New Zen is a unique publication - a collection of the most innovative modern Japanese tea ceremony rooms, or chashitsu, designed by contemporary architects. Traditionally chashitsu are made up of certain elements - an alcove (tokonoma), with a flower and painted scroll, tatami mats, a sunken heart (ro) and chashitsu windows - never contain furniture and are used for contemplation. In the last fifteen years Japanese architects have been reinterpreting the tea ceremony room, creating modern meditative spaces. The result is that these rooms represent some of the most interesting interior design and architecture in Japan, featuring a vast array of materials, including paper, wood, plastic, metal and concrete. This book is the only one to examine this phenomenon.