Rising of nationalism in the middle of Meiji period brought about a trend which intended to reconsider the traditional Japanese cultures. Especially in the field of the tea ceremony, as the symbol of the traditional cultures, many attempts were done to adapt its role into the modern society. This development was supported by chashos, masters of the tea ceremony, and by so-called Kindaisukisyas ; political and business leaders who patronized that heritage. Together with such a development, on the one hand architects also began to take interest in the traditional Japanese architectures, such as the tea ceremony architecture and the sukiya syle architecture, and many books on those subjects were published on the other. As a figure who bore the campaign for enlightment of the traditional Japanese architectures, Harumichi Kitao is pointed out. This study attempts to locate Kitao's contribution within the framework of the history of investigation of the sukiya style architecture by clarifying the features and the peculiarities of Kitao's writings in connected with the actions to conform the sukiya style to the modern society.
