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The symbol of “Ijinkan”, the former Western-style residences for foreigners, by reason of the original one opened to the public in Kobe. Covered with natural stones called slate, its resemblance to the scales of a fish gave the house the nickname of “UROKO HOUSE” (House of the Scales). Not only in the outside, the whole building has a distinctive elaborated design that makes it part of the National Designated Registered Cultural Properties of Japan.
Calydonian Boar
The bronze boar is nicknamed “Porcellino” means “the little pig” in Italian. It is said that he will bring good luck if you stroke the tip of his nose.
Kobe Kitano Ijinkan
In 1858, the Ansei Treaties, including the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the United States and Japan, were concluded and agreed upon by the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and France. One of the direct outcomes of these treaties was the opening of the Five Ports of Hakodate, Kanagawa, Nagasaki, Niigata and Hyogo (Kobe). The Port of Kobe was opened ten years later on January 1, 1868. Including Kitano-chō, the settlements surrounding the port became a residential area where both foreign and Japanese people could live in harmony, and foreigners were able to rent a house and lease pieces of land. This is what was later called Kobe Kitano Ijinkan-gai.
Kobe is a beautiful location that stretches between mountains and the ocean. A popular spot for tourists to visit nowadays, it was also a very popular town for the foreigners in the past too. The settlement was designed by the British man J.W. Hart. The land was developed into a district with roads and sidewalks, the streets lined with trees, gas lamps installed, and parks and greens created. Once completed, the Western townscape had a huge impact on locals at the time.
The existing Ijinkan was mostly built following the guidelines of two famous foreign architects in Japan: the British A.N Hansell and the German D.G Lalande, founder of the Design Office in Japan. The fact that these two designers took part in the Kobe Ijinkan is believed to be the reason why these houses have such high quality designs.
At that time, Japan's borders had been reopened to the outside world for ten years, so Kobe was a city where both Japanese and foreigners culturally accepted each other, with mutual absorption. This trend generated the stylish atmosphere that has been the cultural foundation of the city.
The Ijinkan, with more than 300 houses originally, due to the ravages of war and deterioration, has been reduced to 30 existing houses, with just less than 20 open to the public. As a place influenced by Japan's modernization and unique culture, Kobe Kitano Area has always attracted a great deal of attention. For its historic and cultural value, in 1980 it was designated under the "Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings" act by the government.
Reference work: "Kobe Gaku" (Kobe Shimbun Sogo Shuppan Center) (2006)
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The eight islands of Japan sprang into existence through Divine Intervention.The first two gods who came into existence were Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto, the Exalted Male and Exalted Female. It was their job to make the land for people to live on.They went to the bridge between heaven and earth and, using a jewel-encrusted halberd, Izanagi and Izanami churned up the sea into a frothy foam. As salty drips of water fell from the tip of the halberd the first island was formed. Its name was Onogoro.So far, so good. But when Izanagi and Izanami first met on their island, Izanami spoke to Isanagi without being spoken to first. Since she was the female, and this was improper, their first union created badly-formed offspring who were sent off into the sea in boats.The next time they met, Izanagi was sure to speak first, ensuring the proper rules were followed, and this time they produced eight children, which became the islands of Japan.I'm sure you did not fail to miss the significance of this myth for the establishment of Japanese formal society.At present, Japan is the financial capital of Asia. It has the second largest economy in the world and the largest metropolitan area (Tokyo.)Technically there are three thousand islands making up the Japanese archipelago. Izanagi and Izanami must have been busy little devils with their jewelled halberd...Japan's culture is highly technical and organized. Everything sparkles and swooshes on silent, miniaturized mechanisms.They're a world leader in robotics, and the Japanese have the longest life-expectancy on earth.Text by Steve Smith.
