Myokian is a Rinzai Zen Tofukuji-school temple founded during the Meitoku era (1390–1394) by Shungakushiho, and is one of the most important places in Japanese tea history, being where the national treasure tearoom "Taian" built by Sen no Rikyu survives. Taian is the oldest existing tearoom, distilling the aesthetic of wabi-cha in an extremely small two-tatami space, and is designated a national treasure as architecture that embodies Rikyu\'s spirit of the tea ceremony.

The foot of Mount Tennozan in Oyamazaki, where Myokian stands, was the battlefield of the Battle of Yamazaki, where Akechi Mitsuhide was defeated by Hashiba Hideyoshi in 1582. Coming just thirteen days after the Honno-ji Incident, this defeat shattered Mitsuhide's brief bid for power, and it was here that Sen no Rikyu later built the teahouse Taian.

In 1582, Hideyoshi defeated Akechi Mitsuhide at the Battle of Yamazaki (Battle of Tennozan), securing his path to power. Myokian, built on this very battlefield in Oyamazaki, is said to be where Sen no Rikyu built the National Treasure tea room "Taian" around the time Hideyoshi was involved with the area.