Ashikaga Yoshimasa
The term "chashitsu" came into use after the start of the Edo period (). In earlier times, various terms were used for spaces used for tea ceremony, such as "chanoyu zashiki" (, "sitting room for "chanoyu""), "sukiya" (place for poetically-inclined aesthetic pursuits ["fūryū", ]) such as "chanoyu"), and "kakoi" (, "partitioned-off space"). An account stated that it was the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa who built the first "chashitsu" at his Higashiyama villa in Kyoto. It was described as a small room of four-and-a-half "tatami" and was separated from the main residence.