| Popis: |
The two-story former residence of Tomio Hara was built around 1930 by landowner Makoto Ito, and was purchased by ex-lieutenant general Hara in 1951. The house was introduced to Hara by a former member of the military who had been living in Setagaya Ward where there were military facilities. Hara dwelled in this semi-Western house until his death in 1990. Most semi-Western houses built in the early Showa period in this area had a Western-style room of morter finish on the side of the entrance door, and the outer walls of the other rooms were clapboard with traditional bead battens. The difference between the two styles is clear. However, the Hara’s former residence is different from these semi-Western houses in that it is more distinctly Western-style. The salient characteristics are; outer walls bearing no exposed pillars with morter finish, a steep large roof, an entrance door that opens inwards, casement windows and hinged doors installed in almost all openings, and a wide corridor with a built-in bench. On the other hand, the walls of the Western-style room are finished in Japanese style with exposed wooden columns. The Japanese-style dining room is symmetrically designed with a window arranged in the center of the wall and a closets on both sides of the window. Thus the Western style is intermingled with the Japanese style in the interior of this house. Historically the Hara residence can be regarded as a new compromise between Japanese and European styles. |
