Shifu Tea House
Fidalgo Island, Pacific Northwest

Snow Capped Mountain
Distant view of Mount Baker (aka Mount Fuji) from the teahouse verandah.

Hanging Bell (Tsurigane)
A welcoming bell outside the teahouse symbolizes peace and calm.

The Verandah (Engawa)
The verandah plays an important role by connecting the inside tea room with the garden outside; whereby creating harmony with nature.

Harmony, Respect, Purity, and Tranquility
The four principles of the tea ceremony
— attributes found in shifu.

Stone water basin (tsukubai) and bamboo dipper (hisaku) are used by visitors to cleanse oneself by washing hands before entering the teahouse.

Tea Room
An alcove (tokonoma) and a sunken hearth (irori) with an adjustable pothook (jizaki kagi).

Japanese Zabuton Cushions.
Shifu cushion covers woven in the Philippines.

Detail of paper cloth from the Philippines.

Alcove (Tokonoma)
Paper cloth is on display in the alcove.

Double Weave Paper Cloth
Shifu woven by Sadako Sakurai.

The Alcove Post (tokobashira)
A decorative piece of wood, in this case beach driftwood, is always positioned on one side of the alcove.

Detail of double weave paper cloth woven by Sadako Sakurai.

Framed double weave shifu woven by Sadako Sakurai and a dried fern stem from the garden.

Closeup of double weave shifu woven by Sadako Sakurai.

Temuko II
Tea bowl (chawan) by Ed Bin Lee was made from paper ribbon and waxed linen.

All paper cloth (morojifu) sash (obi), a small wrapping cloth (furoshiki) woven by Moeki Yamada, and a combination of paper mulberry cloth (kaji-fu) and paper cloth (shifu) woven by Fumie Ishikawa.

Detail of an ikat all paper cloth sash.

All paper cloth woven by Moeki Yamada.

Combined paper mulberry cloth (kaji-fu) and paper cloth (shifu) woven by Fumie Ishikawa.

Kozo and mitsumata paper threads wrapped around a Japanese spool (itomaki).

A Japanese spinning wheel (itoguruma) sits on the floor.