Hōonji temple preserves a tea room said to have been built by Sen no Rikyu. As the tea master who earned Toyotomi Hideyoshi's deep trust and perfected the wabi-cha aesthetic, Rikyu reportedly built rustic tea rooms across the country, and traces of his work remain at this temple, which has ties to the Toyotomi family.

Hideyoshi treasured the "Naki-tora-zu" (Roaring Tiger painting) by the Chinese painter Shimei Toitsu, which is kept at this temple, and took it to his Jurakudai residence. But the tiger in the painting cried out every night, so he returned it to Hoon-ji. This episode became the origin of the temple's nickname "Naki-tora" (Roaring Tiger), and the painting is still publicly displayed each year on the Day of the Tiger in January.