 The geisha house, or 'tea house' as it is commonly called, is superficially similar to the merchant houses (in the same way the samurai houses are superficially similar to farmhouses).However, unlike the merchant houses, where the second floor at the front was for storage, and thus very low, the second story of tea houses are much higher, because the upper floor was used as the main entertaining area.The upper floors are faced with sliding wooden shutters which would be open in the day or when there was a party going on.