Yubae no Ma

Tapestries of Kyoto Mountains, West and East

This space is used for conferences such as ministerial meetings, ryurei-style tea ceremony, and waiting area for banquets. The name Yubae no Ma takes a character each from the names of two pieces of tapestry, Hiei Getsuei and Atago Yūshō, hanging on the east and west walls of the room.

Highlights

Tapestries: Hiei Getsuei and Atago Yūshō

The tapestries were designed by the nihonga artist Hakozaki Mutsumasa and woven using tsuzure-ori (polychrome tapestry) technique. Hiei Getsuei depicts moonlight on Mt. Hiei, just to the east of Kyoto, while Atago Yūshō portrays the sun setting behind Mt. Atago, a peak to Kyoto's west.

A photo of the ceiling in Yubae no Ma. The lighting is indirect, and gives off a soft light. The ceiling is divided into rectangular grids.

Illumination Design

The illumination is directed against the ceiling, indirectly brightening the room through reflected light. During cocktail parties, the lighting can be switched to produce a starry sky or firefly effect.

Of the four display stands, each representing a different season with themes of

Display Stand in Sanshisuimei-motif

The makie (lacquerwork) and raden (mother-of-pearl inlay) were made by the living national treasure Kitamura Shōsai and his son Kitamura Shigeru. The classic theme in use is sanshisuimei, scenic beauty of mountains and water.

A close-up photo of the carpet in Yubae no Ma. There are white stripes in the carpet. If you look closely at these stripes, you can see bead-like shapes made to suggest the pebbles of a pond. Further examination of the pattern in the carpet reveals the shapes of white clouds floating in a pond.

Dantsu Carpet in Water Motif

The traditional hand-woven carpet, dantsu, depicts clouds reflected on the surface of an ornamental pond. The dots in the white lines suggest gravel glimmering through water.

A photo of the garden, as viewed from the corridor in Yubae no Ma. Rattan blinds are hung across the top of the photo. Straight ahead, across the garden, a bridge crosses between the eastern and western eaves against a background of blue skies. The pond is fenced in by the building around it, and blue skies are reflected within it. Trees grow lush and green here.

The Garden, Viewed from the Corrider

The rocks used in the Kyoto Guest House garden are often older material that was in prominent use at another time. An area of the garden is planted with an evergreen plant called nebikigusa to suggest a rice paddy.

For those who wish to pay a visit