House of Catherine Andersen, Western residential building in Kitano district, Kobe, Japan.
The House of Catherine Andersen is a two-storey wooden ijinkan at 3-5 Yamamoto-dōri, Kobe, completed in 1899. It has a hip-and-gable roof covered in pantiles, a stone foundation, oil-painted weatherboard cladding, double-hung windows with shutters, and a chimney with decorative brickwork. A seminar house was later added west of the garden.
Built in 1899, the residence emerged during a period when Japan was establishing stronger trade relationships with Western nations and foreign merchants were settling in Kobe. This home represents the architecture that developed as Japan opened its economy to international commerce.
The house takes its name from Catherine Andersen, a Swedish woman who once lived here. Until January 2000 it was open to the public as the "Swedish House"; it now stands closed behind the street fronting Shueke House. A seminar house was added on the garden's west side.
The house is closed to the public, so it can only be viewed from the back street south of the alley west of Shueke House on Yamamoto-dōri. It is about 10 minutes on foot from Shin-Kobe Station and 15 minutes from Sannomiya Station. The main building dates from 1899, with a seminar house added west of the garden.
The house is named after Catherine Andersen, a Swedish woman who once lived here. From January 2000 it is no longer open to the public; until then it operated as the "Swedish House". A seminar house was added on the grounds west of the garden, next to the 1899 main building.
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