Kanshoan
Photo: Robert von Oliva / naruciakk / CC0 1.0, modified.
Overview
Kanshoan is a Japanese tea house in Munich’s English Garden, located on a small island near the Eisbach / Schwabinger Bach behind the Haus der Kunst. It was donated in 1972, the year of the Munich Olympic Games, by Sen Sōshitsu XV, Grand Master of the Urasenke tea school, as a place where people in Germany could experience the Japanese Way of Tea.
History
The tea house has been associated with Urasenke tea practice in Munich since 1972. The Munich Kanshoan organisation states that public tea ceremony demonstrations are held on selected weekends, with limited capacity and tickets sold on site. Current 2026 dates are listed from April to August, including Japanfest on 19 July 2026.
Design features
The site is centred on the traditional tea house rather than a large independent garden. Its setting on a small island, reached within the English Garden landscape, creates a roji-like tea environment used for chadō demonstrations. The controlled-value garden type should therefore follow the tea-house function.
Garden elements
Bridges
Buildings
Enclosures
Waters and islands
Stones
Other elements
Current status
Extant Japanese tea house on a small island in the English Garden. It is maintained by the Urasenke-associated Munich tea group and is accessible mainly during public tea ceremony demonstrations and special events.