Rokkō Cottage, Historic house in Rokkōsanchō, Japan
Rokkō Cottage is a single-story wooden building with sliding windows, slate roofing, and board-and-batten exterior walls. The interior is organized around a hallway that connects multiple rooms, with a large living space that opens onto a terrace.
The cottage was built in 1934 as a summer home for a professor at Kwansei Gakuin University. Its designer was Merrell Vories Hitotsuyanagi, a Western architect known for his work on Japanese mountain residences.
The main living room displays natural wood beams and a stone fireplace that reflect how educated professionals envisioned mountain retreat living during the early Showa period. This design tells you about the values of those who built such homes as peaceful escapes from city life.
The house is open from April through November, with bus service from several nearby stations making it accessible for day visits. Wear sturdy shoes as the mountain setting means some uneven walking paths.
The living area spans roughly 20 tatami mats, a traditional Japanese measurement that shaped room proportions by older standards. This scale made the space feel open yet intimate enough for daily retreat living.
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