This house, which situated at the foot of the majestic Mt. Aso, was formerly a Kumamoto auditorium. Yasufumi Kijima, an architect, relocated the former Kumamoto Higher Technical School Lecture Hall from the Kumamoto University campus to this location and converted it into his personal residence. Kijima obtained a teaching position at Kumamoto University after working …
The Saikai Bridge, with a single braced-rib arch and a span of 243.7 meters, opened atop the fast-flowing sea and whirlpools of Inoura-seto, Nagasaki Prefecture, 10 years after World War I ended. The bridge served as a basis for the construction of Japan’s largest long-span bridge, in addition to heralding the beginnings of economic growth …
Thomas Blake Glover, a Scottish businessman who helped modernize Japan, lived in this timber-framed house, which is the oldest extant Western-style residence in Japan. Glover arrived in Japan in 1859, the year Nagasaki Port opened, at the age of 21. His house was built in 1863 and finished additions in 1887, giving it its current …
The cradle of Japan’s porcelain industry is Arita. Its origins are thought to trace back to 1616, when a Korean potter immigrating to Jaran discovered kaolin in the area. The area’s ceramics industry had seen substantial growth as an export industry. Arita ware was widely exported to Europe through the East India Company beginning in …
Koreyoshi Takatori was regarded as one of Kyushu’s coal mining monarchs. In Saga Prefecture, he was born into a samurai family. Takatori came to Tokyo in the early Meiji Period and studied contemporary mining technologies at the Ministry of Engineering’s Mining Bureau before turning the Takashima Coal Mine in Nagasaki Prefecture into a thriving enterprise. …
In the Yahala district of Kitakyushu, the Imperial Steel Works was built in 1901 as a hub for national steel production. The Kawachi Reservoir was built in 1927 to address the demand for industrial water that occurred as a result of the unexpected demand for steel following World War 1. The reservoir was built in …
Low-water crossings, which fall below the water in a flood because to their low-lying decks, can be used in normal conditions. Another advantage is that they may be made shorter, lowering construction costs significantly. However, in terms of disaster avoidance, bridges should be avoided because they obstruct the river’s flow. Some 60 of the bridges, …
If you are visiting Imabari for the first time, you will discover that you must see a really uncommon tourist site. You should go see the buildings at the Imabari City Hall complex. While most people would dismiss such a bizarre concept, if you are familiar with Japanese architects and architecture, you will realize that …
The town of Naoshima is a small administrative district in the Seto Inland Sea that encompasses Naoshima Island and numerous additional islands. The population of the town was just about 5,000 people in 1984, when the town hall was finished. Despite this, the town hall building drew a lot of attention. The directness with which …
Museum of Maritime Folklore The museum is located on a tiny mountain with a view of the sea. Traditional fishing implements and other reference materials linked to the region’s folk culture are on display at the museum. The structure has the appearance of a fort, yet the interior is light and airy thanks to a …