The Japanese culture and architecture have always fascinated the Western world. A particularly unique traditional building type, architecturally complex and at the intersection of various currents of Japanese philosophy, art, and aesthetics, is the Japanese tea house. It is a very private place for meditation, a space where a host communicates with guests through the medium of tea within the framework of a strictly regulated ceremony. This newly reissued publication fosters an understanding of the built environment that makes this tea ceremony possible—only those who are invited may enter the tea house. The author presents the philosophical and religious backgrounds as well as the aesthetic and spatial principles. He embarks on a cultural and architectural journey through time, starting from the origins in the 15th century when the art of the tea ceremony emerged.