Tengachaya

Tengachaya is a place name that broadly refers to the central-to-eastern part of Nishinari Ward, and today nearly the entire area is residential. Known as a typical downtown neighborhood of Osaka, Tengachaya got its name because a teahouse once stood here. In ancient times, there was said to be a forest called ‘Tenjin-no-Mori,’ and because the spring water there was considered especially good, a tea room was built. It is said that Takenojōō (Takeno Jōō), the tea master who taught Sen no Rikyū, cleared the forest and created roads. Toyotomi Hideyoshi is also said to have stopped by a teahouse here after visiting Sumiyoshi Shrine and had Sen no Rikyū prepare tea; impressed by its taste, Hideyoshi granted a seal awarding thirty bales of brown rice per year. From this, the place became known as ‘Tengachaya,’ the teahouse of the ruler of the realm. The building that conveyed this origin was destroyed in wartime air raids, and today only a large camphor tree, an earthen storehouse, and a stone statue remain at the ‘Tengachaya Site.’