji screens, which consist of paper attached to wooden frames, are a unique Japanese architectural element. Their history traces back to the late Heian Period (794–1185 CE), when the prototype of the modern “akarishoji (明障子)” or translucent shoji screens began to emerge. The creation of akarishoji during an era without glass windows was a groundbreaking innovation.  

These screens effectively block cold drafts and wind, and provide privacy, while maintaining indoor brightness. Due to the nature of the washi paper (tough paper processed from the inner bark fibers of the Edgeworthia chrysantha and other plants) used in shoji screens, light is diffused evenly, creating a soft and gentle illumination that contributes to a serene indoor atmosphere.  

By the Muromachi period (1336–1573 CE), shoji screens became commonplace in the architectural style known as “Shoin-zukuri,” which characterized the simple residences of the samurai class. In recent times, the shoji screen has almost disappeared from Japanese architecture. With the evolving architectural trends in Japan—combined with the decline of tatami rooms (rooms with matted flooring)—shoji screens have gradually vanished from Japanese homes. 

Shoji Screens at the Shoseian teahouse

Softly reflected light  

“In Praise of Shadows,” a 1933 essay on Japanese aesthetics by Junichiro Tanizaki, talks about the traditional Japanese tatami room, referring to the shoji screens: 

When Westerners see a Japanese tatami room, they are surprised by its simplicity and may feel that it lacks any decoration apart from the plain gray walls, which they may perceive as a kind of deception. However, this is because they do not understand the mystery of shadows. We intentionally add features such as eaves and verandas to the exterior of the tatami room to further block out sunlight, which is already difficult to penetrate. Inside the room, we arrange it so that light from the garden is softly reflected through the shoji screens. The beauty of our tatami rooms lies in this indirect, muted light. We deliberately paint the walls with weak-colored sand plaster so that the powerless, humble, and ephemeral light can seep into the walls of the room with a melancholic calmness. 

The Shoseian Tea House at the Japanese Garden has six shoji screens covering two sides of the building’s main room. Depending on the weather, tea groups sometimes leave some shoji screens on their rails. During the tea ceremony, visitors will enter the tatami room to sit and enjoy a cup of matcha tea. You'll find the experience of sitting on tatami mat to be somewhat different to that of sitting on the sofa in your living room! (Though not thick like sofa cushions, the mats are reasonably comfortable—some people even sleep on them.) Come to the tea house and experience sitting on tatami mats. The room is ready to welcome you and introduce you to the tranquility of Japanese culture.

Learn more about the Tea Ceremony Demonstration at the Shoseian.

Yukari Yamano is the Events Coordinator at the Seattle Japanese Garden.

Sources

• Junichiro Tanizaki, Translated by Moore, Charles and Harper, Thomas J.,“In Praise of Shadows”, Leete’s Island Books, 1977

• 谷崎潤一郎 Junichiro Tanizaki, “陰翳礼讃, In Praise of Shadows”, 青空文庫 Aozorabunko, Originally published in 1933, https://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/001383/files/56642_59575.html, Accessed April 8, 2024

• 和の匠(Wa no Takumi), 「障子は何のためにある？障子の歴史や役割を知って和室を楽しむ」January 1st 2022, https://d-kanazawaya.com/media/history/, Accessed April 8, 2024