I had this image in my head of a huge tea house that mixed high end western style coffee houses and traditional japanese chashitsu for a short story I'm writing. The thing is, most japanese tea houses and rooms seem to be fairly small from what my research has shown, and I'm not sure who would be working there. Would there be geisha ? I read that was mostly female-dominated and the owner / boss is a man. What would the employees wear ? Western style clothes or kimono or ?? I'm sure it's all really subjective and I can obviously take some liberties but I want it to be believable to someone more familiar with Japanese tea ceremonies. Thanks !
What era is your short story set? That might influence your story. Tea ceremony hosts can be male or female, since it is predominantly a very civil and formal affair they will wear kimono according to the season, a true tea ceremony master will adapt their party to the season this includes the sweets they serve and their clothing, sometimes even the ceramics they use. These days dress codes for guests isn't that strict but neatness and presentation is expected. Geisha CAN perform tea ceremony, it is one of the arts they are taught, but the practice is not limited to them. A lot of tea houses are family or school run and so there would be few employees, generally only one person will host the party, an apprentice may participate for the sake of learning, but the host does everything.
