The second floor features three linked front rooms, each of different designs; these could be connected by removing the doors for larger parties. There are many paintings on the partitions, which have become stained with the soot of centuries of candles. In one room the paintings have not been cleaned, so the pictures are not very visible, but the age is; in another the paintings were cleaned a century ago, showing an intermediate state; while there are more recent paintings which are unstained and brilliantly colored. At the south end there is a recessed raised stage for musicians to perform; they entered by a side door from a side corridor. There are two smaller middle rooms, and the highest-ranked room is in the back, away from the street and overlooking the garden, separated from the livelier party below. In the past this provided a view of the western mountains and Arashiyama, though it is now blocked by the JR line and, hence, covered by trees. This high-ranked room is decorated in mother-of-pearl inlay, in a Chinese-inspired style that was popular circa 1800, and is the only surviving room in this style. Unusually, the work is signed, reflecting the skill and prestige of the artist.