Choseikaku Villa was built in 1927. This nearly 400 sq. m. villa displays many of the features of architecture of this period, with elements of western architecture mixed with traditional Japanese.
It was built by Kanemoto Kozo for his aging mother who lived nearby in Setoda Town on Ikuchijima near Ohnomichi in Hiroshima.
Kanemoto made his fortune from weapons. Interestingly, most Japanese websites about him will just mention that he worked in "steel tubing", but most non-Japanese websites point out that his product was guns.
After his mother died he "bought" a Buddhist priesthood and proceeded to build Kosan-Ji temple around his mother's villa.
A guided tour of the villa costs an extra 200yen on top of the regular entrance fee to Kosan-Ji.
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Wow! Greaaat pictures! I'll have to go check this out next time I'm in Hiroshima~
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a person I should read more about.
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