The Dignitaries’ Tea House is located at a post road station on the border of the Kitsu Family and Akodo provinces, built around a small lake. The area features a Shrine of the Lake Kami, jointly administered by the Akodo and Kitsu Family clans. The tea house serves as a gathering place for dignitaries, nobles, the Emerald Magistrates, and Kitsu Family samurai. It is part of a well-maintained travelers' lodging, offering samurai quarters for rest and refreshment.
During a visit by the Emerald Magistrates, Kitsu Family samurai hosted a tea ceremony for Shiba Midori, Bayushi Monban, and Doji Setsuna. This ceremony included discussions about culinary preferences, personal experiences, and reflections on home and family. The three Kitsu Family samurai engaged in polite conversation and shared their lineage, mentioning their distant relation to the Kitsu Family daimyō. After the ceremony, they suggested a lakeside path for fresh air and concluded the ritual with a performance that was deemed acceptable but somewhat rote. An unseasonably cold breeze swept through the tea house during discussions of ancestors, leading the magistrates to consider visiting the nearby shrine for offerings and further inquiry.