The lattice-like framework is known as a“ coffered ceiling”, and you will find the lattice portions have been minutely decorated in metal fittings with enamel flowers created using a technique called cloisonné. Cloisonné works ‒ or shippo-yaki in Japanese ‒ were usually made for export around the time the Gajoen was built, and while they were very valuable, they were not often seen on display in Japan. However, the ceiling of this chamber is decorated with more than 750 such items. One other feature of this chamber is the mother-of-pearl work seen in the ceiling beams and other structural elements. Mother-of-pearl is known as raden in Japanese, and it is made by slicing the lustrous inner surface away from oysters and other shellfish, cutting them into the desired pattern, and then embedding the pieces in place as decoration. Here the shells were painted in lacquer, then polished using charcoal.
You will find glittering scrollwork examples if you search the beams and around the tops of the walls slightly below the ceilings. Finally, let s take a look at the sliding doors ‒ or shoji ‒ mounted against the walls. The style of the frames is known as hishigumi kumiko, which refers to the geometrically-arranged hemp leaf pattern. The light coming through the shoji changes subtly when someone walks before them in bright light, casting a shadow, lending them a beauty that is truly indescribable.

Originally, the fisherman and the woodcutter represented a longing for the spiritual richness found in living a slow, deliberate life surrounded by nature, and in Japan, the story is thought to have possibly been the origin of the legends about Yoro Falls and Urashima Taro. Both pillars were made from single pieces of Japanese cypress almost 300 years old. All of the sculptures in this chamber were carved by sculptor Horei Sakari and inspired by paintings by Chikuha Otake. The only ordinary paintings in the chamber can be found on the walls in the centre of the alcove and to the left and right of the pillars. These are bijin-ga works by a painter from Yamagata Prefecture named Kashu Kikuchi. Take a look at the panels in the upper portion of the walls. These panels are called ranma, and they depict the gosekku ‒ the five ceremonies held by the Heian period court. Let s talk a little bit about the gosekku as we look at the works. The first ceremony is depicted right above the alcove, and it took place on the seventh day of the new lunar year ‒ the years very first Day of the Rat ‒ a day called jinjitsu. Here we see participants holding small pine trees, complete with roots, as they pray for longevity while picking young green vegetables. A festival is depicted on the ranma on the wall on the right. This day was called joshi, and it fell on the third day of the third lunar month. Painted here is the peach festival held in celebration of Hina-matsuri or Girl s Day.
On either side of the alcove are scenes depicting the third ceremony ‒ tango ‒ celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. The fourth ceremony is Tanabata and it occurs on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, and it is depicted on the ranma on the wall opposite the alcove. During this festival, noble women would give offerings to the gods Orihime and Hikoboshi, burn incense, play music and enjoy poetry. They would make wishes by writing poems on the leaves of the paper mulberry tree, which had been considered holy since ancient times.Finally, on the ranma near the entrance to the chamber is depicted the ceremony on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month ‒ chōyō ‒ when people would enjoy sake served with chrysanthemum blossoms and pray for long lives.

The wall of the former front chamber is painted with a thick pine tree at the heart of a waterfront scene. The powerful brush strokes used to express the branches of the pine are said to have been characteristic of works by Soukyu. The countryside and seaside landscapes in the main chamber create a panoramic feel.
We also see the passage of the year in the landscapes, from the rich green fields and paddies, to the rice harvest of autumn, and the snow-covered ground in winter. Please look up to the ceiling, where you will notice that the paintings in the front chamber and main chamber were made with differing themes. Both sides were built in the lattice-like coffered ceiling style, but in the front chamber we find flowers, while in the main chamber we find birds. The birds were painted with particular attention to detail, and even now their intense forms seem about to fly down out of the ceiling. Finally, let s take a look at the alcove. The pillarare made of wood from a Chinese pagoda tree. In ancient China, when a persons rank at court increased, they would plant a pagoda tree in their gardens, so it is said to have been a status symbol, with the larger the number of trees, the higher the person s rank.
The custom in Japan was to make demon masks out of pagoda tree wood to serve as amulets against evil, and in different regions of the country, the tree is said to have been a symbol of luck that would enable easy childbirth or long life.

On the ceiling of the far room, we find Chinese phoenixes, dancing cranes, and other auspicious imagery painted by artist Shūho Ikegami. The paintings on the ranma were by Taigetsu Koyama, who depicted autumn plants using gold leaf. Lets continue on to the alcove now, where we find the pillar is made of the unsquared trunk of an Amur cork tree. In the antechamber, the pillar is made of a type of pine on which the roots of each branch are still visible, giving the pillar even more depth. The connection between the complex shape of the pillar and the squared beam illustrates the great skill of the artisan who crafted it.

What makes these paintings very special is the fact that they were painted with highly durable mineral based pigments, so even now, years after they were painted, the colours are much more vivid than those seen in the other chambers.
Chamber of Seikou has the lowest ceiling of the cham bers on the Hyakudan Kaidan. The beams and pillars are all unsquared pieces of wood, and the ranma paintings are all short in height with rounded corners, which helps mitigate the oppressiveness of the shorter ceilings.
The familiar imagery and the careful attention of the artisans who built the room combine to create a space offering real comfort.

Let s now take a closer look at the works in the antechamber.
Kiyokata loved the remnants of Edo-era elegance that could be ofund around Meguro, and apparently often incorporated them as themes in his work. Here we have some examples of such works connected to Meguro. First, there are two ranma paintings above the shelves. The one on the right depicts Gyōninzaka, the hill that still runs from Meguro Station to this Building, and the painting also includes images of bamboo shoots, a product Meguro was famous for. The painting on the left depicts Shirai Gonpachi, the main character of a kabuki play, dressed in a lavender-coloured kimono. The play tells the love story of a man named Gonpachi and a Yoshiwara courtesan named Komurasaki, a tale that enjoyed great popularity and was depicted in many works of art. Shirai Gonpachi was a real person, and a stone monument of his memory can be found at the temple Ryūsen-ji, a temple dedicated to the Buddhist deity Acala, known in Japanese as Fudō myō -ō. The purple irises that bloom at the feet of Gonpachi in this painting are said to symbolize his love for Komurasaki ‒ a name that means, “little purple”. Now, look towards the shelves, then turn to look at the ranma paintings on the wall to your left. Starting from the work on the left, we see a young Yūten ‒ the founder of the temple Yūten-ji ‒ in a scene that depicts the legend of Fudō Myō-ō appearing before Yūten in a dream. The central work depicts a kabuki actor named Ichikawa Danjūrō the ninth, who lived in Meguro, and to the rihgt is a painting of a stone bridge called Taikobashi that once crossed the Meguro River. Through Kiyokatas paintings, this space has become a place to experience the history and charm of the Meguro area.