Traditional wooden buildings dating back to the Edo period line the Bikan Historical Area
This is a description often seen in introductions to the Bikan Historical Area.
In 1979, the Bikan Historical Area was designated an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings. However, even earlier, in 1968, Kurashiki City enacted the Kurashiki Traditional Scenic Beauty Preservation Ordinance to preserve the area.
In other words, before the national government recognized it, local residents had already decided to preserve the townscape.
However, the Bikan Historical Area was home not only to buildings from the Edo period, but also to buildings from the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa periods, including the Ohara Museum of Art Main Building (1930), which was still relatively new at the time (1968).
The Bikan Historical Area harmonizes old and new
That may be so, but what thoughts were put into the buildings constructed during the Taisho and Showa periods—eras that seem close yet are becoming somewhat distant to us living today?
In Kurashiki Architectural Journeys, we introduce the history and culture of the Bikan Historical Area by focusing on its buildings.
Buildings Constructed During the Taisho and Showa Periods
In and around the Bikan Historical Area, buildings designed by the following four architects remain.
- Nishimura Isaku (1884–1963)
- Yakushiji Kazue (1884–1965)
- Urabe Shizutaro (1909–1991)
- Tange Kenzo (1913–2005)
Here is an introduction to the buildings designed by each architect.
Nishimura Isaku
Nishimura Isaku founded the private school Bunka Gakuin in 1921, based on the principles of freedom, respect for the arts and learning, and gender equality. One of the leading cultural figures of the Taisho Democracy era, he was not only an architect but also a ceramic artist, painter, and educator.
- 1923: United Church of Christ in Japan, Kurashiki Church
- 1925: Wakatake no Sono
Yakushiji Kazue
Yakushiji Kazue was an architect from Soja City, Okayama Prefecture.
After graduating from the Department of Architecture at Tokyo Imperial University in 1909, he worked as an engineer for the Ministry of the Army. At the request of Ohara Magosaburo, he resigned and became a director of Kurashiki Silk Textile Co., Ltd. (now Kuraray Co., Ltd.).
He later designed the Ohara Museum of Art Main Building and the Kurashiki Branch of the Daiichi Godo Bank (the Kurashiki Honmachi Branch of Chugoku Bank, now the Kojima Torajiro Memorial Gallery).
- 1922: Kojima Torajiro Memorial Gallery (former Kurashiki Honmachi Branch of Chugoku Bank)
- 1928: Yurin-so Villa
- 1930: Ohara Museum of Art Main Building
Urabe Shizutaro
Urabe Shizutaro was born in Kurashiki. After graduating from university, he joined Kurashiki Silk Textile Co., Ltd. (now KURABO INDUSTRIES LTD.) in 1934. Alongside the company’s president, Ohara Soichiro, he supported Kurashiki’s urban development through architecture. He continued to produce many works even after Ohara Soichiro’s death.
- 1957: Kurashiki Archaeological Museum extension
- 1957: Renovation of Ryokan Kurashiki
- 1961: Ohara Museum of Art (Annex)
- 1963: Kurashiki Kokusai Hotel
- 1965: Kurashiki Youth Hostel
- 1969: Kurashiki Community Center (formerly Kurashiki Cultural Center)
- 1972: Kurashiki Civic Hall
- 1974: Kurashiki Ivy Square
- 1980: Kurashiki Station East Building (now Tenmaya Kurashiki Store)
- 1980: Kurashiki Station West Building
- 1980: Kurashiki City Office Main Building
- 1983: Kurashiki Central Library
Tange Kenzo
Tange Kenzo designed buildings including the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Peace Memorial Park, Yoyogi National Gymnasium, and Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. He was a leading Japanese architect known in Japan as “Tange of the World.”
- 1960: Kurashiki City Art Museum (formerly Kurashiki City Office)
