A Meiji Timber Hall Dressed as Stone
The Former Fukuoka Prefectural Public Hall Guest House (旧福岡県公会堂貴賓館) is the guest house of a public hall of 1910 in Nishinakasu, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, and was designated an Important Cultural Property on May 21, 1984 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a two-storey timber building of 396.3 square metres with an entrance porch, roofed in slate and sheet iron; designation number 02160.
A Western-Style Timber Building Made to Look Like Stone
The Former Fukuoka Prefectural Public Hall Guest House is a two-storey Western-style timber building of 1910, designed by Sanjo Eizaburo, an engineer of Fukuoka Prefecture (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The exterior is finished in mortar to imitate stone, and the rooms inside, the guest rooms among them, are elegantly designed (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Fukuoka Prefecture notes that it stands in Tenjin Chuo Park and is roofed in natural slate.
Why It Is an Important Cultural Property
It keeps its original form well and is valuable as one of the few surviving timber public buildings of the Meiji era (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It was designated an Important Cultural Property on May 21, 1984.
What to Look For
Look for the mortar exterior made to look like stone and the elegant rooms inside (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
According to a Fukuoka Prefecture facility sheet, it is open from 9:00 to 18:00 and closed on Mondays and from December 29 to January 3; there is an admission charge, whose amount the sheet does not give.
Q&A
- When was the guest house built?
- In 1910 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Who designed it?
- Sanjo Eizaburo, an engineer of Fukuoka Prefecture.
- What is its exterior like?
- Mortar finished to look like stone.
- When is it closed?
- On Mondays and from December 29 to January 3, per the prefecture.
- When was the Former Fukuoka Prefectural Public Hall Guest House designated an Important Cultural Property?
- On May 21, 1984 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Former Fukuoka Prefectural Public Hall Guest House (旧福岡県公会堂貴賓館) |
|---|---|
| Location | 6-29 Nishinakasu, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Designated 1984/05/21 (Showa 59) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 396.3 m², two storeys, entrance porch, slate and sheet-iron roof |
| Owner | Fukuoka Prefecture |
| Public Access | In Tenjin Chuo Park (Fukuoka Prefecture) |
References
- Former Fukuoka Prefectural Public Hall Guest House (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/3467
- Former Fukuoka Prefectural Public Hall Guest House, facility sheet (Fukuoka Prefecture, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.fukuoka.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/292912.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.18