Former Residence of Kijūrō Tatsuuma, Colonial Revival historic house in Nishinomiya, Japan.
The Former Residence of Kijūrō Tatsuuma is a two-storey wooden house built in 1888, with two exterior walls of brick and a hipped tile roof. A Japanese carpenter named Yamashita was reportedly instructed to model it on the British consulate in Kobe's former foreign settlement. It has a colonnaded veranda and double-leaf shutters, features shared with the foreign houses of Kitano.
Built in 1888 for Kijūrō Tatsuuma, head of the Minami-Tatsuuma branch of the Tatsuuma zaibatsu, the house was designed by a Japanese carpenter named Yamashita, who was ordered to model it on the British consulate in Kobe's former foreign settlement. A ridgepole plaque records the raising of the frame on 31 May 1888. It was designated a Hyōgo Prefecture cultural property on 26 March 1982.
The house belonged to Kijūrō Tatsuuma, son of the tenth head of the Tatsuuma main family and head of the Minami-Tatsuuma branch, a sake-brewing house of the Nada district. Its name comes from him, and the residence shows the Nada brewers' wider role in the Hanshinkan region: they built Western-style villas and breweries and founded museums and schools.
The house sits in a residential neighborhood and is best reached by local bus, with a stop within walking distance. The location near a museum facility makes it easy to find when visiting the area.
The house was designated a Hyōgo Prefecture cultural property on 26 March 1982, not by the city, and it predates the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake. A ridge plaque records the raising of the frame on 31 May 1888 for Kijūrō Tatsuuma.
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