Oasis in the city center

I had some free time on the way and decided to go to Kudan House (formerly Mankichi Yamaguchi's residence). It was built in 1926 and was registered as a registered tangible cultural property in 2018. It is now a renovated space that serves as a gallery and other places for cultural dissemination.

Although there was a very strong wind blowing when I visited, the sky was clear and it was a very pleasant time. The site looks like a green hole in the middle of the city.

The gate and exterior of Kudan House. big trees surround the house

The reinforced concrete mansion was built in the Taisho era, and its structure was designed by Tanaka Naito, the structural engineer who designed Tokyo Tower, and a number of other notable members were also involved in the design. (For details, see HISTORY on the site)

When I visited, the exhibition ``Beauty, Ambiguity, Depends on Time and Occasion'' was in progress, displaying various artworks, and I was able to spend a luxurious time in which the art and the space of the mansion interacted. There were some parts that were renovated for ease of use, but they were also very good and I learned a lot.

The parts that I thought were particularly nice were the front room-like space on the first floor that opens out to the garden, and the indoor (but outdoor) balcony on the second floor. What looked like a window on the second floor balcony was actually an opening with a fixed screen door attached. By the way, you can buy coffee and tea on the third floor, and drink them on the rooftop, on this second floor balcony, or at a table in the garden.

There is also a basement, which is used for equipment such as a boiler room. There was an exhibit called ``Getting Dark'' by Satoshi Hashimoto, and it was an interesting space that conveyed a message. Words are carved into wood, or placed casually...