One of Tokyo's oldest Ryokans to be demolished this year
One of Tokyo’s older ryokans (traditional Japanese inns) is set to close at the end of March, ending 112 years of operations. Choyokan-honke is located in Hongo, Bunkyo-ku - an area that was once bustling with ryokans and old bathhouses. During the 1920s there were over 120 ryokans in the neighbourhood, but by the 1960s the number had dropped to around 50.
The building is schedule to be demolished in the summertime. It will then be replaced with a high-rise condominium.Read more
Construction Co. to demolish 90-year old western-style house in Nagano
The historic Shinshu-Kaikan building in Nagano City will be demolished to make way for a 15-storey apartment building.
It was built as the residence of Kyushichi Kobayashi, the first president of the Nagano Jitsugyo Bank (which later merged to become the Shinano Bank). The actual year of construction is unknown, although it is estimated to be approximately 90 years old. The two-storey house included a fireplace, which was unusual for residences, as well as a slate roof.Read more
Temple to demolish 100+ yr old historic villa in Kyoto
The former holiday villa of the head priest of the Nishi Hongan-ji Temple is going to be demolished this month.
Sanya-so, located in Kyoto’s Fushimi Ward, is a 10,000 sqm estate dating back the the late 1800s. In 1876, 21st head priest / Abbot Koson Otani (1850 - 1903) built a single-storey wooden house to be used to host guests. It had seven rooms and a tea house, and was situated on an elevated block of land overlooking Uji River.
In 1900 a new wing was built with four rooms. The new house was also single storey and had a total floor area of 360 sqm. It also featured floor heating, with steam piped through pipes that were installed under the floors.
The villa hosted several notable guests throughout the years, including Tokugawa Yoshinobu (the last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate), Prince Ito Hirobumi (samurai and four time Prime Minister), and Field Marshal Prince Yamagata Aritomo (two time Prime Minister).Read more
90-year old town hall to be demolished
The 90-year old former Kano Town Hall in Gifu City will be demolished this year as repairs have become too costly and the building is at risk of collapse.
The 2-storey, reinforced concrete building was built in 1926 as the town hall for Kano Town (now part of Gifu City). The modernist building was designed by architect Goichi Takeda (1872-1938). It managed to survive the Gifu Air Raid of July 9, 1945, which destroyed 5 square kilometres of the city and killed 800 residents. For a brief time after the war it was used by the occupying forces. Read more
Heir donates historic villa to Chigasaki City
The owner of a 116-year old former hospital ward in Chigasaki, Kanagawa, has donated the property to the city in accordance with his late father's wishes.
‘Nanko-in’ was founded by Doctor Koan Takata (1861-1945) in 1899 as a tuberculosis sanatorium. The 18,000 sqm beachfront site in the Shonan area was chosen because of its clean air and environment. A 2-storey, wooden building with a total floor area of 230 sqm (2,475 sq.ft) was built in 1899 as the first hospital ward.
The hospital started with just ten rooms and three patients. One of those was the widow of Kaishu Katsu, a samurai and politician. Author Doppo Kunikida was hospitalised here before his death in 1908. His illness was reported in the Yomiuri Newspaper at the time and elevated the reputation of both the hospital and the Chigasaki vacation villa area.Read more
Yokohama school to demolish 87-year old building
The Kanto Gakuin Junior High School has decided to tear down their 87-year old former main building due to age and deterioration.
Built in 1929, the Norman-style building was designed by American architect J.H. Morgan (1868-1937). It was built from reinforced concrete and is 3 storeys with 1 basement. The interior has classrooms and a chapel. It was in use until 2009.
The school principal said that the school and wanted to preserve the historic building but a structural inspection found that the concrete and steel reinforcing was showing significant deterioration. In accordance with guidance from Yokohama City, the school has no choice but to move ahead with demolition.
The building did not appear to show any significant damage from the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake. Read more
290,000 USD will get you Fukuoka Prefecture’s oldest bank building
Fukuoka’s oldest bank building to be demolished if buyer is not found
The owner of a 118-year old former bank building in Kitakyushu City plans to demolish the historic property in the new year in order to sell the vacant block of land.
The former Sumitomo Bank Wakamatsu Branch Building was built in 1897 and is the oldest surviving bank building in Fukuoka Prefecture. The bank closed its doors in 1967, just as the region's coal mining industry was reaching an end.
The two-storey, wood and brick building fronts onto a covered shopping arcade and adjoins an open plaza that was once the site of the branch office for Sumitomo’s coal mining operations.
Sumitomo’s archival department do not know who the original architect was, although some experts suggest it may have been Magoichi Noguchi (1869-1915), an architect who designed many of Sumitomo Bank’s branches during that period, and who had also designed the Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library.Read more