Hayashi Fumiko was a famous author who lived in Tokyo in the mid-20th century. Her and her husband Ryokubin, a painter, built this beautiful house in the Ochiai area in northwest Shinjuku surrounded by a small but lovely traditional Japanese garden. Their house was actually two buildings due to building restrictions around the war time,…
Tag: house
Kyu Asakura House
Uppity Daikanyama is known more to be the home of the modern rich and famous, but 100 years ago, it was also home to Asakura Torajiro, a politician and businessman of Tokyo. The large two-story house sits in the middle of a beautiful Japanese garden, all of which is hidden behind a very modern shopping…
Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum
The value of land in Tokyo has created some difficult decisions when it comes to preserving historic buildings. One way Tokyo has dealt with this issue is the construction of the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in Koganei Park. Historic buildings on valuable plots of land were relocated and rebuilt in this museum, which contains…
Shirakawa-Go
Shirakawa village in the northwest part of Gifu prefecture is literally frozen in time thanks to its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The houses of the village are built in a traditional gasshō-zukuri style, resembling an A-frame with a very thick thatched roof. This roof insulates the house from the cold winters and nights…
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