Ai Nishimura
Administrator of the blog "My Diary," which began in 2004. A writer who has traveled to all 47 prefectures and loves local culture and history.
Author of Shimane's "Geography, Place Names, and Maps" Mysteries (Jitsugyo no Nihonsha), My Town is the "Number One in Japan" Dictionary (PHP Institute), and Prefectures Explained in Neko Neko Japanese History (Jitsugyo no Nihonsha). Official blogger for Suntory Gourmet Guide, official top user for Retty, and official platinum blogger for Excite.
Bansuiso (former villa of Hisamatsu Sadami) is a Western-style building left behind by a famous architect.
When you think of Matsuyama, Ehime, many people may think of places like Matsuyama Castle and Dogo Onsen. This time, we went beyond the standard tourist spots and visited a Western-style building located in the city center that can be easily seen.
"Mansuiso", built in the Taisho era by the Hisamatsu family, feudal lords of Matsuyama, was designed by architect Shichiro Kino. Kino left behind many buildings that could be considered his own works in Ehime Prefecture, where his wife's family lived. They are elegant and refined, with luxurious designs featuring intricate decorations. It is wonderful that they are still in daily use today.
On this trip, I was able to see three of Kino Shichiro's buildings, including one that I will introduce in the Mitsuhama section.
We have arrived in Ehime, the city where mandarin orange juice comes out of the tap!
The first place we visited was Bansuiso, a Western-style building built in a corner of Matsuyama Castle.
The Hisamatsu family, who were the feudal lords of Matsuyama, originally called themselves "Matsudaira," but changed their name to "Hisamatsu" after the Meiji period. This is the Hisamatsu family's villa, and is currently designated as an Important Cultural Property.
The building is made of reinforced concrete and has three floors above ground and one below. It was built in the Taisho era and was used as lodging for the Crown Prince at the time (later Emperor Showa).
On this day, the annual Rose Exhibition was being held, and the place was bustling with people from the morning.
This building was left behind by the architect Shichiro Kino. It is a Western-style building with beautiful decorations both inside and out.
One year before constructing Bansuiso, Shichiro Kino had been on an overseas inspection tour. This building was packed with his experiences. Corinthian columns.
The roof is made of rounded, scale-like slate, the bay windows are copper-paneled, and the exterior walls are tiled.
The elegant design makes extensive use of arches and stained glass. It features a gradation of colors within a single piece of glass. The motif is a sailing ship designed by Shintaro Kiuchi.
The murals are also noteworthy. There are two paintings by Yagi Ayaka, a Western-style painter from Matsuyama City. Yagi Ayaka is also famous for designing the packaging for Morinaga Milk Caramel.
The annual rose exhibition is a major event that also includes a rose competition. The cream-colored room was filled with a pleasant fragrance, creating an elegant atmosphere that matched perfectly with the building.
The road to the Western-style building is also beautiful and lush with greenery.
There is also a "Clouds Above the Hill Museum" at the entrance!
The Ehime Prefectural Office is one of the most historic prefectural offices in Japan.
If you ride the tram that runs through the city, you will pass the "Kencho-mae" tram stop on your way to Okaido, the center of the city. Here you will find the green-domed Ehime Prefectural Office Main Building. It is the third oldest prefectural office building in Japan after Osaka and Kanagawa, and like Bansuiso, it is a masterpiece by Kino Shichiro.
The prefectural office building was elegantly and luxuriously constructed using marble and granite, and at the time huge construction costs were spent on it. The interior still retains its tasteful appearance, with its extensive use of arches and intricate design and craftsmanship. The white-walled building was protected during the war by ingenious measures such as painting it in camouflage colors. The prefectural office building, which has witnessed Matsuyama's history, is still well-used today, and stands out as a symbol that should be called the city's treasure.
The Ehime Prefectural Government Office is within walking distance from Bansuiso. The main building is elegant and symmetrical with a dome at its center.
Three-tiered arch entrance.
If you look closely, you can see the detailed decorations. This building was also designed by Shichiro Kino.
The main entrance lobby is surrounded by arches. There was a modern public phone in the phone booth.
The floor is marble and if you look carefully you can find fossils.
A large open staircase. At the time, it was a collaboration with "Attack on Titan."
The staircase features beautiful stained glass.
There are lots of "Mican", the Ehime Prefecture image promotion mascot! This is the "Mican Center" located inside the prefectural office.
Mican, who is also a hugely popular mascot character, is the special vice governor of Ehime Prefecture. She even has her own room.
The VIP room on the second floor is a room for guests that has welcomed the Emperor and Empress.
The building is decorated with intricate detail, even going all the way up to the ceiling. The entire building is decorated with expensive building materials, and it was built with an investment of 1.02 million yen at the time, which would easily exceed 10 billion yen today.
The dome was in use on the day we visited, so we weren't able to see inside, but it is apparently used as the "Dome Conference Room." The presence of this dome makes the exterior even more impressive.
This government building has been used with great care even through the ages. It was also used as a location for the film "Crying Out Love in the Center of the World."
Built 90 years ago, it is the third oldest prefectural office building in Japan.
Matsuyama Castle is filled with 21 cultural assets. On a nice day, we recommend taking the lift up to the top.
Matsuyama Castle is located on the summit of Mount Katsuyama, 132 meters above sea level, and is one of the "12 surviving castle towers" that still retains its original keep. There are 21 important cultural properties remaining within the castle, and even if you're not a castle lover, it's a beautiful castle worth seeing at least once.
The third lord of the castle, Matsudaira, was of Tokugawa bloodline, and so the castle bears the Tokugawa crest of a circle with three hollyhock leaves, also known as the hollyhock crest. This castle is also famous for its skilled tactics, and it's fun to climb the castle while imagining what it was like to be attacked.
The reward for crawling up the steep stairs was a spectacular view of the city and the sea from the castle tower.
Next up is Matsuyama Castle! One of the twelve surviving castle towers.
You can also hike up to the castle, but on this day we took the lift. There is a shopping street leading up to the lift entrance, with many shops lined up.
On the way, we stopped off at the extremely popular Japanese sweets specialty shop "Kiri no Mori Confectionery Workshop Matsuyama Branch" to try some Kiri no Mori Daifuku. The lightly sweet bean paste, cream and bitter matcha all blend together in your mouth!
It was extremely popular from the morning and there was a constant line. You can purchase it from just one piece.
Finally, we start climbing the castle, heading for the castle tower. "Haiku Postboxes" are placed all over the city. As it is the hometown of Masaoka Shiki, haiku is said to be very popular here. It is an elegant way to enjoy the castle and write a haiku.
One of Matsuyama Castle's distinctive features is its climbing stone walls. When viewed from above, they are mostly hidden by the trees and cannot be seen.
You can see it a little bit from below (right side of the photo). It is a stone wall that defends the area from Ninomaru and Sannomaru to Honmaru (the summit).
Stone wall enthusiasts will be very satisfied! The surface is made and assembled, and the gaps are filled with small stones. This is a construction method called uchikomi hagi.
You can see the "ishiotoshi" (stone drop) on the tower. If you try to climb up, stones and bullets will fall from here.
What looks like a bay window is also a stone drop. Tactics are scattered here and there.
The castle is surrounded by high stone walls and the road to the castle is complicated. You will feel like you are sieging a castle as you are forced to make right angle turns and U-turns.
And finally, the castle tower!
The roof features a crest of three hollyhock leaves in a circle. This castle was allowed to use the hollyhock crest.
This is the view from the castle tower. It's a magnificent view of the city. Depending on the direction, you can even see the Seto Inland Sea.
There is a monument on the premises. It was erected in 1955 to commemorate the donation of the castle to Matsuyama city by Hisamatsu Sadatomi, the head of the Matsuyama domain. When he made the donation, he also donated 40,000 yen to cover the maintenance costs of the castle. Hisamatsu Sadatomi was also the builder of the aforementioned "Mansuiso" and is a great man representing Matsuyama.
The way down is also by lift. The view is great and it's fun.
Read the second part here
The contents published are accurate at the time of publication and are subject to change.
