Legend holds that the Toyo-bo teahouse was built in 1587 to designs by tea master Sen no Rikyu for on behalf of the hegemon Toyotomi Hideyoshi. This tea house was used at the Grand Kitano Tea Gathering (Kitano O-chanoyu 北野大茶の湯） during the tenth month of that same year and ostensibly moved to this location afterward.
The tearoom is a nijo-daime style room (two mats and a smaller mat for the host)
Toyobo is named for one of Rikyu's disciples, Toyobo Chousei (東陽坊長盛 1515-1598), the figure whose tastes this tea room is said to express.
Typical of the period, it features a sword-rack (katana-kake 刀掛け）at the nijiri-guchi entrance.
The roji garden is small but nicely organized.
Kenninji's other claims to fame are its moss-and-stone courtyard garden called the Chōon-tei (潮音庭) ....
... and this stunning contemporary ceiling painting of twin dragons by Koizumi Junsaku (1924), completed in 2002 to mark the 800th anniversary of the temple's founding.
