The emphasis of the collection is on arts relating to the tea ceremony and profound aesthetics of "tea taste".
The museum was established by Issey Hatakeyama (1881-1971), who was born in Kanazawa as a descendant of the lord of Noto Province.
After graduating Tokyo Imperial University with a degree in mechanical engineering, he founded Ebara Corporation in 1912 and became one of the leading industrialists of his age. He spent his spare time studying traditional Japanese Noh drama and the tea ceremony. He became a passionate buyer of art objects and his collection houseed in the museum is famed for its outstanding quality.
The museum building was designed entirely by Issey Hatakeyama and retains an atmosphere of calm traditional taste conductive to viewing the objects on display.
In one corner of the exhibition space, a simple tea ceremony room looks over a small tea garden will be set up for visitors to relax and appreciate the artworks in the environment of a tea ceremony room.
