Hitotsumatsu Residence in Kitsuki

Hitotsumatsu Residence in Kitsuki

Sadayoshi Hitotsumatsu was a Japanese politician who served as a cabinet minister in several of the first post-war cabinets of the government.

In 1929 he built a mansion in the castle town of Kitsuki in Oita. It was built in a combination of traditional and western styles.

While mostly appearing traditional, it does have a lot of glass which enable great views of the castle and sea as well as back over the old town.

It's built on the high point of the southern escarpment, of the two pieces of high ground that were occupied by the samurai, with the lower classes sandwiched between on the low ground.

Being a little closer to the castle, Minami-dai was the district for the highest-ranked samurai. Nearby is the former Nakane residence and garden, as well as the towns museum.

The other samurai quarter retains more of the original samurai residences and many are open to the public

Kitsuki is one of my favorite towns and is less visited by tourists, mainly due to the closest station being some distance from the town. A few more of my Kitsuki posts....

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