The world of Tale of Genji is reborn in its original home in Saga-Arashiyama through an aristocratic estate in the process of being restored, exploring Japanese culture through sado (tea), shodo (calligraphy), noh in traditional Japanese teahouses and gardens from the Heian period through the Edo, and in dialogue with contemporary art, architecture and philosophy.
Situated on the Edo-era Saga Toriimoto preserved street and located within the Heian-era scenic preservation district of north Saga, Saga-in Villa incorporates a number of historic artifacts in its 1,200 year lineage, including an early Edo-era thatched-roof farmhouse that originally served as a teahouse for pilgrims embarking on arduous mountain shrine and temple pilgrimages. Also contained within the estate are a number of tearooms of various sizes and typologies, straight out of traditional landscape painting and waka poetry, in the courtly yet rustic foothills of Mt. Atago and Mt. Ogura.
