Hublot moves into historic machiya in Gion, Kyoto
Swiss watch brand Hublot will be opening up a boutique in an old machiya-style townhouse in Kyoto’s famous Gion district on August 26. The previous tenant was Hermes.
The shop will feature custom Japanese washi paper and wickerwork replicating the company’s logo, while customers will receive Japanese-style folding fans as gifts.
Sankei Building to enter Kyoto machiya hotel business
On July 27, The Sankei Building Co., a Tokyo-based real estate company, announced that they will be entering the Kyoto machiya hotel business. Their first property is a traditional machiya merchant residence located a kilometer from Nijo Castle that is scheduled to open in April 2018.
Heritage-listed house in Sendai to be demolished
The owners of a heritage-listed house in Sendai will soon demolish the old home and several other historic buildings to make way for a city-planned road that will cut through the site. The buildings include the former main house, workshop and storehouses for the 140-year old Mondaya company - a manufacturer of traditional Sendai-tansu cabinets.Read more
2.2 Traditional machiya houses in Kyoto are demolished each day
Kyoto City is losing its traditional machiya townhouses at an alarming rate, with an average of 2.2 of these symbolic houses demolished each day.
On May 1, Kyoto City announced that approximately 5,600 machiya have been demolished over the past seven years. In 2016, a survey found that there were 40,146 surviving machiya in the city.
Of the surviving machiya, 14.5% are vacant and not occupied by owners or tenants, an increase of 4 points from the previous city survey in 2009. Kyoto City’s vacancy rate across all types of housing was 14% in a 2013 survey.Read more
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Nakano’s last surviving thatched-roof house to be demolished
The 160+ year old Hosoda Residence in Nakano, Tokyo, is expected to be demolished soon to make way for a city road. The road plan was enacted in 1966, but, as is the case with many of Tokyo's old road plans, remained dormant for several decades. The city obtained approval from the national government for the road construction in 2015 and plan to have the project completed by 2020.
This is the sole surviving thatched-roof house in Nakano Ward, and a very rare example of a typical farmhouse from the period in Tokyo’s 23 wards. Read more
Historic Japanese villa in NY looking for new home in Japan
The current owner of a historic traditional Japanese house in upstate New York wants to relocate the home to Japan and is seeking a new owner.
The ’Pine and Maple Palace’ was initially exhibited at the St. Louis World Fair in 1904. It was modelled in a style of architecture dating from the Momoyama period (late 1500s), but with some western features. After the fair, Emperor Meiji donated the villa to Dr. Jokichi Takamine, a successful chemist who had emigrated to the US. Takamine relocated the villa to his summer home in upstate New York. In 1909, Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi and Princess Kuni stayed in the villa during a visit to the US. The house was sold upon Takamine’s death in 1922. Read more