The Vitality and Resilience of Inherited Japanese Houses －100 Years of Shimizu-gumi Houses－ Preface Since its foundation in 1804, residential architecture had been one of the primary business focuses for Shimizu-gumi, the present Shimizu Corporation. Many books have been published to showcase its works, such as Sekkei zushū, jūtaku no maki, ji 1907 nen shi 1923 nen (Drawing collection: house, from 1907 to 1923) and Sekkei zushū, shitsunai narabini kagu dentō no maki, ji 1909 nen shi 1913 nen (Drawing collection: interior, furniture and lighting, from 1909 to 1913). These books feature painted drawings of large houses, which could be considered mansions in the Western sense, designed and built by Shimizu-gumi, and include plans, elevations, development plans, and illustrations of furniture. The books enable the reader to visualize many aspects of mansions in the Meiji era (1868-1912) and Taisho era (1912-1926,) and to understand how these mansions were significant as elements of urban culture. Additionally, an academic work based on these earlier texts was published to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Housing Research Foundation JUSOKEN: Meiji/Taisho no teitaku, Shimizu-gumi sakusei saishiki-zu no sekai (Mansions in Meiji and Taisho, the world of colored drawings created by Shimizu-gumi, Kashiwashobo, 2009, currently unavailable). This book is the product of joint research by “Shimizu Kensetsu Teitaku Shiryō Kenkyūkai” (Shimizu Corporation Mansion Document Study Group, 2004 to 2009) in the “Jūtaku Shiryō Iinkai” (Committee for historical materials about houses) of Jusoken. For the next phase of study, surveys and research on Jūtaku kenchiku zushū (Residential architecture catalog, 1st volume: 1935, 2nd volume: 1939) should be conducted. Jūtaku kenchiku zushū, hereafter referred to as the Catalog, includes 367 houses built by Shimizu-gumi between 1906 and 1938. In a preliminary survey, Jusoken discovered fifty-eight of these houses still exist. It was surprising that so many of these houses, most of them wooden, have survived for almost 100 years. As a result of Jusoken’s initial findings, “Shimizu-gumi Jūtaku Kenchiku Zushū Genzon Jūtaku Chōsa Kenkyū Iinkai” (The Committee to Survey and Study Existing Houses in Shimizu-gumi’s Jūtaku Kenchiku Zushū), hereafter referred to as the Committee, was established in April of 2017. Members of the Committee began by visiting the existing houses, surveying each building, and interviewing people connected to each residence. The Committee is chaired by Jun Hatano, professor emeritus of Nippon Institute of Technology. Committee members are as follows: Seizō Uchida, professor of Kanagawa University; Asae Ozawa, professor of Tokai University; Setsuko Nakajima, professor of Kyoto University; Yoshiko Mizunuma, professor (currently, professor emeritus) of Kanto Gakuin University; Zentarō Yagasaki, associate 1 professor of Kyoto Institute of Technology (currently, professor of Osaka Electro-Communication University); Akira Yasuno, professor of Nippon Institute of Technology; Toshiaki Koguro, former staff member of Jusoken; and Takako Hatada, Shimizu Corporation. The Committee was to precisely record the current condition of each surviving house and to evaluate its historical and cultural value. Their greater objective was to determine “why each house remained and how it was preserved”, including documenting timelines of changes in ownership and any processes of renovation. Japanese houses tend to have a shorter lifespan than those constructed in stone-building cultures, such as some of those found in Europe. To achieve a sustainable society under the current environmental challenges, it is important to respect historical architecture and townscape. Ideally, both may be preserved and entrusted to future generations in an improved state. Unfortunately, there are many complex reasons why the inheritance of houses is often challenging and sometimes impossible. Society tends to prioritize economic efficiency and dense land use. Local environments and family structures have changed. The present tax system makes it difficult to inherit a large home and its plot. Some houses face deterioration of the structure and fixtures from neglect or the elements, while maintenance costs for buildings and gardens are prohibitively high. Moreover, there is a shortage of skilled traditional craftspeople. The quality of these resilient remaining houses truly impressed Committee members during their site visits. Quality is a special characteristic that can be defined as “vitality” in the categories of design, construction, and maintenance. These houses have prevailed over many challenges as a result of the imagination of architects, the passion and craftsmanship of builders, the care and efforts of residents, the attachments of their descendants, and the fortuitous interactions among all parties. This book is entitled “The Vitality and Resilience of Inherited Japanese Houses – 100 Years of Shimizu-gumi Houses” because the members of the Committee experienced first hand the vitality and resilience of the houses that have been carefully maintained for future inheritance. Their research raises some crucial questions. How can we entrust high quality, vital houses to the next generation? What is the key to creating a sustainable society? The circumstances of each individual house demand a different answer. This book is published as a part of the 70th anniversary of Jusoken. Housing Research Foundation JUSOKEN April 2020 2 List of existing houses from Shimizu-gumi’s Jūtaku kenchiku zushū Busan (South Korea) – 58 Niigata – 1 2 3 Kyoto – 47 48 49 50 Ishikawa – 4 Hyogo – 51 52 53 54 Tochigi – 5 6 7 8 Shimane – 55 Tokyo – 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Fukuoka – 57 17 18 19 20 21 22 Kanagawa – 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Shizuoka – 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 Aichi – 44 Kagawa – 56 Mie – 45 46 【Legend】 1: Surveyed existing house (n=45) 1: Unsurveyed existing house (n=13) 【Note】 The houses on this list exist were confirmed as existing as of the beginning of the 2017 survey, with several exceptions: Y’s Secondary House (#25), Morinosuke Mitsui Secondary House (#32), and Kyūdayū Kawakita Residence (#45). As the Committee also conducted surveys on these three houses, they are included in the list. 3 【Legend】 Photo in the catalog, taken after completion ・Name of house in the catalog (Houses in this book are listed by actual name) ・Location (For relocated houses, the current location is listed. For demolished houses, the original location is listed.) ・Year of completion (Final year of Shimizu-gumi’s involvement in construction.) ・Architectural design 1. N’s House/ Niigata, 2. Japanese Restaurant 3. T’s House/ Myōkō, 4. M’s House/ Niigata/ 1938/ Shimizu- N/ Niigata, Niigata/ Niigata/ 1934/ Shimizu- Kanazawa, Ishikawa/ gumi 1932 etc./ Shimizu-gumi gumi 1931/ Shimizu-gumi 5. Moichirō Saitō Holiday 6. Tetsusaburō Tazawa 7. M’s Holiday House/ 8. K’s Holiday House/ House [p.120]/ Nasu, Holiday House [p.120]/ Nasu, Tochigi/ 1936/ Nasu, Tochigi/ 1936/ Tochigi/ 1936/ Masao Nasu, Tochigi/ 1936/ Shimizu-gumi Shimizu-gumi Inoue Shimizu-gumi 9. H’s House/ Minato, 10. Tachū Naitō House 11. F’s House/ Shinjuku, 12. H’s House, Atelier/ Tokyo/ 1928/ Shimizu- [p.266]/ Shinjuku, Tokyo/ 1936/ Shimizu- Bunkyō, Tokyo/ 1935/ gumi Tokyo/ 1926/ Tachū gumi (demolished 2017) Shimizu-gumi Naitō, Shichirō Kigo 4 13. Suekichi Kanazawa 14. Eiichi, Tokuji & Keizō 15. H’s House/ 16. Yonejirō Sugimura House [p.306]/ Bunkyō, Shibusawa Residence Shinagawa, Tokyo/ House [p.136]/ Setagaya, Tokyo/ 1930/ Tsuneji [p.244]/ Scheduled to be 1933/ H’s House Tokyo/ 1937/ Shimizu-gumi Kanazawa restored in Kōtō, Tokyo, Construction Team in 2022/ 1878 etc./ Kisuke Shimizu et al. 17. Yōnosuke Shimizu 18. Masao Koga House 19. Taizō Ishizaka 20. Y’s House/ Secondary Residence [p.200]/ Shibuya, Residence [p.278]/ Nakano,Tokyo/ 1928/ [p.208]/ Setagaya, Tokyo/ 1938/ Shimizu- Shibuya, Tokyo/ 1934 Shimizu-gumi Tokyo/ 1937 etc./ gumi etc. / Shimizu-gumi, Jin Shimizu-gumi Watanabe 21. Reischauer House 22. Kasanu Emori House 23. Ehrismann 24. O’s House/ Yokohama, [p.218]/ Suginami, [p.130]/ Mitaka, Tokyo/ Residence [p.60]/ Kanagawa/ 1937/ Shimizu- Tokyo/ 1940/ Raymond 1923/ Shimizu-gumi Yokohama, Kanagawa/ gumi Architectural Design 1926/ Raymond Office Architectural Design Office 25. Y’s Secondary House/ 26. Kōichi Saito 27. Hideko Fujise 28. M’s Secondary House/ Yokohama, Kanagawa/ Secondary House [p.166]/ Secondary House Kamakura, Kanagawa/ 1925/ Asaichi Hiramatsu Hayama, Kanagawa/ [p.50]/ Zushi, 1934/ Shimizu-gumi (demolished) 1928/ Shimizu-gumi Kanagawa/ 1934/ Shimizu-gumi 5 29. M’s House/ Kamakura, 30. Kanbee Kokubu 31. Zenjirō Yasuda 32. Morinosuke Mitsui Kanagawa/ 1937/ Kugenuma Holiday Holiday Residence Secondary House Saneichi Minoura (箕浦 House [p.226]/ Fujisawa, [p.234]/ Ōiso, Kanagawa/ [p.102]/ Ōiso, Kanagawa/ 實一) (demolished 2018) Kanagawa/ 1931/ 1928/ Shimizu-gumi 1927/ Kōzaburō Kigo Shimizu-gumi (demolished 2014, some components are preserved) 33. M’s Secondary 34. Kengo Ishi 35. Tozansō Sansō-an 36. Kaichirō Nezu House/ Ōiso, Kanagawa/ Secondary Residence, (Kengo Ishi Secondary Secondary Residence 1933/ Shimizu-gumi Main Building [p.144]/ Residence, Annex) (Bathroom etc.) [p.74]/ Atami, Shizuoka/ 1933/ [p.144]/ Atami, Shizuoka/ Atami, Shizuoka/ 1929/ Shimizu-gumi 1935/ Shimizu-gumi Shimizu-gumi 37. Kaichirō Nezu 38. Rihee Hyuga 39. Tamotsu Takahashi 40. Y’s Holiday House/ Secondary Residence Secondary House Holiday House [p.156]/ Atami, Shizuoka/ 1936/ (Western-style