This expansive shoin, or study, was built in the late eighteenth century as a place to entertain guests of the temple. The Mori lords used the shoin’s many rooms to meet with guests and hold tea ceremonies. The main meeting room had a secret room behind the Daimyo’s seat, where guards could be hidden in case of an attack.
The Mori used several of the rooms at rear of the building for changing or resting before and after traveling to the castle downstream by boat. Despite the building’s age, the tea room, first designed for the exclusive use of the daimyo, is still in use today.