Inuyama, Meiji Mura: Have Fun Learning about the Architecture of the Meiji and Taisho eras!

Pioneering Example of Modern 2x4 Construction
"Seattle Japanese Evangelical Church (Former Seattle House)"

This building was built in Seattle, Washington around 1907 (Meiji 40). Originally an American residence, it became a residence for Japanese immigrants in the 1930s. After the war, it was an evangelical church for Issei Japanese Americans.

Built using mass-produced standard timber, it is a pioneering example of modern 2x4 construction. The roof is covered with locally produced shingle boards, and the outer walls, floors, etc. are all covered with a base board and a finishing board.

The chapel next to the entrance hall. Because of the first-generation immigrants who are not good at English, it was revived as a church where Mass is held in Japanese. When used as a residence, it was divided into two living rooms.

The floor is made of wood in a herringbone style.

There is a staircase to the second floor in front of the entrance hall. The finely crafted stair new posts are simply placed on top of the floor and nailed down from under the floor.

The second floor is divided into six rooms starting from the landing. Although it is a standard house, the design of the windows, the floor plan with few dead spaces, and the interior lights with decorations, etc., make me feel that even though it is mass-produced, it is a building that is particular.

[Seattle Japanese Evangelical Church (Former Seattle House)]
Former location: Seattle, Washington, USA
Year of construction: Around 1907 (Meiji 40)

http://www.meijimura.com/enjoy/sight/building/4-38.html

Still Operating as a Simple Post Office
"Ujiyamada Post Office Building"

The Former Ujiyamada Post Office Building is a Western-style building that was built in 1909 (Meiji 12) in front of the Otorii of Ise Jingu Outer Shrine as a post office building for Ujiyamada City (currently Ise City) in Mie Prefecture. . In 1969 (Showa 44), it was relocated to the Museum Meiji Mura, and has been operating as a simple post office since 1946.

Designed by communications engineer Enji Shiraishi, it is a one-story wooden structure with a natural slate roof, but it was changed to a copper sheet roof when it was relocated. The exterior is a half-timber style consisting of a boarded part and a plastered part.

Plaster and clapboard walls are used for the outer wall, and plaster relief is applied to the transoms.

When you enter the entrance, there is a circular hall called "Public Reservoir", and counters are placed around it. A tulip-shaped chandelier hangs from the ceiling, and a high window is provided for natural lighting.

The inside of the building is open to the public as a "postal museum," and historical mailboxes and post office boxes are on display.

The Former Ujiyamada Post Office Building is the only remaining wooden post office building from the Meiji Era in Japan, and was designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan in 1998.

In the Ujiyamada Post Office building, we actually carry out postal and savings services as the "Museum Meiji Mura Simple Post Office". Meiji Mura original stamps were also on sale.

[Ujiyamada Post Office]
Former location: Toyokawa-cho, Ise City, Mie Prefecture
Year of construction: 1909 (Meiji 42)
Owned by: Japan Post Holdings Co., Ltd.

http://www.meijimura.com/enjoy/sight/building/4-46.html

The Beautiful Architecture which You wouldn't Expect it to be a Hospital
"Japanese Red Cross Central Hospital Ward"

Part of the ward of the Japanese Red Cross Central Hospital built in 1890 (Meiji 23) in what is now Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. In 1974 (Showa 49), it was relocated and preserved in Meiji Mura in Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture.

It is a wooden-style hospital with a detached building surrounding a courtyard. It was designed by Tokuma Katayama, who worked on the Akasaka Imperial Villa, but unlike the Imperial Villa, it is a very simple and calm building. You can feel the attention to detail, such as the intricate openwork on the upper part of the shutters of the hospital room, which is currently on the north side. It is a beautiful building that makes you forget its original purpose.

The corridor has a raised floor for good ventilation.

The decoration of the eaves also casts fine shadows.

The plaque that adorns the front of the hospital is embossed with paulownia, bamboo, and phoenixes. It is said to be based on the idea of Empress Shoken, who promoted the Japanese Red Cross in its early days.

The south-facing glass corridor was originally on the north side, and was designed to brighten the darkened north side. Combined with the raised-floor style, it is a building where you can feel the desire to make your stay as comfortable as possible.

[Japanese Red Cross Central Hospital Ward]
Former location: Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Year of construction: 1890 (Meiji 23)

http://www.meijimura.com/enjoy/sight/building/4-35.html

Feel the Appearance of an Old-fashioned Public Bath in the Meiji period
"Handa Higashiyu"

Higashiyu is a small public bath in Kamezaki, a port town facing Mikawa Bay at the tip of the Chita Peninsula. It was built around the end of the Meiji era and has been in business for about half a century. It is a two-story wooden building with a dressing room and a Japanese-style room in the front half, and a one-story bathroom in the back. The roof is a gable roof both front and rear.

Since the Edo period, public baths have been indispensable as social gathering places for local communities. After bathing, regular customers went upstairs to enjoy small talk, shogi, and go.

The bathtub in the bathroom at the back of the first floor is connected to the men's and women's baths, and is separated only by a blindfold. It is said that there were two types of public baths in Japan: the yuya and the bath. “Yuya” was a bath filled with hot water, and the bath was a steam bath where you wrapped yourself in steam. Gradually, Yuya came to occupy the mainstream.

In the dressing room of the sento, leaflets related to health such as medicine were pasted.

The area around "Handa Higashiyu" has a streetscape that gives you a sense of the Meiji era, such as the playhouse "Gofukuza" and the house of Yakumo Koizumi, who is famous for "Ghost Story".

Yakumo Koizumi's house is now a candy store. Nostalgic sweets are lined up all over the place. There are nostalgic toys such as bamboo dragonflies and paper balloons.

[Handa Higashiyu]
Former location: Handa City Aichi Prefecture
Year of construction: Around 1910 (end of the Meiji era)

http://www.meijimura.com/enjoy/sight/building/4-50.html

A Church Built for the Japanese
"Hawaii Immigration Meeting House"

Originally, it was a church for Japanese people built on the banks of the Wailuk River in the town of Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii. After that, it was used as a meeting place for Japanese people and a warehouse for an English newspaper, and was relocated to Meiji Mura.

It is a simple rectangular church with a single room inside. A feature of the building is the high floor. It is an underdeveloped land, poorly flood-controlled, located on the banks of a river, and affected by a humid climate. It uses a two-by-four technology that originated in North America during the pioneering days of the early 19th century.

[Hawaii Immigration Meeting House]
Former location: Hilo, Hawaii, USA
Year of construction: Around 1889 (Meiji 22)

http://www.meijimura.com/enjoy/sight/building/4-40.html

"Brazilian Immigrant House" where Japanese Construction Method was Used

In 1908 (Meiji 41), new immigrants to the United States were severely restricted by the Japan-U.S. Gentlemen's Agreement, and immigration to South America began instead. After that, the number of immigrants to Brazil increased year by year, and it is said that the number reached over 20,000 per year at its peak in the early Showa period.

This building is one of the houses built by Japanese immigrants in the jungle. Although it is made by processing local hard wood, Japanese carpenters are involved, and Japanese-style construction methods are used for roof trusses, joints, etc.

[Brazilian Immigrant House]
Former location: Registro, São Paulo, Brazil
Year of construction: 1919 (Taisho 8)

http://www.meijimura.com/enjoy/sight/building/4-39.html

From the 4-chome area, you can see Iruka pond beautifully.

The 4-chome area also has many relatively large buildings, such as the "Shinbashi Factory Railroad Dormitory", the "Nagoya Eiju Hospital", and the ”Fourth High School Martial Arts Dojo”. Among them, the　”Former Seattle House" introduced at the beginning is a building that I would like to visit if you are building a house.

Next, we will introduce from 3-chome, where the NHK morning drama "Hanako and Anne" was filmed, "Kitasato Institute Main Building / Medical Museum", to 1-chome, where "Ogai Mori and Natsume Soseki House" are located.