Rokkakudo Hall Rescued from the Sea

Tohoku Earthquake Epicenter (Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons)

Serenely perched on rocks in Ibaraki, Japan, and juttinginto the Pacific Ocean, Rokkakudo (six corners) Hall was the favorite tearoomof Kakuzo Okakura. He built Rokkakudo in 1905 and published The Book of Tea in 1906. Rokkakudo is probablythe only hexagonal tea ceremony house in existence.

An earthquake and the massive tsunami that followedannihilated it on March 11, 2011. An employee of Ibaraki University, which nowoversees Rokkakudo, recalls watching helplessly as ten-meter-high waves tore itoff its foundations and swept the disintegrating building at least 50 metersoffshore. Only the foundation on the rocks remained in the silence after the tsunami.

The magnitude-9.1 Tohoku Earthquake struck at2:46 p.m. Within an hour, a tsunami flooded 217 square miles of coastline,surging as far as six miles inland, causing $199 billion in damage, and killing15,894 people of whom 2,500 are still missing to this day.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons)

The restoration of Rokkakudo would soon become asymbol of hope and recovery from the earthquake and tsunami.

Divers, artisans, architects, glassmakers, and specialistsin various other disciplines were determined to return the revered tearoom toits original condition. Restoring Rokkakudo was an intensive and expensive taskinvolving the assistance of experts and funding from around the world.

Pleading for assistance, Ibaraki University PresidentYukio Ikeda wrote the following:

“We would like to reconstructOkakura’s buildings with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science,Ibaraki Prefecture, North Ibaraki city, Japan National Trust, …and those whodonate for the reconstruction. In particular, searching for the buildingmaterials of Rokkakudo submerged by the sea should be done before the typhoonseason (from June to September in Japan)…. Based on the survey, we are planningto salvage the building materials as many as possible from the sea andreconstruct Rokkakudo.”

Art and tea enthusiasts worldwide responded withoffers of assistance and donations of approximately $500,000. The committee torestore Rokkakudo put its plans into execution.

See photo album documenting the restoration.

Rokkakudo (Photo by Greg Goodmacher)

Snorkelers and scuba divers scoured the sea as faras 400 meters from land to locate a broken pillar and shattered roof tiles. Specialistsexamined the materials. Based on their analyses, contemporary artisans creatednew tiles from clay that were as similar as possible to the originals. Otherexperts could identify the tree variety that Okakura had chosen for timber.Carpenters built new walls and pillars with lumber from the same type of trees.

Replicating the bay windows was challenging.Techniques and machinery for making glass had advanced tremendously since 1905,but Ibaraki University wanted windows as close as possible to the originals. Researchstaff searched around the world for a glass company that could produce windowglass with techniques standard in 1905. They found a suitable company inEngland. The reproduced windows, with slight imperfections, were perfect.

Experts studying old diagrams, paintings, andphotographs of Rokkakudo realized that at some point in history, someone hadplaced tatami over the bare wooden floor that Okakura had built. The meticulousreconstruction committee used bare wood, just as Okamura had planned.

And a stone lantern placed outside Rokkakudo had beenlost years ago. Stonemasons created a replica, which they put on a slab of rockbetween the sea and Rokkakudo.

Rokkakudo tea ceremony. Photo courtesy Edosenke Tea Ceremony School

Finally, on April 17, 2012, just over a year afterits annihilation, members of the committee working to restore Rokkakudo celebratedthe completion of their work.

It stands on a rocky spit in an inlet nearly surroundedby cliffs and clinging Japanese pines. The building combines Chinese andJapanese elements. Thick dark tiles cover a sloping pavilion roof. The outsidewalls have the rusty-red coloring of ancient Chinese pagodas, which it wasmeant to resemble. The reproduction of Rokkakudo delights visitors today.

If Kakuzo Okakura could visit Rokkakudo today, I thinkthat he would enter, sit down, and savor a cup of tea.

Within Rokkakudo, Okakura and fellow artists thatinfluenced Japanese culture sipped matcha while gazing at colorful sunsets, atwaves crashing over green seaweed and jagged rocks, and at shapely clouds abovea long horizon. Okakura wrote, “The tea-room was an oasis in the dreary wasteof existence where weary travelers could meet to drink from the common springof art-appreciation.”

Perhaps, Okakura wouldn’t notice any differencebetween the renewed teahouse and his creation, testament to the generosity,craftsmanship, and perseverance of his admirers’ generations after his passing.